He
thought he detected a loginess in the engine as Professor Larsen drove
away from the curb.

What they hoped to accomplish, Ken didn't know, but he felt certain they
would find the same thing in the generators that had been found in the
automobile engines. The bearings were probably frozen so tight that they
and the shaft had become one solid piece of metal. He hoped the
scientists would bring back some samples of the metal.

By 4 o'clock all the members of the science club had arrived. They met
in what Ken called his "science shack," a small building next to the
observatory. Here he kept the amateur radio equipment belonging to the
club, and his own personal collections in the several different fields
in which he had been interested since his Boy Scout days.

In each of his companions, Ken could see the effect of the feeling that
now pervaded the town. Their usual horseplay was almost forgotten, and
their faces were sober to the point of fear.

"We aren't going to be able to run our blower by electricity," said Joe
Walton. "We can't even get power for the precipitating filters."

"Let's scrounge anything we can find that runs on gasoline or coal oil,"
said Al Miner. "If we act fast we ought to be able to pick up some old
motorcycle engines or some power lawn mowers from the dump. Thompson's
have probably got some. We can try people's basements, too. Let's get as
many as possible, because we don't know how long any one will last, and
we may have to run the blower for weeks, in order to get any kind of
sample."

"Good idea," said Ken. "Here's something else: Who's got a car left to
gather this stuff in?"

The boys looked at each other.

"Ours was still running this morning," Frank Abrams said, "but I won't
guarantee how long we can count on it."

"Pretty soon there won't be any we can count on. We've got to get a
horse and wagon before they start selling for as much as a new Cadillac
used to."

"My uncle's got one on his farm," said Dave Whitaker. "He would probably
loan it to me, but he's five miles out of town."

"Take my bike," said Ken. "See if he'll let you borrow it and a wagon
for at least a couple of weeks or longer. Bring some bales of hay, too."

"Right now?"

"Right now."

When Dave had gone, Al said, "What about the blower? Anybody know where
we can get one of those?"

"I think there's one at Thompson's," said Ted. "They pulled it out of
Pete and Mary's restaurant when they remodeled."