164 IN MALAY FORESTS. 



the fish writhed and struggled in her arms, its broad 

 tail splashed the water on every side, and its great 

 fleshy lips gasped into her face. But though she 

 was half dead with fright, her terror only made her 

 clutch the tighter. The other women rushed to help 

 her, and the first, not knowing what she was doing, 

 put her hand into the fish's mouth. 



Luckily it was a toothless carp-like creature, but 

 she was so surprised to find her hand there that she 

 could only stand still and scream. Another lady 

 seized the first round the waist, and with some 

 frenzied idea of rendering assistance wrestled with 

 her and nearly pulled her under water. It really 

 looked as if the fish was more than a match for 

 them all, when a man passed a rattan over the top 

 of the palisade, and a cool-headed lady slipped it 

 through the fish's gills, and it was eventually hauled 

 out by the men outside. 



A few of the ladies were however quite dexterous, 

 and set to work in the most business-like way, strung 

 each fish to their rattan-line as soon as they caught 

 it, and without a moment's delay scooped about for 

 another. 



The fish that gave the most play were the half- 

 pounders. One of them would leap high into the 

 air, at least three women would scream, and two or 

 three nets would be swept like butterfly-nets near 

 the place where it had been, and would wildly clash 

 in mid-air. 



By this time the fish would have fallen back into 

 the water, and a m&Ue of nets would wheel and dash 

 madly into the water after it. It was the wildest 



