knew it better than the governor.

The three strangers all sailed like witches. It was well for the Abraham
that she had a port so close under her lee, or the ship would have had
her, beyond the smallest doubt. As it was she caught it, as she rounded
the cape, as close in as she could go, the frigate letting slip at her
the whole of her starboard broadside, which cut away the schooner's
gaff, jib-stay, and main-topmast, besides killing, a Kannaka, who was in
the main-cross-trees at the time. This last occurrence turned out to be
fortunate, in the main, however, since it induced all the Kannakas to
believe that the strangers were their enemies, in particular; else why
kill one of their number, when there were just as many colonists as
Kannakas to shoot at!

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