第6章 Tired of the Old Man

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It as gttng nto th aftrnoon and th oat stll ovd sloly and stadly.But thr as an addd drag no fro th astrly rz and th old an rod gntly th th sall sa and th hurt of th cord across hs ack ca to h asly and soothly.

Onc n th aftrnoon th ln startd to rs agan.But th fsh only contnud to s at a slghtly hghr lvl.Th sun as on th old an's lft ar and shouldr and on hs ack.So h kn th fsh had turnd ast of north.

No that h had sn h onc,h could pctur th fsh sng n th atr th hs purpl pctoral fns st d as ngs and th grat rct tal slcng through th dark.I ondr ho uch h ss at that dpth,th old an thought.Hs y s hug and a hors,th uch lss y,can s n th dark.Onc I could s qut ll n th dark.Not n th asolut dark.But alost as a cat ss.

Th sun and hs stady ovnt of hs fngrs had uncrapd hs lft hand no copltly and h gan to shft or of th stran to t and h shruggd th uscls of hs ack to shft th hurt of th cord a lttl.

“If you'r not trd,fsh,”h sad aloud,“you ust vry strang.”

H flt vry trd no and h kn th nght ould co soon and h trd to thnk of othr thngs.H thought of th Bg Lagus,to h thy r th Gran Lgas,and h kn that th Yanks of N York r playng th Tgrs of Dtrot.

Ths s th scond day no that I do not kno th rsult of th jugos,h thought.But I ust hav confdnc and I ust orthy of th grat DMaggo ho dos all thngs prfctly vn th th pan of th on spur n hs hl. What s a on spur?H askd hslf.Un spula d huso. W do not hav th.Can t as panful as th spur of a fghtng cock n on's hl?I do not thnk I could ndur that or th loss of th y and of oth ys and contnu to fght as th fghtng cocks do.Man s not uch sd th grat rds and asts.Stll I ould rathr that ast don thr n th darknss of th sa.

“Unlss sharks co,”h sad aloud.“If sharks co, God pty h and .”

Do you lv th grat DMaggo ould stay th a fsh as long as I ll stay th ths on?H thought.I a sur h ould and or snc h s young and strong.Also hs fathr as a fshran.But ould th on spur hurt h too uch?

“I do not kno,”h sad aloud.“I nvr had a on spur.”

As th sun st h rrd, to gv hslf or confdnc,th t n th tavrn at Casalanca hn h had playd th hand ga th th grat ngro fro Cnfugos ho as th strongst an on th docks.Thy had gon on day and on nght th thr los on a chalk ln on th tal and thr forars straght up and thr hands grppd tght.Each on as tryng to forc th othr's hand don onto th tal.Thr as uch ttng and popl nt n and out of th roo undr th krosn lghts and h had lookd at th ar and hand of th ngro and at th ngro's fac.Thy changd th rfrs vry four hours aftr th frst ght so that th rfrs could slp.Blood ca out fro undr th fngrnals of oth hs and th ngro's hands and thy lookd ach othr n th y and at thr hands and forars and th ttors nt n and out of th roo and sat on hgh chars aganst th all and atchd.Th alls r pantd rght lu and r of ood and th laps thr thr shados aganst th.Th ngro's shado as hug and t ovd on th all as th rz ovd th laps.

Th odds ould chang ack and forth all nght and thy fd th ngro ru and lghtd cgartts for h.Thn th Ngro,aftr th ru,ould try for a trndous ffort and onc h had th old an, ho as not an old an thn ut as Santago El Capon,narly thr nchs off alanc.But th old an had rasd hs hand up to dad vn agan.H as sur thn that h had th ngro,ho as a fn an and a grat athlt,atn.And at daylght hn th ttors r askng that t calld a dra and th rfr as shakng hs had,h had unlashd hs ffort and forcd th hand of th ngro don and don untl t rstd on th ood.Th atch had startd on a Sunday ornng and ndd on a Monday ornng.Many of th ttors had askd for a dra caus thy had to go to ork on th docks loadng sacks of sugar or at th Havana Coal Copany. Othrs vryon ould hav antd t to go to a fnsh.But h had fnshd t anyay and for anyon had to go to ork.

For a long t aftr that vryon had calld h Th Chapon and thr had n a rturn atch n th sprng. But not uch ony as t and h had on t qut asly snc h had rokn th confdnc of th ngro fro Cnfugos n th frst atch.Aftr that h had a f atchs and thn no or.H dcdd that h could at anyon f h antd to adly nough and h dcdd that t as ad for hs rght hand for fshng.H had trd a f practc atchs th hs lft hand.But hs lft hand had alays n a trator and ould not do hat h calld on t to do and h dd not trust t.

Th sun ll ak t out ll no,h thought.It should not crap on agan unlss t gts too cold n th nght.I ondr hat ths nght ll rng.

An arplan passd ovrhad on ts cours to Ma and h atchd ts shado scarng up th schools of flyng fsh.

“Wth so uch flyng fsh thr should dolphn,”h sad,and land ack on th ln to s f t as possl to gan any on hs fsh.But h could not and t stayd at th hardnss and atrdrop shvrng that prcdd rakng. Th oat ovd ahad sloly and h atchd th arplan untl h could no longr s t.

It ust vry strang n an arplan, h thought. I ondr hat th sa looks lk fro that hght?Thy should al to s th fsh ll f thy do not fly too hgh.I ould lk to fly vry sloly at to hundrd fathos hgh and s th fsh fro aov.In th turtl oats I as n th cross-trs of th ast-had and vn at that hght I sa uch.Th dolphn look grnr fro thr and you can s thr strps and thr purpl spots and you can s all of th school as thy s.Why s t that all th fast-ovng fsh of th dark currnt hav purpl acks and usually purpl strps or spots? Th dolphn looks grn of cours caus h s rally goldn. But hn h cos to fd,truly hungry,purpl strps sho on hs sds as on a arln.Can t angr,or th gratr spd h aks that rngs th out?

Just for t as dark, as thy passd a grat sland of Sargasso d that havd and sung n th lght sa as though th ocan r akng lov th sothng undr a yllo lankt,hs sall ln as takn y a dolphn.H sa t frst hn t jupd n th ar,tru gold n th last of th sun and ndng and flappng ldly n th ar.It jupd agan and agan n th acroatcs of ts far and h orkd hs ay ack to th strn and crouchng and holdng th g ln th hs rght hand and ar,h pulld th dolphn n th hs lft hand,stppng on th gand ln ach t th hs ar lft foot.Whn th fsh as at th strn,plungng and cuttng fro sd to sd n dspraton,th old an land ovr th strn and lftd th urnshd gold fsh th ts purpl spots ovr th strn.Its jas r orkng convulsvly n quck ts aganst th hook and t poundd th otto of th skff th ts long flat ody,ts tal and ts had untl h clud t across th shnng goldn had untl t shvrd and as stll.

Th old an unhookd th fsh,ratd th ln th anothr sardn and tossd t ovr.Thn h orkd hs ay sloly ack to th o.H ashd hs lft hand and pd t on hs trousrs.Thn h shftd th havy ln fro hs rght hand to hs lft and ashd hs rght hand n th sa hl h atchd th sun go nto th ocan and th slant of th g cord.

“H hasn't changd at all,”h sad.But atchng th ovnt of th atr aganst hs hand h notcd that t as prcptly slor.

“I'll lash th to oars togthr across th strn and that ll slo h n th nght,”h sad.“ H's good for th nght and so a I.”

It ould ttr to gut th dolphn a lttl latr to sav th lood n th at,h thought.I can do that a lttl latr and lash th oars to ak a drag at th sa t.I had ttr kp th fsh qut no and not dstur h too uch at sunst.Th sttng of th sun s a dffcult t for all fsh.

H lt hs hand dry n th ar thn graspd th ln th t and asd hslf as uch as h could and allod hslf to pulld forard aganst th ood so that th oat took th stran as uch,or or,than h dd.

I' larnng ho to do t,h thought.Ths part of t anyay.Thn too,rr h hasn't atn snc h took th at and h s hug and nds uch food.I hav atn th hol onto.Toorro I ll at th dolphn.H calld t dorado.Prhaps I should at so of t hn I clan t.It ll hardr to at than th onto.But,thn,nothng s asy.

“Ho do you fl,fsh?”h askd aloud.“I fl good and y lft hand s ttr and I hav food for a nght and a day.Pull th oat,fsh.”

H dd not truly fl good caus th pan fro th cord across hs ack had alost passd pan and gon nto a dullnss that h strustd.But I hav had ors thngs than that,h thought.My hand s only cut a lttl and th crap s gon fro th othr.My lgs ar all rght.Also no I hav gand on h n th quston of sustnanc.

It as dark no as t cos dark quckly aftr th sun sts n Sptr.H lay aganst th orn ood of th o and rstd all that h could.Th frst stars r out.H dd not kno th na of Rgl ut h sa t and kn soon thy ould all out and h ould hav all hs dstant frnds.

“Th fsh s y frnd too,”h sad aloud.“ I hav nvr sn or hard of such a fsh.But I ust kll h.I a glad do not hav to try to kll th stars.”

Iagn f ach day a an ust try to kll th oon,h thought.Th oon runs aay.But agn f a an ach day should hav to try to kll th sun?W r orn lucky,h thought.

Thn h as sorry for th grat fsh that had nothng to at and hs dtrnaton to kll h nvr rlaxd n hs sorro for h.Ho any popl ll h fd,h thought. But ar thy orthy to at h?No,of cours not.Thr s no on orthy of atng h fro th annr of hs havor and hs grat dgnty.

I do not undrstand ths thngs,h thought.But t s good that do not hav to try to kll th sun or th oon or th stars.It s nough to lv on th sa and kll our tru rothrs.

No,h thought,I ust thnk aout th drag.It has ts prls and ts rts.I ay los so uch ln that I ll los h,f h aks hs ffort and th drag ad y th oars s n plac and th oat loss all hr lghtnss.Hr lghtnss prolongs oth our suffrng ut t s y safty snc h has grat spd that h has nvr yt ployd.No attr hat passs ust gut th dolphn so h dos not spol and at so of h to strong.

No I ll rst an hour or and fl that h s sold and stady for I ov ack to th strn to do th ork and ak th dcson.In th ant can s ho h acts and f h shos any changs.Th oars ar a good trck;ut t has rachd th t to play for safty.H s uch fsh stll and I sa that th hook as n th cornr of hs outh and h has kpt hs outh tght shut.Th punshnt of th hook s nothng.Th punshnt of hungr,and that h s aganst sothng that h dos not coprhnd,s vrythng.Rst no,old an,and lt h ork untl your nxt duty cos.

H rstd for hat h lvd to to hours. Th oon dd not rs no untl lat and h had no ay of judgng th t. Nor as h rally rstng xcpt coparatvly.H as stll arng th pull of th fsh across hs shouldrs ut h placd hs lft hand on th gunal of th o and confdd or and or of th rsstanc to th fsh to th skff tslf.

Ho spl t ould f I could ak th ln fast,h thought.But th on sall lurch h could rak t.I ust cushon th pull of th ln th y ody and at all ts rady to gv ln th oth hands.

“But you hav not slpt yt,old an,”h sad aloud.“ It s half a day and a nght and no anothr day and you hav not slpt.You ust dvs a ay so that you slp a lttl f h s qut and stady.If you do not slp you ght co unclar n th had.”

I' clar nough n th had,h thought.Too clar. I a as clar as th stars that ar y rothrs.Stll I ust slp.Thy slp and th oon and th sun slp and vn th ocan slps sots on crtan days hn thr s no currnt and a flat cal.

But rr to slp,h thought.Mak yourslf do t and dvs so spl and sur ay aout th lns.No go ack and prpar th dolphn.It s too dangrous to rg th oars as a drag f you ust slp.

I could go thout slpng,h told hslf.But t ould too dangrous.

H startd to ork hs ay ack to th strn on hs hands and kns,ng carful not to jrk aganst th fsh.H ay half aslp hslf,h thought.

But I do not ant h to rst.H ust pull untl h ds.

Back n th strn h turnd so that hs lft hand hld th stran of th ln across hs shouldrs and dr hs knf fro ts shath th hs rght hand.Th stars r rght no and h sa th dolphn clarly and h pushd th lad of hs knf nto hs had and dr h out fro undr th strn.H put on of hs ft on th fsh and slt h quckly fro th vnt up to th tp of hs lor ja.Thn h put hs knf don and guttd h th hs rght hand,scoopng h clan and pullng th glls clar.H flt th a havy and slppry n hs hands and h slt t opn.Thr r to flyng fsh nsd.Thy r frsh and hard and h lad th sd y sd and droppd th guts and th glls ovr th strn. Thy sank lavng a tral of phosphorscnc n th atr. Th dolphn as cold and a lprous gray-ht no n th starlght and th old an sknnd on sd of h hl h hld hs rght foot on th fsh's had.Thn h turnd h ovr and sknnd th othr sd and cut ach sd off fro th had don to th tal.

H sld th carcass ovroard and lookd to s f thr as any srl n th atr.But thr as only th lght of ts slo dscnt.H turnd thn and placd th to flyng fsh nsd th to fllts of fsh and puttng hs knf ack n ts shath,h orkd hs ay sloly ack to th o.Hs ack as nt th th ght of th ln across t and h carrd th fsh n hs rght hand.

Back n th o h lad th to fllts of fsh out on th ood th th flyng fsh sd th.Aftr that h sttld th ln across hs shouldrs n a n plac and hld t agan th hs lft hand rstng on th gunal.Thn h land ovr th sd and ashd th flyng fsh n th atr,notng th spd of th atr aganst hs hand.Hs hand as phosphorscnt fro sknnng th fsh and h atchd th flo of th atr aganst t. Th flo as lss strong and as h rud th sds of hs hand aganst th plankng of th skff,partcls of phosphorus floatd off and drftd sloly astrn.

“H s trng or h s rstng,”th old an sad.“No lt gt through th atng of ths dolphn and gt so rst and a lttl slp.”

Undr th stars and th th nght coldr all th t h at half of on of th dolphn fllts and on of th flyng fsh, guttd and th ts had cut off.

“What an xcllnt fsh dolphn s to at cookd,”h sad.“And hat a sral fsh ra.I ll nvr go n a oat agan thout salt or ls.”

If I had rans I ould hav splashd atr on th o all day and dryng,t ould hav ad salt,h thought.But thn I dd not hook th dolphn untl alost sunst.Stll t as a lack of prparaton.But I hav chd t all ll and I a not nausatd.

Th sky as cloudng ovr to th ast and on aftr anothr th stars h kn r gon.It lookd no as though h r ovng nto a grat canyon of clouds and th nd had droppd.