Chapter 17 Summary

Smiley continues to investigate the meetings between Control and Alleline and wonders if maybe Control was not competent. There is a continual flow of high-quality, accurate Witchcraft documents but no way to corroborate the information in any of the reports. The Minister headed a Witchcraft committee. Smiley studies the lists of those cleared for access to the reading room. The same four names kept reappearing—Alleline, Bland, Esterhase and Haydon. After Control's death, Ann kept asking questions about her cousin Bill Haydon's position in the Circus. Was he as important as Smiley and so on?

Smiley asks Esterhase what his lamplighters are doing since they were two months behind on their paperwork. Smiley suggests Alleline might have ordered Esterhase to do something and not report it. He doesn't get any direct answers out of Esterhase. Next he went to see Roy Bland...