Let $\sum _ { k = 1 } ^ { 10 } f ( a + k ) = 16 \left( 2 ^ { 10 } - 1 \right)$, where the function $f$ satisfies $f ( x + y ) = f ( x ) f ( y )$ for all natural numbers $x , y$ and $f ( 1 ) = 2$. Then the natural number ' $a$ ' is:\\
(1) 3\\
(2) 16\\
(3) 4\\
(4) 2