The faith of men still endured. When he entered Mansfield's office, at three that afternoon, Armstrong discovered that the lawyer had not been idle these past few days. Mansfield greeted him heartily; Dorns had not yet arrived. "Well, Mr. Armstrong, I have some definite word for you. That postal investigation is no longer to be feared." "I never feared it." Armstrong smiled. "You have blocked it, then?"' The other assented. "Yes, dependent upon my production of certain evidence. I have got this from Mr. Wren; the rest is a matter of routine. You've had no further trouble?" "None. I've been awaiting word from you and have kept quiet." "Good. Judge Holcomb should be here at any moment now." "Holcomb?" Armstrong's brows went up. He had not seen the judge since the latter had resigned from Consolidated, and had fancied him out of town. "He has been lending me some assistance in this affair," said Mansfield. "Ah, here's Dorns now! He seems to bear tidings." Robert Dorns appeared. He came into the room, stopped, regarded them with an expansive grin, and waved his unlighted cigar. "By glory, we got 'em!" he uttered. "We got 'em cold!"' Armstrong leaped to his feet. "How? Why?" "Consolidated had a directors' meeting this morning. Macgowan and Findlater got into the trough with both feet--back salaries, fees, and so forth--they only touched the treasury for about thirty-five thousand! How does that suit you, Q. Adams?" During the amazed silence that greeted this information, Judge Holcomb entered and was apprised of the news. Dorns had reliable word of the directors' meeting from one of his men now employed by Consolidated; his guarantee of satisfactory evidence later on was more than sufficient for his auditors. Mansfield, quite aware of Armstrong's leashed eagerness, interrupted the discussion. "Gentlemen, one moment! This audacity is astounding. What do you think should be done, Mr. Armstrong?" "We'll have to direct our fight at Findlater," said Armstrong. "Macgowan has left him in as president in order to use him as a shield and figurehead. The only way we can hit at Macgowan is through Findlater. Do you think we can have him removed on the strength of this looting, or both of them?" "Certainly--but not before April. We must not conceal from ourselves Macgowan's ability to use the law. The eyes of Justice are hooded, unfortunately, and we cannot expect haste from the legal machinery." "Then," said Armstrong, "I'll tell you what I propose doing, and get your advice; it looks as though we must make up our minds to a long fight. First, we must take all personalities out of the fight. I want to figure in it as little as possible. There will be an understanding that I am not fighting for any office in Consolidated; this fact will serve tremendously in retaining for us the confidence of the stockholders." Holcomb and Mansfield nodded tacit assent.