secretary.”
“Should I be troubled by that, do you think?” Saint-Germain inquired with a wry twist of his mouth.
“I doubt it,” said Rogerio. “I gather they flirt often.”
Saint-Germain began to walk toward the lobby. “I’m almost through here for now. There are two checks I still have to sign, and I need to make sure that Lundhavn has left. His office will have to be inspected tonight”
“And Pradera?” Rogerio asked.
“He will be gone by the end of this day,” said Saint-Germain. He stepped into the lobby and noticed that the receptionists were watching him covertly, whispering together. “I don’t think it would be wise to linger.”
“I’ll bring the auto to the front door,” Rogerio offered.
“I will be with you shortly.” He started to climb the stairs, wishing as he went that he did not feel as if everyone in the building were watching his progress.
T EXT OF A LETTER FROM H ORATIO B ATTERBURY IN W INNIPEG TO L EANDRO DE G UZMAN IN M ADRID; WRITTEN IN E NGLISH .
Compton House
658 Selkirk Road
Suites 4–9
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
22 February, 1936
Leandro de Guzman
Ministerio de Guerra
Madrid, Spain
My dear Mr. de Guzman,
I am in receipt of your letter of 10 February, and I thank you for your kind inquiry into Manitoba Chemicals, Ltd. Yes, this business does have international clients, and you are correct in your assumption that Ferenc Ragoczy, le Comte de Saint-Germain, sits on our Board of Directors, albeit in a purely honorary capacity, for he has never, in fact, done more than supply the company with formulae, which, given the efficacy of his work, is more than enough. In fact, as far as I am aware, he has not visited Canada. I have only met le Comte once, and that was in Brussels, four years ago, when I went there to finalize our dealings.
I must congratulate you on your thoroughness, but I am baffled as to why you should be interested in this company. Surely there are chemical companies in Spain that are producing all that you require. Manitoba Chemicals, Ltd. does have certain proprietary compounds that may have application to your work, and if this is the reason you have contacted us, I will, upon your request that I do so, pass on your solicitations to our legal department to arrange for any applicable licenses sought.
However, your questions suggest that you are attempting to catalogue le Comte’s foreign holdings; while it may be appropriate for you to do so in your capacity as a member of the Ministry of War, I cannot offer more to you than that which is public record. For that reason, I will stipulate that we at Manitoba Chemicals, Ltd. have no direct contractual obligations with any company in Spain, for such information is undoubtedly within your purview, but I will offer you nothing more about other arrangements we have with other countries.
I regret any inconvenience this may cause you.
Cordially,
Horatio Batterbury
Chairman, Manitoba Chemicals, Ltd.
HB/lm
chapter three
Mercurio Zapatilla spread the contents of the brown accordion file out on his desk, thumbing his way through the array of onion-skin carbon copies, good quality bond letters, clipped newspaper articles, and a dozen photographs. Carefully he read through two of the letters, shaking his head as he perused them, disliking what he saw. He pursed his lips, making his small mouth look even smaller. Finally he picked up the telephone and spoke a few words to the man who answered. “And bring me the file on Dñoa Isabel Vedancho y Nunez,” he added, an afterthought.
“In addition to the file on Eclipse Aeroplano Industrias?” Zapatilla’s assistant asked.
“Yes. I need to have all our information on this man and his associates; this file on el Conde de Saint-Germain is sadly lacking,” said Zapatilla, a slight impatience in his voice as he gathered these all together and put them back in the large accordion envelope that had contained them. “What I have here isn’t nearly
“Should I be troubled by that, do you think?” Saint-Germain inquired with a wry twist of his mouth.
“I doubt it,” said Rogerio. “I gather they flirt often.”
Saint-Germain began to walk toward the lobby. “I’m almost through here for now. There are two checks I still have to sign, and I need to make sure that Lundhavn has left. His office will have to be inspected tonight”
“And Pradera?” Rogerio asked.
“He will be gone by the end of this day,” said Saint-Germain. He stepped into the lobby and noticed that the receptionists were watching him covertly, whispering together. “I don’t think it would be wise to linger.”
“I’ll bring the auto to the front door,” Rogerio offered.
“I will be with you shortly.” He started to climb the stairs, wishing as he went that he did not feel as if everyone in the building were watching his progress.
T EXT OF A LETTER FROM H ORATIO B ATTERBURY IN W INNIPEG TO L EANDRO DE G UZMAN IN M ADRID; WRITTEN IN E NGLISH .
Compton House
658 Selkirk Road
Suites 4–9
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
22 February, 1936
Leandro de Guzman
Ministerio de Guerra
Madrid, Spain
My dear Mr. de Guzman,
I am in receipt of your letter of 10 February, and I thank you for your kind inquiry into Manitoba Chemicals, Ltd. Yes, this business does have international clients, and you are correct in your assumption that Ferenc Ragoczy, le Comte de Saint-Germain, sits on our Board of Directors, albeit in a purely honorary capacity, for he has never, in fact, done more than supply the company with formulae, which, given the efficacy of his work, is more than enough. In fact, as far as I am aware, he has not visited Canada. I have only met le Comte once, and that was in Brussels, four years ago, when I went there to finalize our dealings.
I must congratulate you on your thoroughness, but I am baffled as to why you should be interested in this company. Surely there are chemical companies in Spain that are producing all that you require. Manitoba Chemicals, Ltd. does have certain proprietary compounds that may have application to your work, and if this is the reason you have contacted us, I will, upon your request that I do so, pass on your solicitations to our legal department to arrange for any applicable licenses sought.
However, your questions suggest that you are attempting to catalogue le Comte’s foreign holdings; while it may be appropriate for you to do so in your capacity as a member of the Ministry of War, I cannot offer more to you than that which is public record. For that reason, I will stipulate that we at Manitoba Chemicals, Ltd. have no direct contractual obligations with any company in Spain, for such information is undoubtedly within your purview, but I will offer you nothing more about other arrangements we have with other countries.
I regret any inconvenience this may cause you.
Cordially,
Horatio Batterbury
Chairman, Manitoba Chemicals, Ltd.
HB/lm
chapter three
Mercurio Zapatilla spread the contents of the brown accordion file out on his desk, thumbing his way through the array of onion-skin carbon copies, good quality bond letters, clipped newspaper articles, and a dozen photographs. Carefully he read through two of the letters, shaking his head as he perused them, disliking what he saw. He pursed his lips, making his small mouth look even smaller. Finally he picked up the telephone and spoke a few words to the man who answered. “And bring me the file on Dñoa Isabel Vedancho y Nunez,” he added, an afterthought.
“In addition to the file on Eclipse Aeroplano Industrias?” Zapatilla’s assistant asked.
“Yes. I need to have all our information on this man and his associates; this file on el Conde de Saint-Germain is sadly lacking,” said Zapatilla, a slight impatience in his voice as he gathered these all together and put them back in the large accordion envelope that had contained them. “What I have here isn’t nearly
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