第8章 The Sharks Attack

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H dd not nd a copass to tll h hr southst as. H only ndd th fl of th trad nd and th drang of th sal.I ttr put a sall ln out th a spoon on t and try and gt sothng to at and drnk for th ostur .But h could not fnd a spoon and hs sardns r rottn.So h hookd a patch of yllo gulf d th th gaff as thy passd and shook t so that th sall shrps that r n t fll onto th plankng of th skff.Thr r or than a dozn of th and thy jupd and kckd lk sand flas.Th old an pnchd thr hads off th hs thu and forfngr and at th chng up th shlls and th tals. Thy r vry tny ut h kn thy r nourshng and thy tastd good.

Th old an stll had to drnks of atr n th ottl and h usd half of on aftr h had atn th shrps.Th skff as salng ll consdrng th handcaps and h strd th th tllr undr hs ar.H could s th fsh and h had only to look at hs hands and fl hs ack aganst th strn to kno that ths had truly happnd and as not a dra. At on t hn h as flng so adly toard th nd,h had thought prhaps t as a dra.Thn hn h had sn th fsh co out of th atr and hang otonlss n th sky for h fll,h as sur thr as so grat strangnss and h could not lv t. Thn h could not s ll, although no h sa as ll as vr.

No h kn thr as th fsh and hs hands and ack r no dra.Th hands cur quckly,h thought.I ld th clan and th salt atr ll hal th.Th dark atr of th tru gulf s th gratst halr that thr s.All I ust do s kp th had clar.Th hands hav don thr ork and sal ll.Wth hs outh shut and hs tal straght up and don sal lk rothrs.Thn hs had startd to co a lttl unclar and h thought,s h rngng n or a I rngng h n?If I r tong h hnd thr ould no quston.Nor f th fsh r n th skff,th all dgnty gon,thr ould no quston thr.But thy r salng togthr lashd sd y sd and th old an thought,lt h rng n f t plass h.I a only ttr than h through trckry and h ant no har.

Thy sald ll and th old an soakd hs hands n th salt atr and trd to kp hs had clar.Thr r hgh cuulus clouds and nough crrus aov th so that th old an kn th rz ould last all nght.Th old an lookd at th fsh constantly to ak sur t as tru.It as an hour for th frst shark ht h.

Th shark as not an accdnt .H had co up fro dp don n th atr as th dark cloud of lood had sttld and dsprsd n th l dp sa.H had co up so fast and asolutly thout cauton that h rok th surfac of th lu atr and as n th sun.Thn h fll ack nto th sa and pckd up th scnt and startd sng on th cours th skff and th fsh had takn.

Sots h lost th scnt.But h ould pck t up agan,or hav just a trac of t and h sa fast and hard on th cours.H as a vry g Mako shark ult to s as fast as th fastst fsh n th sa and vrythng aout h as autful xcpt hs jas.

Hs ack as as lu as a sord fsh's and hs lly as slvr and hs hd as sooth and handso.H as ult as a sord fsh xcpt for hs hug jas hch r tght shut no as h sa fast,just undr th surfac th hs hgh dorsal fn knfng through th atr thout avrng.Insd th closd doul lp of hs jas all of hs ght ros of tth r slantd nards.Thy r not th ordnary pyrad-shapd tth of ost sharks.Thy r shapd lk a an's fngrs hn thy ar crspd lk clas.Thy r narly as long as th fngrs of th old an and thy had razor-sharp cuttng dgs on oth sds.Ths as a fsh ult to fd on all th fshs n th sa,that r so fast and strong and ll ard that thy had no othr ny.No h spdd up as h slld th frshr scnt and hs lu dorsal fn cut th atr.

Whn th old an sa h cong h kn that ths as a shark that had no far at all and ould do xactly hat h shd.H prpard th harpoon and ad th rop fast hl h atchd th shark co on.Th rop as short as t lackd hat h had cut aay to lash th fsh.

Th old an's had as clar and good no and h as full of rsoluton ut h had lttl hop.It as too good to last, h thought. H took on look at th grat fsh as h atchd th shark clos n.It ght as ll hav n a dra,h thought.I cannot kp h fro httng ut ay I can gt h.Dntuso,h thought.Bad luck to your othr.

Th shark closd fast astrn and hn h ht th fsh th old an sa hs outh opn and hs strang ys and th clckng chop of th tth as h drov forard n th at just aov th tal.Th shark's had as out of atr and hs ack as cong out and th old an could har th nos of skn and flsh rppng on th g fsh hn h rad th harpoon don onto th shark's had at a spot hr th ln tn hs ys ntrsctd th th ln that ran straght ack fro hs nos.Thr r no such lns.Thr as only th havy sharp lu had and th g ys and th clckng, thrustng all-sallong jas.But that as th locaton of th ran and th old an ht t.H ht t th hs lood ushd hands drvng a good harpoon th all hs strngth.H ht t thout hop ut th rsoluton and coplt algnancy .

Th shark sung ovr and th old an sa hs y as not alv and thn h sung ovr onc agan,rappng hslf n to loops of th rop.Th old an kn that h as dad ut th shark ould not accpt t.Thn,on hs ack,th hs tal lashng and hs jas clckng,th shark plod ovr th atr as a spd-oat dos.Th atr as ht hr hs tal at t and thr-quartrs of hs ody as clar aov th atr hn th rop ca taut ,shvrd, and thn snappd.Th shark lay qutly for a lttl hl on th surfac and th old an atchd h. Thn h nt don vry sloly.

“H took aout forty pounds,”th old an sad aloud. H took y harpoon too and all th rop,h thought,and no y fsh lds agan and thr ll othrs.

H dd not lk to look at th fsh anyor snc h had n utlatd.Whn th fsh had n ht t as as though h hslf r ht.

But I klld th shark that ht y fsh,h thought.And h as th ggst dntuso that I hav vr sn.And God knos that I hav sn g ons.

It as too good to last,h thought.I sh t had n a dra no and that I had nvr hookd th fsh and as alon n d on th nspaprs.

“But an s not ad for dfat,”h sad.“A an can dstroyd ut not dfatd.”I a sorry that I klld th fsh though,h thought.No th ad t s cong and I do not vn hav th harpoon.Th dntuso s crul and al and strong and ntllgnt.But I as or ntllgnt than h as. Prhaps not,h thought.Prhaps I as only ttr ard.

“Don't thnk,old an,”h sad aloud.“Sal on ths cours and tak t hn t cos.”

But I ust thnk,h thought.Bcaus t s all I hav lft. That and asall.I ondr ho th grat DMaggo ould hav lkd th ay I ht h n th ran?It as no grat thng, h thought.Any an could do t.But do you thnk y hands r as grat a handcap as th on spurs?I cannot kno. I nvr had anythng rong th y hl xcpt th t th stng ray stung t hn I stppd on h hn sng and paralyzd th lor lg and ad th unaral pan.

“Thnk aout sothng chrful,old an,”h sad.“Evry nut no you ar closr to ho.You sal lghtr for th loss of forty pounds.”

H kn qut ll th pattrn of hat could happn hn h rachd th nnr part of th currnt.But thr as nothng to don no.

“Ys thr s,”h sad aloud.“ I can lash y knf to th utt of on of th oars.”

So h dd that th th tllr undr hs ar and th sht of th sal undr hs foot.

“No,”h sad.“I a stll an old an.But I a not unard.”

Th rz as frsh no and h sald on ll. H atchd only th forard part of th fsh and so of hs hop rturnd.

It s slly not to hop,h thought.Bsds I lv t s a sn .Do not thnk aout sn,h thought.Thr ar nough prols no thout sn.Also I hav no undrstandng of t.

I hav no undrstandng of t and I a not sur that I lv n t.Prhaps t as a sn to kll th fsh.I suppos t as vn though I dd t to kp alv and fd any popl. But thn vrythng s a sn. Do not thnk aout sn.It s uch too lat for that and thr ar popl ho ar pad to do t.Lt th thnk aout t.You r orn to a fshran as th fsh as orn to a fsh.San Pdro as a fshran as as th fathr of th grat DMaggo.

But h lkd to thnk aout all thngs that h as nvolvd n and snc thr as nothng to rad and h dd not hav a rado,h thought uch and h kpt on thnkng aout sn.You dd not kll th fsh only to kp alv and to sll for food,h thought.You klld h for prd and caus you ar a fshran.You lovd h hn h as alv and you lovd h aftr.If you lov h,t s not a sn to kll h.Or s t or?

“You thnk too uch,old an,”h sad aloud.

But you njoyd kllng th dntuso,h thought.H lvs on th lv fsh as you do.H s not a scavngr nor just a ovng apptt as so sharks ar.H s autful and nol and knos no far of anythng.

“I klld h n slf-dfns,”th old an sad aloud.“And I klld h ll.”

Bsds,h thought,vrythng klls vrythng ls n so ay.Fshng klls xactly as t kps alv.Th oy kps alv,h thought.I ust not dcv yslf too uch.

H land ovr th sd and pulld loos a pc of th at of th fsh hr th shark had cut h.H chd t and notd ts qualty and ts good tast.It as fr and jucy ,lk at,ut t as not rd.Thr as no sprngnss n t and h kn that t ould rng th hghst prc n th arkt.But thr as no ay to kp ts scnt out of th atr and th old an kn that a vry ad t as cong.

Th rz as stady.It had ackd a lttl furthr nto th northast and h kn that ant that t ould not fall off.Th old an lookd ahad of h ut h could s no sals nor could h s th hull nor th sok of any shp. Thr r only th flyng fsh that nt up fro hs o salng aay to thr sd and th yllo patchs of gulf-d.H could not vn s a rd.

H had ald for to hours, rstng n th strn and sots chng a t of th at fro th arln,tryng to rst and to strong,hn h sa th frst of th to sharks.

“Ay,”h sad aloud. Thr s no translaton for ths ord and prhaps t s just a nos such as a an ght ak, nvoluntarly,flng th nal go through hs hands and nto th ood.

“Galanos.”h sad aloud.H had sn th scond fn no cong up hnd th frst and had dntfd th as shovl-nosd sharks y th ron, trangular fn and th spng ovnts of th tal.Thy had th scnt and r xctd and n th stupdty of thr grat hungr thy r losng and fndng th scnt n thr xctnt.But thy r closng all th t.

Th old an ad th sht fast and jad th tllr. Thn h took up th oar th th knf lashd to t.H lftd t as lghtly as h could caus hs hands rlld at th pan. Thn h opnd and closd th on t lghtly to loosn th.H closd th frly so thy ould tak th pan no and ould not flnch and atchd th sharks co.H could s thr d,flattnd,shovl-pontd hads no and thr ht-tppd d pctoral fns.Thy r hatful sharks, ad sllng,scavngrs as ll as kllrs,and hn thy r hungry thy ould t at an oar or th ruddr of a oat.It as ths sharks that ould cut th turtls'lgs and flpprs off hn th turtls r aslp on th surfac, and thy ould ht a an n th atr,f thy r hungry,vn f th an had no sll of fsh lood nor of fsh sl on h.

“Ay,”th old an sad.“ Galanos.Co on Galanos.”

Thy ca. But thy dd not co as th Mako had co.On turnd and nt out of sght undr th skff and th old an could fl th skff shak as h jrkd and pulld on th fsh.Th othr atchd th old an th hs slttd yllo ys and thn ca n fast th hs half crcl of jas d to ht th fsh hr h had alrady n ttn.Th ln shod clarly on th top of hs ron had and ack hr th ran jond th spnal cord and th old an drov th knf on th oar nto th junctur,thdr t,and drov t n agan nto th shark's yllo cat-lk ys.Th shark lt go of th fsh and sld don,sallong hat h had takn as h dd.

Th skff as stll shakng th th dstructon th othr shark as dong to th fsh and th old an lt go th sht so that th skff ould sng roadsd and rng th shark out fro undr.Whn h sa th shark h land ovr th sd and punchd at h.H ht only at and th hd as st hard and h arly got th knf n.Th lo hurt not only hs hands ut hs shouldr too.But th shark ca up fast and hs had out and th old an ht h squarly n th cntr of hs flat-toppd had as hs nos ca out of atr and lay aganst th fsh.Th old an thdr th lad and punchd th shark xactly n th sa spot agan.H stll hung to th fsh th hs jas hookd and th old an stad h n hs lft y.Th shark stll hung thr.

“No?”th old an sad and h drov th lad tn th vrtra and th ran.It as an asy shot no and h flt th cartlag svr.Th old an rvrsd th oar and put th lad tn th shark's jas to opn th.H tstd th lad and as th shark sld loos h sad,“Go on,galano. Sld don a l dp.Go s your frnd,or ay t's your othr.”

Th old an pd th lad of hs knf and lad don th oar.Thn h found th sht and th sal flld and h rought th skff onto hr cours.

“Thy ust hav takn a quartr of h and of th st at,”h sad aloud.“I sh t r a dra and that I had nvr hookd h.I' sorry aout t,fsh.It aks vrythng rong.”H stoppd and h dd not ant to look at th fsh no.Drand of lood and aash h lookd th color of th slvr ackng of a rror and hs strps stll shod.

“I shouldn't hav gon out so far,fsh,”h sad.“ Nthr for you nor for .I' sorry,fsh.”

No, h sad to hslf. Look to th lashng on th knf and s f t has n cut.Thn gt your hand n ordr caus thr stll s or to co.

“I sh I had a ston for th knf,”th old an sad aftr h had chckd th lashng on th oar utt.“I should hav rought a ston.”You should hav rought any thngs,h thought.But you dd not rng th,old an. No s no t to thnk of hat you do not hav.Thnk of hat you can do th hat thr s.

“You gv uch good counsl ,”h sad aloud.“ I' trd of t.”

H hld th tllr undr hs ar and soakd oth hs hands n th atr as th skff drov forard.

“God knos ho uch that last on took,”h sad.“But sh's uch lghtr no.”H dd not ant to thnk of th utlatd undr-sd of th fsh.H kn that ach of th jrkng ups of th shark had n at torn aay and that th fsh no ad a tral for all sharks as d as a hghay through th sa.

H as a fsh to kp a an all ntr,h thought.Don't thnk of that.Just rst and try to gt your hands n shap to dfnd hat s lft of h.Th lood sll fro y hands ans nothng no th all that scnt n th atr.Bsds thy do not ld uch.Thr s nothng cut that ans anythng.Th ldng ay kp th lft fro crapng.

What can I thnk of no?H thought.Nothng.I ust thnk of nothng and at for th nxt ons.I sh t had rally n a dra,h thought.But ho knos?It ght hav turnd out ll.

Th nxt shark that ca as a sngl shovl-nos.H ca lk a pg to th trough f a pg had a outh so d that you could put your had n t.Th old an lt h ht th fsh and thn drov th knf on th oar don nto hs ran. But th shark jrkd ackards as h rolld and th knf lad snappd.

Th old an sttld hslf to str.H dd not vn atch th g shark snkng sloly n th atr,shong frst lf-sz,thn sall,thn tny.That alays fascnatd th old an.But h dd not vn atch t no.

“I hav th gaff no,”h sad.“ But t ll do no good.I hav th to oars and th tllr and th short clu.”

No thy hav atn ,h thought.I a too old to clu sharks to dath.But I ll try t as long as I hav th oars and th short clu and th tllr.