An Officer and a Spy

leave. We nod to one another politely.
    The captain and I walk round to the street entrance of the hôtel de Brienne.
    I have Colonel Picquart to see the Minister of War . . .
    As we climb the marble staircase, I recall how I trotted up here so eagerly after Dreyfus’s degradation – the silent garden in the snow, Mercier and Boisdeffre warming the backs of their legs at the blazing fire, the delicate fingers smoothly turning the globe and picking out Devil’s Island . . .
    Boisdeffre once again waits in the minister’s office. He is seated at the conference table with Billot and Gonse. Billot has a closed file in front of him. The three generals side by side make a sombre tribunal – a hanging committee.
    The minister smooths his walrus moustaches and says, ‘Sit down, Colonel.’
    I assume I am to be blamed for the leak of the bordereau , but Billot takes me by surprise. He begins without preliminaries: ‘An anonymous letter has been passed to us. It alleges that Major Esterhazy will shortly be denounced in the Chamber of Deputies as an accomplice of Dreyfus. Have you any idea where the author of this letter could have obtained the information that Esterhazy was under suspicion?’
    ‘None.’
    ‘I presume I don’t have to tell you that this represents a serious breach in the confidentiality of your inquiry?’
    ‘Of course not. I’m appalled to hear of it.’
    ‘It’s intolerable, Colonel!’ His cheeks redden, his eyes pop. Suddenly he has become the choleric old general beloved of the cartoonists. ‘First the existence of the dossier is revealed! Then a copy of the bordereau is printed on the front page of a newspaper! And now this! Our inescapable conclusion is that you have developed an obsession – in fact a dangerous fixation – with substituting Major Esterhazy for Dreyfus, and that you are willing to go to any lengths to fulfil it, including leaking secret information to the press.’
    Boisdeffre says, ‘It’s a very poor business, Picquart. Very poor. I’m disappointed in you.’
    ‘I can assure you, General, I have never disclosed the existence of my inquiry to anyone, certainly not to Esterhazy. And I’ve never leaked information to the press. My inquiry is not a matter of personal obsession. I have simply followed a logical trail of evidence which leads to Esterhazy.’
    ‘No, no, no!’ Billot shakes his head. ‘You have disobeyed specific orders to keep clear of the Dreyfus business. You have gone around acting like a spy in your own department. I could call one of my orderlies now and have you taken to Cherche-Midi on a charge of insubordination.’
    There is a pause, and then Gonse says, ‘If it really is a question of logic, Colonel, what would you do if we showed you cast-iron proof that Dreyfus was a spy?’
    ‘If it were cast-iron, then obviously I’d accept it. But I don’t believe such proof can be found.’
    ‘That is where you are wrong.’
    Gonse glances at Billot, who opens the file. It appears to contain only a single sheet of paper.
    Billot says, ‘We have recently intercepted a letter, via Agent Auguste, from Major Panizzardi to Colonel Schwartzkoppen. This is the relevant passage: I have read that a deputy is going to ask questions about Dreyfus. If someone asks in Rome for new explanations, I will say that I have never had any dealings with this Jew. If someone asks you, say the same, for no one must ever know what happened to him. It’s signed “Alexandrine”. There,’ says Billot, closing the file with great satisfaction, ‘what do you say about that ?’
    It is a forgery, of course. It has to be. I keep my composure. ‘When exactly did this reach us, may I ask?’
    Billot turns to Gonse, who says, ‘Major Henry collected it in the usual way about two weeks ago. It was in French, so he pieced it together.’
    ‘Could I see the original?’
    Gonse bridles. ‘Why is that necessary?’
    ‘Only that I would be interested in seeing what it looks like.’
    Boisdeffre says, with great chilliness, ‘I would sincerely hope, Colonel Picquart, that you are not doubting the integrity of Major Henry. The message was retrieved and reconstructed – and that is that. We are sharing it with you now in the expectation that its existence will not be disclosed to the press, and that finally you will drop your pernicious insistence that Dreyfus is innocent. Otherwise the consequences for you will be grave.’
    I stare from one general to the next. So this