d'Ogeron,
is, in brief, that you enroll your ships and your force under M. de
Rivarol's flag."
Blood looked at him with a faint kindling of interest. "You are
offering to take us into the French service?" he asked. "On what
terms, monsieur?"
"With the rank of Capitaine de Vaisseau for yourself, and suitable
ranks for the officers serving under you. You will enjoy the pay
of that rank, and you will be entitled, together with your men,
to one-tenth share in all prizes taken."
"My men will hardly account it generous. They will tell you that
they can sail out of here to-morrow, disembowel a Spanish settlement,
and keep the whole of the plunder."
"Ah, yes, but with the risks attaching to acts of piracy. With us
your position will be regular and official, and considering the
powerful fleet by which M. de Rivarol is backed, the enterprises
to be undertaken will be on a much vaster scale than anything you
could attempt on your own account. So that the one tenth in this
case may be equal to more than the whole in the other.
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