268 A MISSION TO VITI. 
canvas, soon lost sight of Nukubati and its young com- 
munity.* 
Macuata now began to revive. Ritova eagerly set 
about rebuilding his town on Nukubati, and white 
traders again flocked to the coast, as in days of yore. 
This turn of affairs was far from pleasing to the Ton- 
guese ; they were indefatigable in promoting discontent 
and disturbance, and scarcely had Ritova’s town been re- 
built than the Tonguese burned it down again. Bete, 
Maafu’s willing tool, could not resist the temptation of 
playing once more the traitor. Under the pretext of 
making a durable peace, he coaxed Ritova over to 
Naduri, where he had arranged with a party of moun- 
taineers to rush into the town and club Ritova and his 
family. Ritova went into the trap: fortunately his son 
heard of the scheme, and reported it to his father. Ri- 
tova went off in one of his canoes, professedly to drink 
kava, in reality to hold a council with his old men; 
whilst the son remained on shore to lull suspicion. 
Bete, in order to bring Ritova on shore, invited him to 
a bowl of kava; and the son, seeing the moment had 
arrived when all were to be massacred, told his father 
their imminent peril. They were all in Bete’s- power: 
what were they to do? The son urged the necessity of 
assuming the offensive, and killing Bete without delay ; 
Ritova hesitated, but the young fellow went ashore, met 
Bete just in front of his house, charged him with the 
* It is only up to this date that I can speak from personal experience 
of the events that occurred; what follows has been derived from a com- 
munication in the ‘ Athenzum,’ from private letters, and from Commodore 
Seymour’s and other dispatches published in the ‘ Fijian Blue-book.’ 
