第20章 英文版 10（第1页）

第20章英文版（10）

Youdidnotstaylohought。Butitisrougherwhereyuntilyoumaketheshore。HowdidIletthefishcutmewiththatonequickpullhemade?Imustbegettiupid。OrperhapsIwaslookingatthesmallbirdandthinkingofhim。NowIwillpayattentiontomyworkaeatthetunasothatIwillnothaveafailureth。

“IwishtheboywerehereandthatIhadsomesalt，”hesaidaloud。

Shiftiheliohisleftshoulderandkneelingcarefullyhewashedhishandintheodhelditthere，submerged，formorethagthebloodtrailawayaeadymovemeeragainsthishamoved。

“Hehasslowedmuch，”hesaid。

Theoldmanwouldhavelikedtokeephishaerlohewasafraidofanothersuddenlurchbythefishaoodupandbracedhimselfandheldhishandupagaiwasohathadcuthisflesh。Butitwasinthewpartofhishand。Heknewhewouldneedhishahiswasoveraliketobecutbeforeitstarted。

“Now，”hesaid，whenhishandhaddried，“Imusteatthesmalltuna。Ireachhimwiththegaffahimhereinfort。”

&downandfouuemwiththegaffaowardhimkeepihees。Holdihhisleftshain，andbrahislefthandahetunaoffthegaffhookandputthegaffbaplace。Heputohefishandcutstripsofdarkredmeatlongitudinallyfromthebackoftheheadtothetail。Theyweresahemfromhebaedowhebelly。Whesixstripshespreadthemoutonthewoodofthebow，wipedhiskrousers，ahecarcassofthebonitobythetailaoverboard。

“Idon’tthiireone，”hesaidanddrewhisknifeaeofthestrips。Hecouldfeelthesteadyhardpullofthelineahanded。Itdrewuptightontheheavydhelookedatitindisgust。

“Whatkindofahandisthat，”hesaid。“ifyouwant。Makeyourselfintoaclaw。Itwilldoyounogood。”

&houghtandlookeddowerattheslantofthelinowanditwillstreisnotthehand’sfaultandyouhavebeenmanyhourswiththefish。Butyoustaywithhimforever。Eatthebonitonow。

Hepickedupapiedputitinhismouthasloleasant。

&well，hethought，ahejuices。Itwouldoeatwithalittlelimeorwithlemonor>

“Howdoyoufeel，hahecrampedhandthatwasalmostasstiffasrigormortis。“I’lleatsomemoreforyou。”

&heotherpartofthepiecethathehadtwo。Hecheweditcarefullyaouttheskin。

“Howdoesitgo，hand?Orisittooearlytoknow?”

&ookanotherfullpiedchewedit。

“Itisastrongfull-bloodedfish，”hethought。“Iwasluinsteadofdolphin。Dolphinistoosweet。Thisishardlysweetatallahisstillinit。”

Thereisnosehingbutpracticalthough，hethought。IwishIhadsomesalt。AndIdonotkhesunwillrotordrywhatisleft，soIhadbettereatitallalthoughIamnothungry。Thefishisdsteady。IwilleatitallandthenIwillbeready。

&，hand，”hesaid。“Idothisforyou。”

IwishIcouldfeedthefish，hethought。Heismybrother。ButImustkillhimarongtodoit。Slowlyaiouslyheateallofthesoffish。

&enedup，wipinghishandonhistrousers。“Now，”hesaid。“Youlettheco，hand，andIwillhahtherightarmaloilyoustopthathisleftfootontheheavylihelefthandhadheldandlaybastthepullagainsthisback。

“Godhelpmetohavethecrampgo，”hesaid。“BecauseIdonotknowwhatthefishisgoingtodo。”

Butheseemscalm，hethought，andfollowinghisplan。Butwhatishispla。Andwhatismiimprovisetohisbecauseofhisgreatsize。IfhewilljumpIkillhim。

ButhestaysdowhenIwillstaydownwithhimforever。

&hecrampedhandagainsthistrousersalethefiitwouldnotopewillopenwiththesu。Maybeitwilloperongrawtued。IfIhavetohaveit，Iwillopenit，costwhateveritcosts。ButIdonotenitnowbyforce。Letitopenbyitselfandebackofitsownaccord。AfterallIabuseditmuthewasofreeahevariouslines。

Helookedacrosstheseaandknewhowalonehewasnow。Buthecouldseetheprismsinthedeepdarkwateraretgaheadaraiohecloudswerebuildingupnowforthetradewindandhelookedaheadandsawaflightofwilddugthemselvesagainsttheskyoverthewater，thenblurrigagainandheknewnomanwaseveralohesea。

&ofhowsomemenfearedbeingoutofsightoflandinasmallboaraheywererightihsofsuddeher。Butnowtheywereinhurrithsaherearenohurries，theweatherofhurrithsisthebestofalltheyear。

Ifthereisahurrieyoualwaysseethesignsofitintheskyfordaysahead，ifyouareatsea。Theydoashorebecausetheydonotknowwhattolookfor，hethought。Thelandmustmakeadiffereoo，intheshapeoftheclouds。Butwehavenohurriingnow。

HelookedattheskyaecumulusbuiltlikefriendlypilesoficedhighabovewerethethihecirrusagainstthehighSeptembersky。

“Lightbrisa，”hesaid。“Betterweatherformethanforyou，fish。”

Hislefthandwasstillcramped，buthewasunknottingitslowly。