'I will read the charges,' the judge said, picking up the top sheet from a small pile of papers in front of him. ' "That the said Gianfranco di Stefano did illegally enter the Republic of France for the purpose of spying; that the said Gianfranco di Stefano, using stolen and forged passports and travel documents, did travel to Boulogne for the purpose of spying on the Invasion Flotilla and on the encampments of the Army of England; that the said Gianfranco di Stefano did stay in Amiens for the purpose of spying on the courier carrying State documents between the headquarters of Vice-Admiral Bruix at Boulogne and the Ministry of Marine and Colonies in Paris; that the said Gianfranco di Stefano and two accomplices did attempt to intercept the said documents; and that the crimes listed above, each and every one, are punishable by death under the military and civil codes of the Republic."'

The judge looked up at Ramage. 'You understand the charges?'

'I am an Italian subject; I request a translator.'

'Request refused,' the judge said brusquely. 'How do you plead?1

'Does it make any difference?' Ramage asked sarcastically.

'Yes, it makes a considerable difference,' the judge said, missing the sarcasm. 'If you confess, it will save the tribunal's time.'

'Confess to what?'

'To the crimes with which you are charged, of course,' the judge said impatiently.

'The charges are very flattering seen through the eyes of a simple Italian shipbuilder; but I would be boasting if I confessed to such things.'

'Oh, we have no objection to you boasting,' the judge said quickly. 'If you wish to confess ...'

'No, no,' Ramage said modestly, 'apart from boasting, I should also be telling lies if I confessed.'

'Very well, Citoyen Prosecutor, let us hear the evidence against this traitor!'

Ramage jumped up, the irons on his wrists clanking. 'Don't call me a traitor! Why, you haven't heard a word of evidence yet!'

'You are unduly sensitive, M'sieur,' the judge said calmly. "You are a traitor - we know it and you know it, but there are certain formalities we have to go through. Continue, Citoyen Houdan, and ignore this traitor's interruptions.'

'When arrested at the Hotel de la Poste by members of the Committee of Public Safety,' Houdan said, 'the accused di Stefano was unable to account for the whereabouts of his accomplice, who had a few moments earlier been detected in the room of a naval officer carrying dispatches to the Ministry of Marine. The said accomplice was denounced by the daughter of the landlord of the Hotel de la Poste, who saw him.

'The accused di Stefano claimed to be an Italian citizen and a shipbuilder concerned with the Invasion Flotilla at Boulogne. He produced a passport and travel documents to prove this assertion and claimed that he had been recalled to Boulogne for further talks with the naval authorities there.

'I produce exhibits A, B and C which disprove these claims.

'Exhibit A is a letter from the Port Captain of Boulogne, duly notarized, which says that the accused has never had any discussions with the naval administration whatsoever. Exhibit B is an affidavit from Admiral Bruix saying that the naval lieutenant in whose room di Stefano's accomplice was found is the regular courier carrying highly secret documents between the Ministry of Marine in Paris and the naval headquarters in Boulogne.

'Exhibit C -,' he waved a sheet of paper which was liberally covered with red seals, 'is an affidavit from the Ministry of Marine which says that among the dispatches carried by the courier on this particular day was one from Admiral Bruix giving information upon which the whole future of the war depends. Information,' Houdan said, raising his voice aggressively, 'whose value to the English would be beyond price.'

With that, Houdan passed the papers to the judge, who turned to the man on the right. 'Citoyen Garlin, you will put forward the defence.'

For a few moments Ramage was dumbfounded: he had heard enough from Louis to know that the administration of justice in France was crude, but he had not expected this. He stood up. 'Surely the court will not hear my defence until it has heard the prosecution's attempt to prove the charges against me?'

Again the judge smiled. 'You were not paying attention. The charges have been read and the prosecution has proved their truth. You -'

'Witnesses,' Ramage said angrily, 'why, not even the landlord's daughter -'

'The witnesses have been heard,' the judge said, picking up the papers which Houdan had passed over to him. 'Who can doubt the word of the Port Captain of Boulogne, Admiral Bruix, and a senior official of the Ministry of Marine? And do you deny that the landlord's daughter saw your man in the lieutenant's room?'

'But no one's proved I had anything to do with it! The prosecution has to prove I was trying to read the dispatches!'

'Weren't you?' the judge asked quizzically.

'Of course I was not. I would have needed supernatural powers to know that the lieutenant was carrying papers of any sort, and considerably more than supernatural powers to have known that on Saturday night he was carrying a dispatch which you say is "beyond price". Apart from all that I have absolutely no interest in such things.'

The judge rapped the table impatiently with a gavel. 'You must not interrupt the court's proceedings with all these irrelevancies: Citoyen Garlin will make your defence.'

'But I haven't spoken a word to this man!' Ramage exclaimed. 'He knows nothing about me - why, he has never seen me before!'

Garlin smiled slyly. 'The accused has little understanding of the judicial process,' he said to the judge, who nodded and turned to Ramage.

'Your defence counsel is correct, and for your information Citoyen Garlin has defended hundreds of criminals who -'

'Has he ever defended an innocent man?'

The judge looked embarrassed and then angry. 'Of course,' he said peremptorily. 'Now be silent and listen to your defence.'

'Ah yes,' Garlin said. The defence acknowledges the impossibility of providing a translator into the Italian language at such short notice. Regarding the charges, the accused accepts that he is unable to explain the whereabouts of his accomplice, and he further admits he was in possession of a forged passport and travel documents ...'

Ramage knew he was trapped so completely that any protest would be a waste of breath. Providing there had been no hitch, Jackson would have arrived in Folkestone by now, found Lord Nelson and delivered the report. After dawn tomorrow there would be no need to play for more time. On the other hand, there was no need to rush things today: although he was understandably anxious to hurry through all this nonsense, saving ten minutes here only brought him ten minutes nearer the guillotine ...

Garlin coughed, as if he realized that Ramage's attention was wandering. 'The accused admits that in the absence of his foreman it is impossible to prove his innocence as far as entering the room of the lieutenant is concerned -' he waited, as if expecting an interruption from Ramage, but none came. 'The prosecution has proved the charges concerning the passport and travel documents, so the accused can only ask for the court's clemency. As to the third charge, the accused can only state that, since the seal on the Admiral's dispatch was intact when it arrived in Paris, obviously he did not open it.' Ramage looked up and stared at the judge, who looked back at him with unblinking eyes and said: 'The court will adjourn until tomorrow morning to consider the verdict.' Ramage stood up and bowed. 'I assume it is customary to consider an accused man's guilt without hearing his defence.'

The court has just heard your defence,' the judge said. 'It was very ably stated by Citoyen Garlin.'

'Citoyen Garlin made an interesting statement,' Ramage said contemptuously. 'He was obviously speaking for himself, since what he said had nothing to do with my case and was certainly made without consultation with me.'