Page:The crater; or, Vulcan's peak.djvu/419

 OR, VULCAN S PEAK. 179 due south-east. But the Neshamony had been quite round the volcano, without obtaining a sight of the strangers. Thence she proceeded to the Peak, where she arrived only a few hours after the governor had sailed, going into the cove and finding all quiet. Of course, the Martha could have no more to say than this, if as much ; and the governor was once more left to the pain of deep suspense. As was expected, when Betts joined, he had nothing at all to tell. He had been ashore at Rancocus Point, heard the complaints of the people touching their losses, but had obtained no other tidings of the wrong-doers. Unwilling to lose time, he staid but an hour, and had been beating back to the rendezvous the rest of the period of his ab sence. Was it possible that the strangers had gone back to Betto s group, satisfied with the trifling injuries they had inflicted ? This could hardly be ; yet it was not easy to say where else they had been. After a consultation, it was decided that the Martha should stand over in that di rection, in the hope that she might pick up some intelli gence, by meeting with fishing canoes that often came out to a large cluster of rocks, that lay several leagues to windward of the territories of Ooroony and Waally. Cap tain Betts had taken his leave of the governor, and had actually got on board his own vessel, in order to make sail, when a signal was seen flying on board one of the boats that was kept cruising well out in the straits, intimating that strange vessels were seen to windward. This induced the governor to recall the Martha, and the whole of the look-out vessels stood off into the straits. In less than an hour, all doubts were removed. There were the strangers, sure enough, and what was more, there was the Abraham ahead of them, pushing for Cape South passage, might and main ; for the strangers were on her heels, going four feet to her three. It appeared, after wards, that the pirates, on quitting Rancocus Island, had stood off to the southward, until they reached to windward of the volcano, passing however a good bit to leeward of the island, on their first stretch, when, finding the Peak just dipping, they tacked to the northward and westward, and stood off towards the ordinary whaling-ground of the colony, over which they swept in the expectation of cap-