As the governor expected, the ship did not venture to follow the Abraham in. That particular passage, in fact, was utterly unknown to Waally, and those with him, and he could not give such an account of it as would encourage the admiral to stand on. Determined not to lose time unnecessarily, the latter hauled short off shore, and made sail in chase of the Anne and Martha, which, by this time, were about mid-channel, heading across to the Peak. It was not the wish of the governor, however, to lead the strangers any nearer to the cove than was necessary, and, no sooner did he see the Abraham well within the islands, her sails concealed by the trees, of which there was now a little forest on this part of the coast, and the ship drawing well off the land in hot pursuit of himself, than he kept away in the direction of Rancocus Island, bringing the wind on his larboard quarter. The strangers followed, and in half an hour they were all so far to leeward of Cape South, as to remove any apprehension of their going in there very soon.
Thus far, the plan of the governor had succeeded to admiration. He had his enemies in plain sight, within a league of him, and in chase of his two fastest craft. The best sailing of the Anne and Martha was on a wind, and, as a matter of course, they could do better, comparatively, in smooth water, than larger craft. No sooner, therefore, had he got his pursuers far enough off the land, and far enough to leeward, than the governor wore, or jibed would be the better word, running off northwest, with the wind on his starboard quarter. This gave the strangers a little the advantage, in one sense, though they lost it in another. It brought them on his weather-beam; pretty well forward of it, too; but the Needle was directly ahead of the schooner and sloop, and the governor foresaw that his pursuers would have to keep off to double that, which he was reasonably certain of reaching first.
Everything turned out as the governor anticipated. The pirates had near a league of water more to pass over, before they could double the Needle, than the Anne and the Martha had; and, though those two crafts were obliged to haul up close to the rocks, under a distant fire from all three of their pursuers, no harm was done, and they were soon covered by the land, and were close-hauled in smooth water, to leeward of the group. Twenty minutes later, the strangers came round the cape, also, bearing up sharp, and following their chase. This was placing the enemy just where the colonists could have wished. They were now to-leeward of every point in the settlements, looking up towards the roads, which opened on the western passage, or that best known to Waally, and which he would be most likely to enter, should he attempt to pilot the strangers in. This was getting the invaders precisely where the governor wished them to be, if they were to attack him at all. They could not reach the Reef in less than twenty-four hours, with their knowledge of the channel; would have to approach it in face of the heaviest and strongest batteries, those provided for Waally; and, if successful in reaching the inner harbour, would enter it under the fire of the long twelves mounted on the crater, which was, rightly enough, deemed to be the citadel of the entire colony—unless, indeed, the Peak might better deserve that name.
Chapter XXVIII.
"It scares the sea-birds from their nests;
They dart and wheel with deafening screams;
Now dark—and now their wings and breasts
Flash back amid disastrous gleams.
O, sin! what hast thou done on this fair earth?
The world, O man! is wailing o'er thy birth."