The Last Summer of Mata Hari [antikvár]

PARIS MISTRAL 2 June 1917 The press officer turned out to be a liar. Ordinarily not worth a shrug. One expected military tribunals to hold accused persons incommunicado and then make fatuous excuses to the press. In this case, where the abused prisoner was a friend, Leclerc's cynicism had been severely tested. Week after week, all requests for interviews, including his, had been fobbed off despite the intense agitation of the public. Now this latest mendacity, so rawly unfair, had Le-clerc ready to explode. The other newsmen and photographers, heckling and shoving, forced the press officer to retreat backward up the long flight at the rear of the Palais de Justice. Even without this frustration, they were in a savage mood. All Paris had tossed through a steamy night, only to