young sea lawyers we found no less than five hooks, with pieces of line
attached; these were duly restored to their owners.

Another two hours passed, during which we had fairly good sport, then
the rain began to fall so heavily that we gave up for the day. We spent
the first part of the evening in the huts, eating, smoking, and talking,
and overhauling our tackle for the next day. It had been intended that
about midnight we should all go crayfishing in the shallow waters along
the shore of the islets, but this idea had to be abandoned in
consequence of the rain having soaked the coco palms--the dead branches
of which are rolled and plaited into a cylindrical form and used as
torches. The method of catching crayfish is very simple: a number of
men, each carrying a _kaulama_ torch about 6 feet in length in the left
hand, and a small scoop net in the right, walk waist-high through the
water; the crayfish, dazed by the brilliant light, are whipped up into
the nets and dropped into baskets carried by the women and children who
follow. They can only be caught on dark, moonless nights.

* * * * *

When we returned to the village our spoils included besides a great
number of fish, a few turtle and some young frigate birds. The latter
were captured for the purpose of being tamed. I made many subsequent
visits to the two islets, sometimes alone and sometimes with my native
friends, and on each occasion I left these lovely little spots with a
keen feeling of regret, for they are ideal resting-places to him who
possesses a love of nature and the soul of a fisherman.