and we establish ourselves in the favour of this new
government."

"Ah!" said Lord Julian, and he pulled thoughtfully at his lip.

"I see that you understand," Bishop laughed coarsely. "Two birds with
one stone, eh? We'll hunt this rascal in his lair, right under the
beard of the King of France, and we'll take him this time, if we reduce
Tortuga to a heap of ashes."

On that expedition they sailed two days later--which would be some three
months after Blood's departure--taking every ship of the fleet, and
several lesser vessels as auxiliaries. To Arabella and the world in
general it was given out that they were going to raid French Hispaniola,
which was really the only expedition that could have afforded Colonel
Bishop any sort of justification for leaving Jamaica at all at such
a time. His sense of duty, indeed, should have kept him fast in
Port Royal; but his sense of duty was smothered in hatred--that most
fruitless and corruptive of all the emotions. In the great cabin of
Vice-Admiral Craufurd's flagship, the Imperator, the Deputy-Governor got
drunk that night to celebrate his conviction that the sands of Captain
Blood's career were running out.

CHAPTER XXV. THE SERVICE OF KING LOUIS

Meanwhile, some three months before Colonel Bishop set out to reduce
Tortuga, Captain Blood, bearing hell in his soul, had blown into its
rockbound harbour ahead of the winter gales, and two days ahead of the
frigate in which Wolverstone had sailed from Port Royal a day before
him.

In that snug anchorage he found his fleet awaiting him--the four ships
which had been separated in that gale off the Lesser Antilles, and some
seven hundred men composing their crews. Because they had been beginning
to grow anxious on his behalf, they gave him the greater welcome. Guns
were fired in his honour and the ships made themselves gay with bunting.
The town, aroused by all this noise in the harbour, emptied itself
upon the jetty, and a vast crowd of men and women of all creeds and
nationalities collected there to be present at the coming ashore of the
great buccaneer.

Ashore he went, probably for no other reason than to obey the general
expectation. His mood was taciturn; his face grim and sneering. Let
Wolverstone arrive, as presently he would, and all this hero-worship
would turn to execration.

His captains, Hagthorpe, Christian, and Yberville, were on the jetty to
receive him, and with them were some hundreds of his buccaneer