“Nobody told me what for.”
“Tut, tut, young man! They don't throw men out without telling them the reason!”
“But they do, your Honour! Shortly before that they locked me up in jail, and held me for thirty-six hours without the slightest show of authority.”
“You must have been doing something!”
“What I had done was to be chosen by a committee of miners to act as their check-weighman.”
“Their check-weighman?”
“Yes, your Honour. I am informed there's a law providing that when the men demand a check-weighman, and offer to pay for him, the company must permit him to inspect the weights. Is that correct?”
“It is, I believe.”
“And there's a penalty for refusing?”
“The law always carries a penalty, young man.”