But everyone understood.
"Mister Jingle is justified in his bitterness," said a reporter.
"Of course Charlie's sore. He's got a right to be sore!" said Commissioner Jergen.
"A horrible injustice. We were concerned over our reputation," said Kort Gassel of Pugs, Inc.
"The guy deserves a break!" said the fight public.
And Hollywood said, "We don't understand what prompted this unwarranted attack."
So there it was. Charlie Jingle spoke the truth, but nobody believed him. Tanker Bell was granted a match. The fix was in.
As a last resort, Charlie Jingle refused to let the Tanker fight. An uproar went up from the public. It was a matter of ethics. Tanker Bell was now their champion. He was the embodiment of everyman against the Organization, against injustice. Tanker Bell must fight!
It was then that Charlie Jingle understood. This was not simply a fight. This was part of a long-range plan to bring the public man to heel. This was part of a scheme to break the mass-individual spirit, because if Everyman stood with Tanker Bell as the champion of independant justice, and Tanker Bell were beaten—so would the public-independent spirit be.
But Charlie Jingle had his hands tied.