He rose and stood over Pike, towering and menacing, his head almost touching the ceiling of the cabin. He spoke deliberately. «I'm telling you things is changed since we signed them articles. What I says is more nor any articles, and what I says is that the Valiant can have a tenth share of the plunder. Ye'd be wise to take it, remembering the saying that who tries to grasp too much ends by holding nothing.»
Pike stared up at him with fallen jaw. He had turned pale from the stress of the conflict within him between rage and prudence.
«By God, Easterling…» He broke off abruptly.
Easterling scowled down upon him. «Continue,» he commanded. «Finish what ye has to say.»
Pike shrugged despondently. «Ye know I dursn't accept your offer. Ye know my men would tear me in pieces if I did so without consulting them.»
«Then away with you to consult them. I've a mind to slit your pimpish ears so that they may see what happens to them as gets pert with Captain Easterling. You may tell your scum that if they has the impudence to refuse my offer they needn't trouble to send you here again. They can up anchor and be off to Hell. Remind 'em of what I says: that who tries to grasp too much ends by holding nothing. Away with you, Captain Pike, with that message.»
Not until he was back aboard his own ship did Captain Pike release the rage from which he all but bursted. And the sound of it, the tale he told in the ship's waist with the survivors of his crew about him, aroused in his violent followers a rage to match his own. Trenam added fuel to the flames by the views he expressed.
«If the swine means to break faith is it likely he'll stop half–way? Depend on it, if we accept this tenth, he'll find a pretext to cheat us of all. Captain Blood was in the right. We should never ha' put our trust in that son of a dog.»
One of the hands spoke up, voicing the feelings of all. «But since we've put it, we've got to see he keeps it.»
Pike, who was leaning by now to Trenam's despondent view of their case, waited for the chorus of angry approval to subside.