about midnight
In one of these 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 .