Chapters 10 and 11 Summary

The crew of Ariel is imprisoned for several days and subjected to routine questioning—the men give ridiculous answers. Maturin is questioned a second time in a more vigorous fashion, and then Aubrey, Maturin, and Jagiello are transferred to Paris. On the way, Maturin surmises that his nature as an intelligence agent has been discovered and that he will likely be subjected to torture and murder; he plans to use a glass capsule of poison to prevent divulging information. The men are escorted by Duhamel, a peculiarly mild French agent. As the journey progresses over several days Maturin thinks often of Diana and muses about her infinite pleasure in possessing the Blue Peter diamond. Arriving in Paris, the three men are imprisoned in a high tower in The Temple, an ancient fortress undergoing demolition. Maturin reflects that the choice of...