He stopped to take a quick look about the still hall. He felt the hostility.
"And I found out more," he repeated. "I found that, in this valley, twenty banks of defrosters have already failed. Eleven houses cannot be used, plus two taverns and one factory here in town. It shows that our own system is breaking down. Some day—perhaps tomorrow, perhaps not until the time of our grandchildren—everything will stop as it did in the next valley. If we want to keep living, we must start to learn how to keep these machines running. At the House of the Old Ones there is a vast store of parts and visigraph records showing how it should be done. I ask you all to come up and see the record they have there of building the things in the valley! See the machine that keeps everything running. Then let me have a band of youths to start studying the records until we find out how to keep things running."
There was silence after he finished. The Elders eyed him, uneasy, suspicious.
From the seats of the hall came Ole's voice.
"Don't believe him!" he shouted. "He wants to get us up there so he can bewitch us—like he did Theta! Take him out and stone him!"
Someone on the other side of the hall echoed the cry. In a moment it seemed that everyone was roaring it, rising in their seats, shaking fists. The Senior Elder motioned to the Hallmaster. He stepped forward with two husky assistants who grabbed Henry.
"Put him in the strong room," quavered the Senior Elder. "Keep him there until the day for punishment."
Roughly Henry was pushed around, led out a rear door to the stage. The day of punishment! Three nights and two days to live!
He awoke the morning of the third night feeling cold. He opened his eyes to find himself in total darkness.