d.

Altering his tactics now, and making short boards athwart the wake of
the canoe, Leslie found that the chase was once more holding her own,
this state of things prevailing until they had worked out an offing of
about nine miles, when the catamaran again began to gain, until she had
neared the chase to within about a quarter of a mile. Meanwhile Leslie
had been carefully considering the whole situation. He was by nature a
most humane man, one who would not willingly injure a fellow-being on
any account, and, indeed, would go far out of his way to do even a total
stranger a service; but there could be no two opinions upon the matter,
he told himself--these savages _must_ be made to understand that raiding
expeditions to this particular island were too dangerous and
unprofitable a pastime to be indulged in. He therefore once more opened
fire upon them, and now in deadly earnest, his first three shots
missing, while his fourth struck the hull of the canoe and made the
splinters fly. Then he scored two more misses, followed by a hit that
extorted a shriek from one of the crew. This last shot had the desired
effect; the canoe bore up and headed away to the southward and westward
with the catamaran hot in chase.

With wind and sea abeam, the chased and the chaser now went along with
considerably accelerated speed, the catamaran, however, having very much
the best of it; and within ten minutes from the moment of bearing up
Leslie found himself closing fast upon the canoe, and less than a
hundred yards astern of her. He now considered himself near enough to
administer a final lesson to her crew of impudent marauders--who, to do
them justice, were by this time looking scared out of their wits, and
extremely sorry that they had ever molested him--so he put his helm
down, hauled his fore sheet to windward, and dumped five raking shots
into the canoe as he swept athwart her stern. Instantly the whole crew,
dropping their paddles, flung themselves down into the bottom of the
craft, and buried their heads in their arms, as though they would by
that means protect themselves from the mysterious and terrible missiles
wherewith they were being assailed; while three white spots that started
into view on the hull of the canoe told that his shots had penetrated
her close to the water-line. Leslie now held his hand, for he had no
mind to take the lives of these savages unnecessarily; but he watched
them carefully, nevertheless.