Page:The crater; or, Vulcan's peak.djvu/422

 loii THE CRATER; 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, be fore 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 pas sage, 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 chan nel ; would have to approach it in face of the heaviest and strongest batteries, those provided for Waally; and, if suc cessful 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.