410 Big Game Fishes 



Such a contrivance was utterly impossible to 

 a novice, and in my novitiate I afforded the 

 habitues of this portion of the reef no little 

 amusement. I succeeded in catching myself, 

 throwing myself over, and nearly losing my 

 teeth by forgetting to let go at the proper mo- 

 ment. But in the hands of Paublo the casting 

 of the net became a scene worthy the brush of 

 an artist. The object was to toss the folded net 

 so that it would radiate over the school; and to 

 accomplish this he spread it out in some way 

 over his left arm, holding a portion of the edge 

 between his teeth and the coil of cord in one 

 hand. In this position, crouching, moving step 

 by step, stealthily, toward the school, he reached 

 a casting distance, perhaps eight or ten feet, then 

 would stop, give a slight swing to the left, a long 

 turn to the right, and with all his force launch 

 the net into the air ahead of him. At once it 

 assumed a circular shape, dropping upon the 

 school, the lead weights sinking it to the bot- 

 tom, holding the mullets in its toils. He now 

 approached and began a series of twitches upon 

 the cord, which imparted a like movement to 

 the radiating cords, which presently hauled the 

 sinkers together, completely enclosing the fish 



