Major Freiherr Hans-Peter von Wachtstein entered Gr?ner's office. He, too, was in uniform.
"Heil Hitler!" he said, giving the stiff-armed salute.
"I tried to call you," Gr?ner said. "The lines were out."
"I saw troops moving-as well as a squadron of the Corps of Mounted Po-lice," Peter said. "I thought the revolution had probably started. I tried to call you, Herr Oberst, at your home, and when I could not get through, decided I had better come here."
"Right," Gr?ner said. "The correct decision."
"First Cavalry and the Second Infantry Regiments are stopped along Avenida Cordoba at Avenida Pueyrred¢n...."
"We had trouble getting past them, von Wachtstein," Gradny-Sawz said. "There was a major who had apparently never heard of diplomatic privilege."
"Well, we're here," Goltz said. "And now that we are?"
"The reason I called you, Herr Standartenf?hrer," Gr?ner said, "was not be-cause of the revolution; all we can do about that is wait to see what happens. There has been a message from Berlin. The cryptographer officer is still ill, and the communications officer called me. About four-thirty I was in the process of decrypting the message when one of my sources telephoned from Campo de Mayo to tell me the troops had left there at half past two."
"It took him two hours to send that word to you?" Gradny-Sawz said in-credulously. "That doesn't seem to be a very good source."
"I was pleased that he managed to get through at all," Gr?ner said. "At that point I telephoned your house, Herr Standartenf?hrer."
"I think we must proceed on the assumption that President Castillo will be removed from office-if he has not been removed already," Goltz said, "and that henceforth we will be dealing with-what was it you said, Gr?ner? 'The Governing Council of the Provisional Government'-as, it seems appropriate to say, you accurately predicted. What did Berlin have on its mind?"
Gr?ner went to his safe, worked the combination, opened the safe, and handed Goltz a business-size sealed envelope. On this he had written, "For the Exclusive Attention of Standartenf?hrer Goltz." Goltz tore the envelope open and read the message.
MOST SECRET
URGENT
FROM FOREIGN MINISTRY
TO EMBASSY OF THE GERMAN REICH BUENOS AIRES
FOR EXCLUSIVE ATTENTION (1) AMBASSADOR
(2) STANDARTENFšHRER JOSEF GOLTZ
BERLIN 18 APRIL 1943 7:05 PM
1. SUMMARY OF INFORMATION RECEIVED FROM DOENITZ AND CANARIS FOLLOWS:
A. ON 13 APRIL 1943 US CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS SIGNALED ALL US NAVY VESSELS
OPERATING IN SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN TO LOCATE AND POSITIVELY IDENTIFY SPANISH REGISTERED MOTOR VESSEL COMERCIANTE DEL 0CEAN0 PACHTC0.
B. AT 6:27 AM LOCAL TIME 18 APRIL 1943 AT POSITION 27 DEGREES 25 MINUTES SOUTH LATITUDE 43 DEGREES 05 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE COMERCIANTE DEL
0CEAN0 PACDTCO WAS CLOSELY APPROACHED AT VERY HIGH SPEED AND IN AN ENTIMIDATINGLY RECKLESS MANNER BY US NAVY DESTROYER ALFRED THOMAS. IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARD ALFRED THOMAS RADIOED NON-ENCRYPTED MESSAGE TO US CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS GIVING POSITION AND ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL (9 PM 20 APRIL 1943) OP COMERCIANTE DEL OCEANO PACIFICO AT MOUTH OP RIVER PLATE.
C. US AMBASSADOR MADRID HAS BEEN SUMMONED TO SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTRY TO RECEIVE OFFICIAL PROTEST IN STRONGEST POSSIBLE LANGUAGE THIS INTIMIDATION AND HARASSMENT OF A CLEARLY IDENTIFIED SPANISH VESSEL ON THE HIGH SEAS IN BLATANT VIOLATION OF THE RULES OF NAVAL WARFARE AND THE RIGHT OP FREE PASSAGE OP NON-BELLIGERENT POWERS AS OUTLINED IN THE GENEVA CONVENTION.
AMBASSADOR VON LUTZENBERGER IS DIRECTED TO IMMEDIATELY AND PERSONALLY REGISTER WITH HIGHEST POSSIBLE OFFICIAL OF ARGENTINE GOVERNMENT THE OUTRAGE OF THE GOVERNMENT OP THE GERMAN REICH CAUSED BY THIS BLATANT VIOLATION OP NEUTRALITY BY THE US GOVERNMENT. AMBASSADOR WILL REMIND ARGENTINE GOVERNMENT OP THE SINKING OF THE PORTUGESE MERCHANT SHIP REINE DE LA MER UNDER VERY SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES IN SAMB0R0MB0N BAY AND TO REQUEST IN THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE LANGUAGE THAT ARGENTINE NAVAL FORCES ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SAFETY OF THE COMERCIANTE DEL OCEANO PACIPICO WHILE SHE IS IN ARGENTINIAN WATERS. SIMILAR ACTION WILL BE TAKEN BY THE SPANISH AMBASSADOR.
AMBASSADOR AND GOLTZ ARE EXPECTED TO TAKE WHATEVER PRECAUTIONS ARE NECESSARY TO INSURE SECURITY OF MATERIEL EN ROUTE IN CONNECTION WITH REPATRIATION PLAN. AMBASSADOR WILL REPORT RECEIPT OF MATERIEL BY URGENT RADIO TO FOREIGN MINISTER.
CONTENTS OF THIS MESSAGE, AND ACTION DIRECTED HEREIN HAVE BEEN COORDINATED WITH HIMMLER, BORMANN, CANARIS, AND DOENTTZ.
IN THE NAME OF THE FUHRER, ADOLF HITLER!