Armstrong regarded his friend with judicial calm.
"Jimmy, is everybody in the office as badly stirred up as you are?"
"Just about." Wren made a despairing gesture. "Nobody knows what to think. Macgowan is working hard to protect us. Findlater swears that you've double-crossed the company, that you've deceived every one and are playing a crooked game—"
"Looks to me," said Armstrong, with a slight smile, "as though Findlater had sort of got your goat, Jimmy! I suppose he's been rubbing it in pretty hard, eh? Doing a lot of talking, eh? Well, you listen to me for a minute. First, when a man talks as much as all that, he's not particularly dangerous. Second, what does an indictment amount to anyway? Not a thing. Anybody can trump up charges and get an indictment."
Jimmy Wren's eyes widened at this.
"But, Reese! It means ruin—"
"It means nothing," said Armstrong crisply. "If Findlater is out to fight us, he can't do any real harm. What if he does get indictments issued? He can't get convictions—and indictments without convictions mean absolutely nothing. What does Mac say about it?"
"Mac is scared."
"What?" Armstrong was astounded and showed it. Wren continued quickly.
"Mac thinks that Findlater and his friends went to work and procured those complaints, and are behind the whole business. He thinks they started the investigation."