As he can't lock you up, he intends to ruin you by means of an action.

If he had listened to me, that is what he would have begun with, leaving the criminal law alone.
It's a nasty treacherous thing is the criminal law, and you can't be sure of your man however black things may look against him.

I never thought they could convict you, doctor, never; for, as the old judge said, you see it is quite unusual to prosecute criminally in cases of this nature, and the jury won't send a man to jail for a little mistake of the sort.

But they will 'cop' you in damages, a thousand or fifteen hundred, and then the best thing that you can do will be to go bankrupt, or perhaps you had better clear before the trial comes on." I groaned aloud, but the little man went on cheerfully:-- "Same solicitors, I suppose?
I'll take the other things to them so as not to bother you more than I can help.

Good-afternoon; I'm downright glad that they didn't convict you, and as for old Bell, he's as mad as a hatter, though of course everybody knows what the jury meant--the judge was pretty straight about it, wasn't he ?--he chooses to think that it amounts to calling him a liar.