苗疆小说网

第5章 The Old Man and the Big Fish（第1页）

Hischoicehadbeentostayinthedeepdarkwaterfaroutbeyondallsnaresandtrapsandtreacheries。Mychoicewastogotheretofindhimbeyondallpeople。Beyondallpeopleintheworld。Nowwearejoinedtogetherandhavebeensincenoon。Andnoonetohelpeitheroneofus。

PerhapsIshouldnothavebeenafisherman，hethought。ButthatwasthethingthatIwasbornfor。Imustsurelyremembertoeatthetunaafteritgetslight。

Sometimebeforedaylightsomethingtookoneofthebaitsthatwerebehindhim。Heheardthestickbreakandthelinebegintorushoutoverthegunwaleoftheskiff。Inthedarknessheloosenedhissheathknifeandtakingallthestrainofthefishonhisleftshoulderheleanedbackandcutthelineagainstthewoodofthegunwale。Thenhecuttheotherlineclosesttohimandinthedarkmadethelooseendsofthereservecoilsfast。Heworkedskillfullywiththeonehandandputhisfootonthecoilstoholdthemashedrewhisknotstight。Nowhehadsixreservecoilsofline。Thereweretwofromeachbaithehadseveredandthetwofromthebaitthefishhadtakenandtheywereallconnected。

Afteritislight，hethought，Iwillworkbacktotheforty-fathombaitandcutitawaytooandlinkupthereservecoils。IwillhavelosttwohundredfathomsofgoodCatalancordelandthehooksandleaders。Thatcanbereplaced。ButwhoreplacesthisfishifIhooksomefishanditcutshimoff?Idontknowwhatthatfishwasthattookthebaitjustnow。Itcouldhavebeenamarlinorabroadbillorashark。Ineverfelthim。Ihadtogetridofhimtoofast。

Aloudhesaid“，IwishIhadtheboy。”

Butyouhaventgottheboy，hethought。Youhaveonlyyourselfandyouhadbetterworkbacktothelastlinenow，inthedarkornotinthedark，andcutitawayandhookupthetworeservecoils。

Sohedidit。Itwasdifficultinthedarkandoncethefishmadeasurgethatpulledhimdownonhisfaceandmadeacutbelowhiseye。Thebloodrandownhischeekalittleway。Butitcoagulatedanddriedbeforeitreachedhischinandheworkedhiswaybacktothebowandrestedagainstthewood。Headjustedthesackandcarefullyworkedthelinesothatitcameacrossanewpartofhisshouldersand，holdingitanchoredwithhisshoulders，hecarefullyfeltthepullofthefishandthenfeltwithhishandtheprogressoftheskiffthroughthewater。

Iwonderwhathemadethatlurchfor，hethought。Thewiremusthaveslippedonthehillofhisback。Certainlyhisbackcannotfeelasbadlyasminedoes。Buthecannotpullthisskiffforever，nomatterhowgreatheis。NoweverythingisclearedawaythatmightmaketroubleandIhaveabigreserveofline;allthatamancanask。

“Fish，”hesaidsoftly，aloud，“IllstaywithyouuntilIamdead。”

Hellstaywithmetoo，Isuppose，theoldmanthoughtandhewaitedforittobelight。Itwascoldnowinthetimebeforedaylightandhepushedagainstthewoodtobewarm。Icandoitaslongashecan，hethought。Andinthefirstlightthelineextendedoutanddownintothewater。Theboatmovedsteadilyandwhenthefirstedgeofthesunroseitwasontheoldmansrightshoulder。

“Hesheadednorth，”theoldmansaid。Thecurrentwillhavesetusfartotheeastward，hethought。Iwishhewouldturnwiththecurrent。Thatwouldshowthathewastiring。

Whenthesunhadrisenfurthertheoldmanrealizedthatthefishwasnottiring。Therewasonlyonefavorablesign。Theslantofthelineshowedhewasswimmingatalesserdepth。Thatdidnotnecessarilymeanthathewouldjump。Buthemight。“Godlethimjump，”theoldmansaid。“Ihaveenoughlinetohandlehim。”

MaybeifIcanincreasethetensionjustalittleitwillhurthimandhewilljump，hethought。Nowthatitisdaylightlethimjumpsothathellfillthesacksalonghisbackbonewithairandthenhecannotgodeeptodie。

Hetriedtoincreasethetension，butthelinehadbeentautuptotheveryedgeofthebreakingpointsincehehadhookedthefishandhefelttheharshnessasheleanedbacktopullandknewhecouldputnomorestrainonit。Imustnotjerkitever，hethought。Eachjerkwidensthecutthehookmakesandthenwhenhedoesjumphemightthrowit。AnywayIfeelbetterwiththesunandforonceIdonothavetolookintoit。

Therewasyellowweedonthelinebuttheoldmanknewthatonlymadeanaddeddragandhewaspleased。ItwastheyellowGulfweedthathadmadesomuchphosphorescenceinthenight。

“Fish，”hesaid，“Iloveyouandrespectyouverymuch。ButIwillkillyoudeadbeforethisdayends。”

Letushopeso，hethought。

Asmallbirdcametowardtheskifffromthenorth。Hewasawarblerandflyingverylowoverthewater。Theoldmancouldseethathewasverytired。

Thebirdmadethesternoftheboatandrestedthere。Thenheflewaroundtheoldmansheadandrestedonthelinewherehewasmorecomfortable。

“Howoldareyou?”theoldmanaskedthebird。“Isthisyourfirsttrip?”

Thebirdlookedathimwhenhespoke。Hewastootiredeventoexaminethelineandheteeteredonitashisdelicatefeetgrippeditfast。

“Itssteady，”theoldmantoldhim。“Itstoosteady。Youshouldntbethattiredafterawindlessnight。Whatarebirdscomingto?”

Thehawks，hethought，thatcomeouttoseatomeetthem。Buthesaidnothingofthistothebirdwhocouldnotunderstandhimanywayandwhowouldlearnaboutthehawkssoonenough。

“Takeagoodrest，smallbird，”hesaid。“Thengoinandtakeyourchancelikeanymanorbirdorfish。”

Itencouragedhimtotalkbecausehisbackhadstiffenedinthenightandithurttrulynow。

“Stayatmyhouseifyoulike，bird，”hesaid。“IamsorryIcannothoistthesailandtakeyouinwiththesmallbreezethatisrising。ButIamwithafriend。”

Justthenthefishgaveasuddenlurchthatpulledtheoldmandownontothebowandwouldhavepulledhimoverboardifhehadnotbracedhimselfandgivensomeline。

Thebirdhadflownupwhenthelinejerkedandtheoldmanhadnotevenseenhimgo。Hefeltthelinecarefullywithhisrighthandandnoticedhishandwasbleeding。