Page:The crater; or, Vulcan's peak.djvu/432

192 THE CRATER; character, rather than on those which denote calculation and forethought. As the day advanced the pirates re-commenced their operations. The delay, however, had given the colonists a great advantage. There had been time to communicate with the Reef, and to receive the gun sent for. It hud greatly encouraged the people up at the town, to hear that their enemies were in the false channel ; and they re doubled their efforts, as one multiplies his blows on a re treating enemy. Pennock sent the governor most encou raging reports, and gave him to understand that he had ordered nearly all the men in from the out-posts, leaving just enough to have a look-out, and to keep the Kannakas in order. As it was now understood that the attack must be on the capital, there was every reason for taking this course. All the vessels were soon under way again. The pirates missed the Martha, which they rightly enough supposed had gone ahead. They were evidently a good deal puzzled about the channel, but supposed it must be somewhere to windward. In the mean time, the governor kept the Anne manoeuvring around the shoal, in the hope of luring the ship on it. Nor was he without rational hopes of success, for the brigs separated, one going close to each side of the sound, to look for the outlet, while the ship kept beating up directly in its centre, making a sinuous course towards the schooner, which was always near the shallow water. At length the governor was fully rewarded for his temerity ; the admiral had made a stretch that carried him laterally past the lee side of the shoal, and when he went about, he looked directly for the Anne, which was standing back and forth near its weather margin. Here the governor held on, until he had the satisfaction of seeing the ship just verging on the weather side of the shoal, when he up helm, and stood off to leeward, as if intending to pass out of the cul-de-sac by the way he had entered, giving his pursuers the slip. This bold manoeuvre took the pirate admiral by surprise, and being in the vessel that was much the nearest to the Anne, he up helm, and was plumped on the shoal with strong way on him, in less than five minutes ! The instant the governor saw this, he hauled his wind and