7k啦言情小说

第7章 The Old Mans Victory（第2页）

Butthefishkeptoncirclingslowlyandtheoldmanwaswetwithsweatandtireddeepintohisbonestwohourslater。Butthecirclesweremuchshorternowandfromthewaythelineslantedhecouldtellthefishhadrisensteadilywhileheswam。

Foranhourtheoldmanhadbeenseeingblackspotsbeforehiseyesandthesweatsaltedhiseyesandsaltedthecutoverhiseyeandonhisforehead。Hewasnotafraidoftheblackspots。Theywerenormalatthetensionthathewaspullingontheline。Twice，though，hehadfeltfaintanddizzyandthathadworriedhim。

“Icouldnotfailmyselfanddieonafishlikethis。”hesaid。“NowthatIhavehimcomingsobeautifully，Godhelpmeendure。IllsayahundredOurFathersandahundredHailMarys。ButIcannotsaythemnow。”

Considerthemsaid，hethought。Illsaythemlater。

Justthenhefeltasuddenbangingandjerkingonthelineheheldwithhistwohands。Itwassharpandhard-feelingandheavy。

Heishittingthewireleaderwithhisspear，hethought。Thatwasboundtocome。Hehadtodothat。ItmaymakehimjumpthoughandIwouldratherhestayedcirclingnow。Thejumpswerenecessaryforhimtotakeair。Butafterthateachonecanwidentheopeningofthehookwoundandhecanthrowthehook。

“Dontjump，fish，”hesaid。“Dontjump。”

Thefishhitthewireseveraltimesmoreandeachtimeheshookhisheadtheoldmangaveupalittleline。

Imustholdhispainwhereitis，hethought。Minedoesnotmatter。Icancontrolmine。Buthispaincoulddrivehimmad。

Afterawhilethefishstoppedbeatingatthewireandstartedcirclingslowlyagain。Theoldmanwasgaininglinesteadilynow。Buthefeltfaintagain。Heliftedsomeseawaterwithhislefthandandputitonhishead。Thenheputmoreonandrubbedthebackofhisneck。

“Ihavenocramps。”hesaid。“HellbeupsoonandIcanlast。Youhavetolast。Dontevenspeakofit。”

Hekneeledagainstthebowand，foramoment，slippedthelineoverhisbackagain。Illrestnowwhilehegoesoutonthecircleandthenstandupandworkonhimwhenhecomesin，hedecided。

Itwasagreattemptationtorestinthebowandletthefishmakeonecirclebyhimselfwithoutrecoveringanyline。Butwhenthestrainshowedthefishhadturnedtocometowardtheboat，theoldmanrosetohisfeetandstartedthepivotingandtheweavingpullingthatbroughtinallthelinehegained。

ImtirederthanIhaveeverbeen，hethought，andnowthetradewindisrising。Butthatwillbegoodtotakehiminwith。Ineedthatbadly。

“Illrestonthenextturnashegoesout，”hesaid。“Ifeelmuchbetter。ThenintwoorthreeturnsmoreIwillhavehim。”

Hisstrawhatwasfaronthebackofhisheadandhesankdownintothebowwiththepullofthelineashefeltthefishturn。

Youworknow，fish，hethought。Illtakeyouattheturn。

Theseahadrisenconsiderably。Butitwasafair-weatherbreezeandhehadtohaveittogethome。

“Illjuststeersouthandwest。”hesaid。“Amanisneverlostatseaanditisalongisland。”

Itwasonthethirdturnthathesawthefishfirst。

Hesawhimfirstasadarkshadowthattooksolongtopassundertheboatthathecouldnotbelieveitslength。

“No，”hesaid。“Hecantbethatbig。”

Buthewasthatbigandattheendofthiscirclehecametothesurfaceonlythirtyyardsawayandthemansawhistailoutofwater。Itwashigherthanabigscythebladeandaverypalelavenderabovethedarkbluewater。Itrakedbackandasthefishswamjustbelowthesurfacetheoldmancouldseehishugebulkandthepurplestripesthatbandedhim。Hisdorsalfinwasdownandhishugepectoralswerespreadwide。

Onthiscircletheoldmancouldseethefishseyeandthetwograysuckingfishthatswamaroundhim。Sometimestheyattachedthemselvestohim。Sometimestheydartedoff。Sometimestheywouldswimeasilyinhisshadow。Theywereeachoverthreefeetlongandwhentheyswamfasttheylashedtheirwholebodieslikeeels。

Theoldmanwassweatingnowbutfromsomethingelsebesidesthesun。Oneachcalmplacidturnthefishmadehewasgaininglineandhewassurethatintwoturnsmorehewouldhaveachancetogettheharpoonin。

ButImustgethimclose，close，close，hethought。Imustnttryforthehead。Imustgettheheart。

“Becalmandstrong，oldman，”hesaid。

Onthenextcirclethefishsbackwasoutbuthewasalittletoofarfromtheboat。Onthenextcirclehewasstilltoofarawaybuthewashigheroutofwaterandtheoldmanwassurethatbygainingsomemorelinehecouldhavehimalongside。

Hehadriggedhisharpoonlongbeforeanditscoiloflightropewasinaroundbasketandtheendwasmadefasttothebittinthebow。

Thefishwascominginonhiscirclenowcalmandbeautifullookingandonlyhisgreattailmoving。Theoldmanpulledonhimallthathecouldtobringhimcloser。Forjustamomentthefishturnedalittleonhisside。Thenhestraightenedhimselfandbegananothercircle。