The Takuo. 
16 7 
I had but a fathom or two of line left inboard, 
I foolishly took a turn round a rowlock, and the 
hook snapped. Only that I was so excited and 
nervou:, I should have remembered that I ought 
to have gone either forward or aft, and thus let 
him tow the boat a bit; instead of this, by my 
remaining amidships, and the fish diving almost 
vertically in true albicore fashion, the boat re¬ 
mained stationary, and something had to go. 
However, I was well satisfied with our night’s 
fishing. I had caught one of the four takuo 
taken, and my pleasure was increased when the 
red sun shot up from the sleeping sea and re¬ 
vealed the beauties of our prizes with their 
broad dark-blue backs, sheeny silvery sides and 
bellies, and bright golden fins and armour-clad 
tails. 
From my wild, half-naked companions I 
learnt much of the habits of this great ocean 
fish, the flesh of which, despite its size when 
full-grown, is rather delicate even to European 
palates. Unlike the true albicore, which is 
almost a surface-swimming fish, the takuo 
haunts the coral beds at depths of from thirty 
to one hundred yards, or at any rate appear 
to do so, for they are usually caught in very 
