"I am taking it upon myself, because of the emergency conditions that confront us, to declare that the penalty for your crime is continued and incessant labor at any task the community may see fit to assign you. You are marked men. Your crime is known to every member of this community. There will be no escape from the surveillance of your neighbors and friends. I sentence you to so conduct yourselves in the eyes of these people that, if we do come through this time of crisis, you may stand redeemed for all time of the crime which you have committed. "If you fail to do this, the punishment which will be automatically imposed is banishment from this community for the duration of the emergency. "Court stands adjourned!" A burst of cheers broke out in the room. The Tuckers and Mr. Allen looked as if they could not believe what they had heard. Then Jed turned suddenly and rushed toward Ken. "It's no good saying I've been a fool, but let me say thanks for your help." Mr. Tucker took Ken's other hand. "You'll never regret it, young man. I'll see to it that you never regret it." "It's okay," said Ken, almost gruffly. "We've all got a lot of work to do." He turned as a figure brushed by them. Mr. Allen pushed through the crowd to the doorway. He looked at no one. "We were fools," said Mr. Tucker bitterly. "Brainless, scared fools." When they were gone, Dr. Aylesworth put his hand on Ken's shoulder. "That was a mighty fine thing you did. I hope it sets a pattern for all of us in times to come." "I didn't do it for them," said Ken. "I did it for myself." The minister smiled and clapped the boy's shoulder again. "Nevertheless, you did it. That's what counts." Chapter 10. _Victory of the Dust_ By the time Ken was through with the ordeal in court, Art Matthews had succeeded in building an engine from entirely new parts. He had it installed in an airtight room into which only filtered air could pass. This room, and another air filter, had been major projects in themselves. The science club members had done most of the work after their daily stint at the laboratory, while Art had scoured the town for parts that would fit together. At the end of the hearing Ken went to the garage. The engine had been running for 5 hours then. Art was grinning like a schoolboy who had just won a spelling bee. "She sure sounds sweet," he said. "I'll bet we can keep her going as long as we have gasoline." "I hope so," Ken said. "It's just a waste of power to let it run that way, though." Art scratched his head. "Yeah. It's funny, power is what we've been wanting, and now we've got a little we don't know what to do with it." "Let's see if we can find a generator," said Ken. "Charge some batteries with it. Do you think there's one in town?"