“ Yes—unless he is told the nature of the job,” said Peyrol.
“ Evidently. But where’s the bribe big enough to induce a man to taste of the English pontoons?”
“ The man will take the bribe all right and then will do his best not to be caught; and if he can’t avoid that, he will take jolly good care that the English should find nothing on board his tartane. Oh no, lieutenant, any damn scallywag that owns a tartane will take a couple of thousand francs from your hand as tame as can be; but as to deceiving the English Admiral, it’s the very devil of an affair. Didn’t you think of all that before you spoke to the big epaulettes that gave you the job?”
“ I did see it, and I put it all before him,” the lieutenant said, lowering his voice still more, for their conversation had been carr
