366 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. XV. 
and begging them to be prepared for any emergency 
that might occur. 
At length I got an answer from Colonel Wakefield, 
with a newspaper containing an account compiled from 
the evidence taken before Mr. Spain, Dr. Evans, Mr. 
St. Hill, and Mr. Clifford, as Magistrates, at Cloudy 
Bay, with Mr. Meurant as interpreter. It was not, 
however, till I got to Wellington that I had an oppor- 
tunity of making myself fully acquainted with the facts, 
or to peruse the evidence which had been taken at Wel- 
lington, Nelson, and Cloudy Bay before Magistrates. 
Colonel Wakefield wrote me word that it was not 
considered advisable to make any attempt to take 
the murderers now, as without an adequate force the 
attempt would probably fail, and only lead to retaliation 
on out-settlers. 
A day or two after the first news, a slave had been 
sent by E Ahu to beg his son to come back imme* 
diately if he were still alive. For E Ahu had said he 
was sure I should kill his child in payment ; and 
under this supposition had furiously urged the Otaki 
natives to join Rauperaha and Ran^ihaeata in an 
attack on Wellington. This I afterwards heard from 
his own lips. 
When the slave had delivered his message to the 
boy, and a letter to me telling me to let him go, I 
turned inquiringly to TVahine iti, and explained to him 
that I should much prefer delivering him in person to 
his father, as I meant to walk along the beach to 
Poneke ; for that I had no fear of Rauperaha, though 
I did not wish to speak tohim. 
The lad eagerly said that I was quite right, and 
that he would not go till I went, and that if I went 
by sea he would go by sea ; and he joined me in a 
request to his father to come with an escort of armed 
