to conceal any gleam of triumph that might show in his eyes he said that he could not be held responsible for any man's description, and that he must decline to comment.
The description was handed about, and in the interval an orderly brought a small book covered in brown paper; its size was exactly that of the Navy List. Having consulted it the major continued without any change of expression, 'You are a linguist, Dr Maturin: I dare say you also speak Spanish?'
'Catalan,' murmured his neighbour.
'The various dialects of Spanish,' pursued the major, frowning.
'You must forgive me,' said Stephen. 'I do not find the question falls within the limits I have mentioned.'
'Your reluctance to answer is significant. It amounts to a denial.'
'I neither affirm nor deny.'
'Then I think we may take it that you are fluent in Catalan.'
'On the same basis you may state that I know Basque. Or Sanskrit.'
'Let us pass to the Baltic. What have you to tell us of the murder of General Mercier at Grimsholm?'
Stephen had nothing to tell them of the murder of General Mercier at Grimsholm. He admitted that he had been in the Baltic, aboard the Ariel, but when asked what she had been doing there he said, 'Really, sir, an officer cannot be expected to betray the warlike movements of the service to which he has the honour to belong.'
'Perhaps not,' said a man on the left, 'but you can be expected to account for your presence there. Your name is not on the Ariel's muster: her surgeon was a Mr Graham.'
'You are mistaken. My name is on the supplementary list, after the Marines, as a passenger, borne for victuals but not pay or tobacco.'
'As a goddam spy,' muttered the colonel.
Asked why he should choose to take passage for the Baltic of all places, he said that he wished to visit the northern birds.
'And may we ask what birds you saw?' said the major.
'The most noteworthy were Pernis apivorus, Haliaetus albicilla, Somateria spectabilis, and Somateria mollissima, to whom we are indebted for the eider-down.'
'I will not be trifled with,' cried the colonel. 'Birds ...eider-down ... by God. He needs a lesson in respect. Send for the provost-marshal.'
'There really are such birds, sir,' said a red-haired lieutenant. 'I do not believe he means disrespect.'
'Kick his arse,' muttered the colonel, moving angrily in his seat.
'Do you expect us to believe that you travelled a thousand miles to look at birds?' asked another officer.
'You will believe what you wish to believe, gentlemen,' said Stephen. 'That is the almost invariable human proceeding. I merely state the fact. I am not unknown as a natural philosopher.'
'Just so,' said the major. 'And this brings us to Paris. Here we are on surer ground, I am afraid; and here you must expect to be pressed for satisfactory replies, for you were not protected by the laws of war. I strongly advise you not to compel us to press you to the utmost. We know a great deal, and no equivocation will be tolerated.'
'I was protected by a safe-conduct delivered by your government.'
'No safe-conduct covers spying or collusion in treasonable activities. At Beauvillier's hotel you received the visit of Delarue, Fauvet and Hersant, all of whom desired you to carry messages to England.'
'Certainly,' said Stephen, 'and I could name many more who did the same. You must know, however, that I steadily refused their requests, and that at no time did I deviate from my neutrality as a natural philosopher.'
'I am afraid that is not exact,' said the major, 'and I can produce witnesses who will confound you. But before doing so, I must have the names of your colleagues here. Come, Dr Maturin, you are a reasonable man; you must know the importance the Emperor attaches to Grimsholm and to your sources of information. You will not oblige us to go to extremities.'
'You are asking for what does not exist. I repeat, with the utmost possible emphasis, that during my stay in Paris I never departed from a scrupulous observation of neutrality as a natural philosopher.'
A single statement of the truth might have no great immediate effect, particularly in an atmosphere of such suspicion and duplicity; but its strong, unvaried reiteration delivered in a tone of complete sincerity, compelled if not total belief then at least a suspension of incredulity. Several of the officers put forward objections, advancing names, some true some false, of those who wished to communicate with England, and again and again in their questions and in Stephen's replies 'natural philosopher' recurred, like the refrain of a tediously repetitious song.
'Natural philosophers,' cried the colonel at last. 'Natural philosophers my arse: who ever heard of half Golconda being offered for the release of a natural philosopher, which is all he says he is? A hundred thousand louis. Balls. Of course he is a spy.'
There was a very short but very awkward hiatus in which the colonel, mistaking the cause, corrected his louis d'or to napoleons; the major darted a steely glance at him and called out 'Bring in Monsieur Fauvet.'
Fauvet came in: he looked unbelievably mean and the blustering, confident air he gave himself did nothing to improve it. He was accompanied by a fat man, tight in his civilian clothes, a man called Delaris whom Stephen had watched before now, a man high in Laurie's organization, operating from the ministry of the interior and the Conciergerie: he had never knowingly seen Dr Maturin and now he stared at him with a naked, avid curiosity.
'Monsieur Fauvet,' said the major, 'pray repeat your statement.'
Fauvet did so: on various occasions Dr Maturin had offered to carry messages to England; he had spoken disrespectfully of the Emperor and had predicted his early defeat; had advised Fauvet and many others to make
