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.Simon took the paper and read the item she was pointing to.TREASURE TROVEIN LONDONEXCAVATION Windfall for Winlass The London clay, which has given up many strange secrets in its time,yesterday surrendered a treasure which has been in its keeping for 300 years.Ten thousand pounds is the estimated value of a hoard of gold coins andantique jewellery discovered by workmen engaged in de-molishing an old housePage 38 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlin Turk's Lane, Brompton, which is being razed to make way for a modernapartment building.The owner of the property, Mr.Vernon Winlass The Saint had no need to read any more; and as a matter of fact he did notwant to.For several seconds he was as far beyond the power of speech as if hehad been born dumb.And then, very slowly, the old Saintly smile came back to his lips."Oh, well, I expect our bank account will stand it," he said cheerfully, andturned the car back again towards Hampshire.VIThe Sleepless KnightIf a great many newspaper cuttings and references to news-papers find theirway into these chronicles, it is simply be-cause most of the interestingthings that happen find their way into newspapers, and it is in theseephemeral sheets that the earnest seeker after unrighteousness will find manyclues to his quest.Simon Templar read newspapers only because he found collected in them thetriumphs and anxieties and sins and misfortunes and ugly tyrannies which weregoing on around him, as well as the results of races in which chosen horsescarried samples of his large supply of shirts; not because he cared anythingabout the posturing of Transatlantic fliers or the flatulence of internationalconferences.And it was solely through reading a newspaper that he becameaware of the existence of Sir Melvin Flager.It was an unpleasant case; and the news item may as well be quoted in full.JUDGE CENSURES TRANSPORTCOMPANYDriver's four hours' sleep a week "MODERN SLAVERY" Mr.Justice Goldie. SCATHING criticisms of the treatment of drivers by a road transport companywere made by Mr.Justice Goldie during the trial of Albert Johnson, a lorrydriver, at Guildford Assizes yesterday.Johnson was charged with manslaughter following the death of a cyclist whom heknocked down and fatally injured near Albury on March 28th.Johnson did not deny that he was driving to the danger of the public, butpleaded that his condition was due to circumstances be-yond his control.Police witnesses gave evidence that the lorry driven by Johnson was proceedingin an erratic manner down a fairly wide road at about 30 miles an hour.Therewas a cyclist in front of it, travelling in the same direction, and a privatecar coming towards it.Swerving to make way for the private car, in what the witness de-scribed as"an unnecessarily exaggerated manner," the lorry struck the cyclist and causedfatal injuries.The police surgeon who subsequently examined Johnson described him as being"apparently intoxicated, although there were no signs of alcohol on hisbreath.""I was not drunk," said Johnson, giving evidence on his own behalf."I wassimply tired out.We are sent out on long journeys and forced to complete themat an average of over 30 miles an hour, including stops for food and rest."Most of our work is done at night, but we are frequently compelled to makelong day journeys as well."During the week when the accident occurred, I had only had four hours' sleep."It is no good protesting, because the company can always find plenty ofunemployed drivers to take our places."Page 39 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlOther employees of the Flager Road Transport Company, which employs Johnson,corroborated his statement."This is nothing more or less than modern slavery," said Mr.Justice Goldie,directing the jury to return a verdict of Not Guilty."It is not Johnson, but Sir Melvin Flager, the managing director of thecompany, who ought to be in the dock."You have only to put yourselves in the position of having gone for a week onfour hours' sleep, with the added strain of driving a heavy truck throughoutthat time, to be satisfied that no culpable reckless-ness of Johnson's wasresponsible for this tragedy."I would like to see it made a criminal offence for employers to im-pose suchinhuman conditions on their employees." Sir Melvin Flager was not unnaturally displeased by this judicial comment; buthe might have been infinitely more perturbed if he had known of the Saint'sinterest in the case.Certain readers of these chronicles may have reached the impression that SimonTemplar's motives were purely selfish and mercenary, but they would be doinghim an injustice.Undoubtedly his exploits were frequently profitable; and theSaint himself would have been the first to admit that he was not a brigand forhis health; but there were many times when only a very small percentage of hisprofits remained in his own pocket, and many occasions when he embarked on anepisode of lawlessness with no thought of profit for himself at all
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