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老人与海：50周年纪念版／（美）海明威（Hemingway, E.）著；张白桦译．—天津：天津社会科学院出版社，2011.7

ISBN 978-7-80688-679-3

Ⅰ．①老…　Ⅱ．①海…　②张…　Ⅲ．①中篇小说—美国—现代　Ⅳ．①I712.45

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（2011）第106486号

出版发行：天津社会科学院出版社

出　版　人：项　新

地　　　址：天津市南开区迎水道7号

邮　　　编：300191

电话／传真：（022）23366354

（022）23075303

电子信箱：tssap@public.tpt.tj.cn

印　　　刷：北京彩虹伟业印刷有限公司

开　　　本：880×1230毫米　1/32

印　　　张：6.5

字　　　数：180千字

版　　　次：2011年7月第1版　2011年7月第1次印刷

定　　　价：19.80元

版权所有　翻印必究

目录

CONTENTS

译者序

中文版

英文版

译者序

欧内斯特·海明威：美国小说家，1954年诺贝尔文学奖得主。

《老人与海》：影响人类历史的百部经典之一，美国历史上里程碑式的23本书之一，1986年法国《读书》杂志推荐的理想藏书。

1952年，海明威发表了他最优秀的作品《老人与海》。这是世界文学宝库中的珍品，也是海明威全部创作中的瑰宝，他也因为“精通于叙事艺术，突出表现在他的近著《老人与海》之中”而荣获诺奖。

在当今中国“伪娘”频现、中性盛行的时代，重读、重译《老人与海》，顿觉得主人公老人的“硬汉”形象、“重压之下的优雅风度”、“可以被毁灭，却不可以被打败”的精神都显得弥足珍贵。这部短小而不渺小的杰作，以大海般深厚的内涵，电报式的简洁语言，诠释了生存的意义、生命的尊严和精神的崇高。

译罢《老人与海》，心情还像大海的波涛一样，几个关键词依然还在心海上起伏不已，它们分别是：

一、简单

《老人与海》的故事简单得不能再简单，说的是一个老人圣地亚哥，打了八十四天的鱼空手而归以后，孤身一人划船到远海捕捞大鱼。在茫茫的大海上，在没水、没饭、没助手，甚至到最后连武器都没有的情况下，凭借大爱、大智、大勇，杀了一条大马林鱼、无数鲨鱼，带着一条比小船还大的大马林鱼的光秃秃骨架回航。

这样一个短短的中篇，揭示了人生哲学的深刻奥秘，这在以情节取胜的小说中实属罕见。

小说的时间非常紧凑，前后只有四天：出海的前一天，以老人从海上归来为引子，让周围的人物一个个出场，交代了他们与老人之间的关系：一个热爱他，跟他在一起学习钓鱼的孩子马诺林；一对非常自私的父母；一群尊敬他、但永远不能理解他的打鱼人；一个关心他的酒店老板。老人就生活在这样的人物群体中，相比之下，自称“古怪”的他是那样的与众不同：他阳光豁达，热爱生活，是个经验丰富、信心满满、勤劳勇敢、博爱温情的渔民。同时，这种轮辐式结构还能产生线索清晰明了、中心集中突出、故事简洁明快的效果。

关于创作，海明威有一个著名比喻：冰山通常十分之九都浸没在水下，作家要再现的是那露在水面上的十分之一，其余的应该留给读者思考和想象。

小说所采取的纵式结构方式，即在众多渔夫中选择老人圣地亚哥作为他小说中的主人公，选择了超可爱的孩子马诺林做老人的伙伴，选择了辽阔深远的大海作为老人捕鱼的典型环境，选择了一生中难得遇见的大马林鱼作为老人的对手，把这一系列情节的发展按自然的时空顺序安排在两天时间内进行，这样剪裁实际上有许多东西并没有被真正剪裁掉，而是让读者自己去完成，寓意深远。

而作为中国微型小说的第一代译者，可能也是因此而获得国家级奖项的唯一译者，我出身于“微”和“小”，使得我对见微知著、简约不简单有着更多的体会。而此书策划编辑刘桦在他的一篇文章《小心的成长》中所倡导的以“小”为美，“小”而乐之的理念与我不谋而合，这大概也是为什么我们从《老人与海》开始默契合作的原因了。

我在翻译的过程中，在拜读了前人各种译本的基础上，本着“翻译无定本”的原则，按照自己的理解和一贯的简洁风格来凸显译本的时代性特征，期待视野也更多地定位在今天的青少年读者身上。所以，我在用词遣字、句子结构，乃至语式、语气上都会自觉地体现这种取向，以青少年喜闻乐见为旨归，譬如：“死了都要干”、“超级倒霉”等等。我想这也是这个译本的一个比较“跳脱”的特色吧，希望可以“讨喜”于“亲们”。

二、真实

众所周知，真正的好作品都是用生命的历练做题材，《老人与海》就是根据真人真事写的。第一次世界大战结束后，海明威移居古巴，认识了老渔民格雷戈里奥·富恩特斯。1903年，海明威乘的船在暴风雨中遇难，富恩特斯搭救了海明威。从此，海明威与富恩特斯结下了深厚的友谊，并经常一起出海捕鱼。海明威也凭借这本书登上了世界文学现实主义的高峰，丰富了现实主义文学样式的表现力。

三、给力

圣地亚哥是海明威所崇尚的完美人格的象征：坚忍、担当、精神、仁爱。

第一是坚忍，即“硬汉”形象所反映的“重压下的优雅风度”。老人的渔船上那破旧的帆布，就像是一面失败的旗帜，仿佛在宣告着老人永远都捕不到鱼的倒霉运气。但是，他“不抛弃不放弃”，仍然出海捕鱼，而且要去远海捕捞大鱼。正是由于小说中体现了“人在充满暴力与死亡的现实世界中表现出来的勇气”而获得1954年诺贝尔文学奖。而获奖后的海明威患有多种疾病，给他身心造成极大的痛苦，没能再创作出很有影响的作品，这使他精神抑郁，终于以自杀这种方式解脱了自己。这也是海明威“硬汉精神”的另类追求。

第二是责任感。老人有着强烈的职业自觉，常常提醒自己是“为打渔而生的打渔人”，在年老体弱的时候，依然不忘担当，要“捕大鱼”。

第三是精神。老人“人可以被毁灭，却不能被打败”。这就是《老人与海》意欲揭示的哲理。从世俗胜利观的角度看，老渔夫不是最后的胜利者，因为尽管开始他战胜了大马林鱼，但是最终大马林鱼还是让鲨鱼吃了，他只是带着大马林鱼的光秃秃骨架回来的，也就是说，鲨鱼才是胜利者。然而，在理想主义者眼里，老渔夫就是胜利者，因为他始终没有向大海，没有向大马林鱼，更没有向鲨鱼妥协和投降。这让我们想起了音乐大师贝多芬所说的，“我可以被摧毁，但我不能被征服。”

人性是强悍的，人类本身有自己的限度，但正是因为有了老渔夫这样的人一次又一次地向限度挑战，超越它们，这个限度才一次次扩大，一次次把更大的挑战摆在了人类面前。这就是精神的悲壮，而只有精神上的胜利会让我们热泪盈眶，热血沸腾。

通过圣地亚哥的形象，作者热情地赞颂了人类面对艰难困苦时所显示的坚不可摧的精神力量。孩子准备和老人再度出海，他要学会老人的一切“本领”，这象征着人类这种“打不败”的精神将代代相传。

第四是仁爱的心。老人与其他生命类型之间的关系让我们看到了一颗充满人文情怀的心灵，不论是他与大马林鱼之间惺惺相惜，还是他对小鸟的细语温存，甚至他对对手鲨鱼的欣赏，更不用说他对另一个小“硬汉”——孩子的关爱，凡此种种，都勾画出一个西方版的侠骨柔情，令人唏嘘不已。

四、深刻

在美国文学史上，“可能没有比海明威更懂得生存的尊严来自何处”。老人要永远面临着无休止的挑战和痛苦，以及在这之后的失败，更加令人惊心动魄的是，他明知不可为而为之，为的只是他的尊严，也就是人类共有的尊严，也就是我们生存的意义。悲剧超越了他的失败，升华了存在的意义，精神上的胜利给了这些失败者和其创造者做人的尊严和勇气，同时又以一副面具去掩盖内心深处的、具有浪漫主义色彩的懦弱和自然主义宿命论。

任何一部真正的艺术品都能散发出象征和寓言的意味，这一部短小但并不渺小的杰作也是如此。用马林鱼象征人生的理想，用鲨鱼象征无法摆脱的悲剧命运，用大海象征变化无常的人类社会，而狮子则为勇武健壮，仇视邪恶，能创造奇迹的象征，圣地亚哥则是人类中的勇于与强大势力搏斗的“硬汉”代表，他那捕鱼的不幸遭遇象征人类总是与厄运不断抗争。

最后，我还要感谢家父张克桓和舍妹张帆对本书的润色和加工，他们作为本书的第一读者，提出过建设性的意见。没有他们，这本书的完成是不可想象的。

谨以此书纪念海明威去世50周年，献给人类高贵的精神。

是为序。

二零一零年岁末于塞外古城

他是个老人，独自一人划着一条小船在湾流(1)上捕鱼，到今天为止，已经八十四天了，一条鱼也没捕到。头四十天里，还有个男孩子给他做帮手。可是，过了四十天，还没捕到一条鱼，孩子的爸妈对小男孩说，老人可真是点儿背到家了，换句话说，超级倒霉(2)。就这样，孩子按照他们的吩咐，跟了另一条船，果然头一个礼拜就捕到了三条上好的鱼。孩子看见老人天天船总是空空地回来，心里很难过，于是，总要走下岸去，不是帮老人拿卷起的钓线，就是拿鱼钩和鱼叉，还有绕在桅杆上的帆。帆上用面粉袋片打过一些补丁，收拢后看起来活像一面屡战屡败的旗帜。

老人脖梗上长着深深的皱纹，显得消瘦而憔悴。双颊上长的那些褐斑，是阳光在热带海面上反射的光线所引起的良性皮肤癌变，褐斑从他的两颊一直蔓延下去。因为双手常用绳索拽大鱼，所以留下了被深深印刻的伤疤，但是这些伤疤中没有一块是新的，像无鱼可打的沙漠中被侵蚀的地方一般古老。他身上的一切都显得古老，除了那双眼睛，它们像海水一般蓝，是充满活力的、不会被打败的。

“圣地亚哥，”他俩从小船系船的地方往岸上爬的时候，孩子对他说，“我家挣到了一点儿钱，我又能跟你出海了。”

老人教会了这孩子捕鱼，孩子爱他。

“不要，”老人说，“你跟了一条交好运的船，还是跟他们在一起吧。”

“可你别忘了，你有一次八十七天钓不到一条鱼，接下来的三个礼拜，我们却天天都能捕到大鱼。”

“我没忘，”老人说，“我知道你离开我，不是因为信不着我。”

“是爸爸叫我离开的，我是小孩儿，不能不听他的。”

“我明白，”老人说，“是这么个理儿。”

“他信心不足。”

“是啊，”老人说，“可我们有，可是呗？”

“就是，”孩子说，“我请你到露台饭店(3)去喝杯啤酒吧？然后一起把打鱼的家伙带回去。”

“敢情好，”老人说，“咱都是打鱼人嘛。”

他们坐在饭店的露台上，不少渔夫笑话老人，老人并不着恼。其余那些上了年纪的渔夫望着他，心里觉得难受，却没有表现出来，只是客客气气地谈着海流，谈他们把钓线送到海面下有多深的地方，谈天气一直以来多么好，谈起他们的所见所闻。当天打鱼满载而归的渔夫都已经回来了，他们把大马林鱼剖开，一片片儿地铺在两块木板上，每块木板的两端由两个人抬着，一摇一摆地送到收鱼站。他们在收鱼站等冷藏车来把鱼运到哈瓦那的市场上去。捕到鲨鱼的人们已把鱼送到海湾另一头的鲨鱼加工厂去了，他们将鲨鱼吊在复合滑车上，挖去肝脏，割掉鱼鳍，剥掉鱼皮，把鱼肉切成一条一条的，以备腌制。

每当东风吹过，就会从海湾鲨鱼加工厂飘送过来一股鱼腥味；不过今天的风向了北吹，后来还渐渐消歇了，所以鱼腥味道变成淡淡的了。饭店露台上阳光灿烂，让人心旷神怡。

“圣地亚哥，”孩子说。

“哎，”老人说。他正握着酒杯，回忆好多年前的往事。

“我去弄点儿沙丁鱼，给你明天用，好不好？”

“不用。你打棒球去吧。我还划得动船，罗杰利奥会帮我撒网的。”

“我特想去。就算不能跟你钓鱼，我也很想给你多多少少搭把手。”

“你已经请我喝了杯啤酒，”老人说，“你已经是个长大的成人啦。”

“你头一回带我上船的时候我多大？”

“五岁，那天我把一条活蹦乱跳的鱼拖上船，鱼差点儿把船撞成碎片，你也险些送了命。你还记得吗？”

“我记得鱼尾巴砰砰的拍打声，船上划手的座板都给打得裂开了，还有你用棍子打鱼的声音。我记得你把我猛推向船头，船头上有一团团湿漉漉的钓线卷，我感到整条船都在颤抖，听到你啪啪地用棍子打鱼的声音，就像在砍一棵树，我当时觉得浑身上下都是甜丝丝的血腥味儿。”

“你当真记得那档子事儿，还是我刚刚跟你讲过？”

“从我们头一回一起出海时起，一桩一件我都记得清清楚楚。”

老人用他那双长年经受风吹日晒的眼睛看着他，目光坚定而慈爱。

“你要是我自己的孩子，我说什么也要带你出去闯一闯，”他说，“可你是你爸爸妈妈的孩子，上的还是一条交了好运的船。”

“我去弄点沙丁鱼来好吗？我还知道上哪儿能弄四个鱼饵来呢。”

“今天我自己的还没用完哩，我把它们放在盒子里腌上了。”

“让我给你去弄四条新鲜的吧？”

“一条也就够啦，”老人说。他从未丧失过希望和信心，而此时随着微风初起，重又生机勃勃了。

“两条吧，”孩子说。

“那就两条，”老人同意了，“别是偷的吧？”

“偷的就好啦，”孩子说，“可惜这些是买的。”

“谢谢你啦，”老人说。他的心地太单纯，不会去追究自己什么时候变得这么谦卑。可是他明白此时此刻已经变得谦卑了，他还明白这并不丢人，这样并没有真的使他丧失自尊。

“看这海流，明儿准是个好天儿。”他说。

“你想上哪儿去？”孩子问。

“到远处去，等风向转了就顺着风回来。我想天亮之前就出海。”

“我也要劝我现在的船主人到远处去，”孩子说，“这样的话，要是你真捕到了大鱼，我们可以赶去帮你了。”

“他可不乐意把船开到远海打鱼。”

“那是，”孩子说，“可我能看见他看不见的东西，比如说有只鸟儿在空中盘旋觅食，我看见了，我就提醒他去远海追鲯鳅。”

“他的视力这么差吗？”

“跟个瞎子差不离。”

“这可就怪啦，”老人说，“海龟那玩意儿才伤眼睛呐，他又没捕过。”

“你不也在莫斯基托海岸(4)外捕了那么多年海龟，你的眼力还不是挺好的？”

“我是个怪老头儿。”

“可现在要你去捕一条真正大鱼，你的力气够不？”

“我想还够，再说我还有不少窍门哩。”

“我们把打鱼的家伙拿回家去吧，”孩子说，“我也好拿了鱼网去捕沙丁鱼。”

他们从船上拿起打鱼的东西。老人扛起桅杆，孩子提起装着编织细密褐色钓线的木箱，还有鱼钩和带柄的鱼叉。放鱼饵的盒子藏在小船的船尾底下，那里还有那根棍子，是用来制服拖到船边大鱼的。没人会偷老人的东西，不过还是把桅杆和那些粗钓线带回家去的好，因为这些东西沾了露水不好。还有，虽说老人深信本乡本土的，不会有人来偷他的东西，同时他却又认为，把鱼钩和鱼叉留在船上实在是不必要的诱惑。

他们顺着大路一起走到老人的棚屋，棚屋的门敞开着，他们走进去。老人把裹着帆的桅杆靠在墙上，孩子把木箱和其他东西放在桅杆的旁边。桅杆的长度跟棚屋里的单间屋子差不离。棚屋是用当地人叫做“王棕”(5)的坚韧的苞壳盖成的，屋里有一张床、一张桌子、一把椅子，泥地上一处是用木炭烧饭的地方。褐色的墙是用韧性十足的“王棕”苞壳纤维压平了层层叠叠地砌成的，墙壁上有一幅彩色的《耶稣圣心图》(6)，另一幅是《科布莱圣母图》(7)。这些都是他妻子的遗物。墙上原来还挂一幅他妻子的彩照，可他一看见就觉得自己太孤清，于是把照片取了下来。如今照片在屋角架子上他的一件干净衬衫的下面。

“你得吃点儿什么吧？”

“有一锅鱼煮黄米饭，你来点儿？”

“不啦，我回家吃。用我给你生火吗？”

“不用啦，过一会儿我自己生，要不就吃冷饭得了。”

“我把鱼网拿走吧？”

“敢情好。”

其实已经没有鱼网了，孩子还记得他们是什么时候卖掉的。可他们每天要这样装模作样地演一遍。也没有什么鱼煮黄米饭，对此，孩子也不是不知道。

“八十五是个吉利的数，”老人说，“你想不想看我捕回一条去了内脏还有一千多磅重的鱼呀？”

“我拿鱼网捕沙丁鱼去，你坐在门口晒晒太阳怎么样？”

“好啊。我有张昨天的报纸，我来看看棒球新闻。”孩子不知道所谓昨天的报纸是不是也是编造出来的，而老人却真的从床下取出了报纸。

“是佩里科(8)在杂货店里给我的，”他解释说。

“我捕了沙丁鱼就回来。我要把你的鱼跟我的鱼一起用冰镇上，这样明儿早上就可以分着用了。等我回来以后，你给我讲讲棒球消息。”

“扬基队是不会输的。”

“可我担心克利夫兰印第安人队会赢啊。”

“相信扬基队吧，我的孩子，别忘了还有那个伟大的迪马吉奥(9)。”

“我担心底特律老虎队和克利夫兰印第安人队赢。”

“小心点儿，不要连辛辛那提红队和芝加哥白袜队都怕起来啦。”

“你仔细研究研究，我回来了好给我讲讲。”

“你看我们是不是该去买张末尾是八五的彩票呢？明儿就是第八十五天。”

“完全可以，”孩子说，“不过你上次破的伟大纪录是八十七天，这才哪儿到哪儿？”

“这种事儿不会再发生啦。你看能弄到一张末尾是八五的彩票吗？”

“我可以去预订一张。”

“那就预订一张。一张两块五，我们跟谁借这笔钱呢？”

“这容易，两块五我总能借到的。”

“我看我大概也能借着。不过我不想借钱，头一遭借钱，下一遭就要讨饭啰。”

“别冻着，老爷子，”孩子说，“别忘了，我们现在是九月天。”

“正是大鱼露脸的月份，”老人说，“谁在五月里谁都是好渔夫。”

“我现在去搞沙丁鱼啦。”孩子说。

等孩子回来的时候，老人已经在椅子上睡着了，太阳也已经落了下去。孩子从床上捡起一条旧军毯，搭在椅背上，盖住了老人的肩。这肩膀可不寻常，人虽然很老了，肩膀却依然健硕有力，脖子也依旧很结实。此外，因为老人睡着的时候，脑袋是向前耷拉着，所以皱纹也没那么明显了。他的衬衫上不知打了多少次补丁，结果他的衬衫就像他那张帆似的，补丁被阳光晒得褪了色，深深浅浅，各不相同。不过，老人的头已经非常老迈，眼睛一闭上，脸上就了无生气了。报纸摊在他膝盖上，在晚风中，要不是有他一条胳臂压着，早就吹走了。他的两只脚都光着。

孩子不想惊动老人，转身离开了，等他回来时，老人还没醒。

“醒醒，老爷子。”孩子说着，一只手放到了老人的膝盖上。老人睁开眼睛，一时间仿佛正在从好远好远的地方回过神来似的。随后他微微地笑了。

“你搞到什么东西了？”他问道。

“晚饭，”孩子说，“我们就要吃晚饭啦。”

“我不太饿。”

“快吃吧，你哪能光打鱼不吃饭呢。”

“我又不是没这么着过，”老人说着，起身拿起报纸，把报纸折好。然后他动手叠军毯。

“把毯子披上吧，”孩子说，“只要我活着，绝不让你不吃饭就去打鱼。”

“那就祝你长命百岁，多照顾你自己吧，”老人说，“我们吃什么啊？”

“黑豆炒饭、油煎香蕉，还有点儿炖菜。”

饭菜是孩子从露台饭店拿来的，用一个双层金属饭盒盛着。两套刀叉和汤匙在他的口袋里，每一套都用纸餐巾包着。

“这是谁给你的啊？”

“那个老板，马丁。”

“我一定要谢他。”

“我已经谢过了呀，”孩子说，“你用不着再谢了。”

“我要送他一块大鱼肚子上的肉，”老人说，“他这么帮我们不止一次了吧？”

“我想是的。”

“那样的话，我除了鱼肚子上的肉以外，得再送他一些东西。他对我们够贴心的。”

“他还送了两瓶啤酒呢。”

“我顶喜欢罐装的。”

“我知道。不过这是瓶装的，哈图伊斯牌啤酒，我还得把瓶子送回去。”

“你真细心，”老人说，“我们开始吃吗？”

“我已经叫过你啦，”孩子柔声说道，“你没准备好，我是不会开饭盒的呀。”

“我现在已经准备好啦，”老人说，“我只要一会儿功夫，把手脸洗一下就够啦。”

你上哪儿去洗啊？孩子心中暗想。村里的供水处在路的那头，还要过两条马路呢。我本该给把水带到这里来的，孩子想，还该带一块肥皂和一条干净毛巾来，我怎么这么粗心大意呢？我本该再弄件衬衫和一件过冬的茄克衫来，还要一双随便什么样的鞋子，外加一块毯子来。

“你带回来的炖菜好极啦。”老人说。

“给我讲讲棒球赛的消息吧。”孩子求他道。

“我以前就说过，在全美联赛中，扬基队总是常胜将军。”老人眉开眼笑地说。

“他们今儿个可是输了。”孩子告诉他。

“这不算什么，伟大的迪马吉奥恢复他的英雄本色了。”

“他们队里还有别的好手呢。”

“可不是，不过有了他就大不一样了。在另一联赛中，如在布鲁克林队和费城队之间选择，我就一准儿支持布鲁克林队。不过话得说回来，我当时还想起了迪克·西斯勒和他在老公园(10)里打出的那些好球。”

“这些好球空前绝后，那么远的击球，我还是平生头一次看到。”

“你还记得他过去常来露台饭店吗？我想带他出海捕鱼，却不敢对他说。所以我怂恿你去说，可你也不敢。”

“我记得呀。其实我们真是大错而特错了，只要我们开口，他完全有可能同意跟我们一起出海的。要是他真跟我们一起出海，那可就成了我们一辈子回味不尽的事啦。”

“我可想带那个伟大的迪马吉奥去钓鱼来着，”老人说，“听说他父亲也是个打鱼的，也许他当初跟我们一样穷，能懂我们的心意呢。”

“伟大的西斯勒的爸爸倒是从来没有受过穷，他爸爸像我这样年纪的时候就在‘全国棒球总会’里打球了。”

“我像你这么大的时候，就在一条去非洲的横帆船上当普通水手了，傍晚的时候我还见过到海滩上来的狮子呢。”

“我知道，你告诉过我。”

“我们是说非洲，还是说棒球呢？”

“我看还是说棒球吧，”孩子说，“给我说说那个伟大的约翰·J·麦格劳的事儿。”他把这个J念成了“何塔”。

“往日里，他有时候也到露台饭店来。可他一喝上了酒，人就粗暴起来，说话伤人，不好相处。他脑子里想着棒球，也想着赛马。起码他的口袋里总是揣着赛马的名单，在电话里也常常提到一些赛马的名字。”

“他是个伟大的球队经理，”孩子说，“我爸爸认为他是最伟大的球队经理。”

“那是因为他来这儿的次数最多，”老人说，“要是多罗切年年都来这儿，你爸爸就会认为多罗切是最伟大的经理啦。”

“说真的，你说说谁是最伟大的经理，是卢克还是迈克·冈萨雷斯？”

“我认为他们俩不相上下。”

“而最棒的渔夫是你。”

“不对，比我强的多得是，我知道。”

“那又怎么样！(11)”孩子说，“棒渔夫不少，还有一些很伟大，可你是独一无二的。”

“谢谢你，你把我哄乐了。但愿不要来条大鱼，让我对付不了，那样就说明我们说错啦。”

“只要你还像你说的力气那么大，这种鱼就不存在。”

“也许我没有我想象的那么壮了，”老人说，“可我懂不少诀窍，还有决心。”

“你现在该去睡觉了，这样明儿早上精神才会足。我也要把这些东西送回露台饭店去。”

“那就祝你晚安。明天早上我去叫你。”

“你就是我的闹钟。”孩子说。

“岁数是我的闹钟，”老人说，“为什么老人醒得特别早？莫不是要延长白天的时间？”

“我不懂，”孩子说，“我只知道小男孩爱睡懒觉，睡不够。”

“我记住了，”老人说，“我会按时叫醒你的。”

“我不愿让船主人来叫醒我，这样一来好像我不如他似的。”

“我明白。”

“睡个好觉吧，老爷子。”

孩子出了门。他们刚才吃饭的时候，也没在桌子上点灯，所以孩子走了以后，老人就脱了长裤，摸黑直接上了床。他把长裤卷起来当枕头，把那张报纸塞了进去，然后用军毯裹住身子，在铺着旧报纸的弹簧床上躺了下来。

没过多久，他就睡着了，还梦见了小时候见到的非洲，长长的金色海滩和白色海滩，白得晃眼，还有高耸的海岬和褐色的大山。每天夜里，在梦里，他都会回到那个海岸边，在那里生活，听得到海浪拍岸的隆隆声，看得到当地的土人乘船破浪前行。在梦里，他闻得到甲板上柏油和麻絮的味道，还闻得到早晨陆地上吹来的风送来的非洲气息。

通常情况下，他一闻到陆地上刮来的微风，就会从梦中醒来，穿上衣服，去唤醒孩子。可是今夜陆地上刮来的微风来得特别早，梦中的他知道时间尚早，就继续把梦做下去，梦见群岛的白色峰顶从海面上升起，接着梦见了加那利群岛(12)的各种各样的港湾和锚泊地。

他不再梦见风暴，不再梦见女人，不再梦见重大事件，不再梦见大鱼，不再梦见搏斗，不再梦见角力，不再梦见妻子。现在的他只能梦见目前所在的地方和海滩上的狮子。在暮色中，狮子们像小猫一般嬉戏着。他爱这些狮子，如同爱这个孩子。他从没梦见过这个孩子。他就这么醒了过来，透过敞开的门望了望外面的月亮，把长裤展开穿上。他在棚屋外撒了泡尿，然后顺着大路走，去叫醒孩子。清晨的寒气冻得他直打哆嗦，可他明白，哆嗦以后身体会暖和起来，而他很快就要去划船了。

孩子住的那所房子的门没有上锁，他推开门，光着脚悄悄走了进去。孩子躺在外间的一张帆布床上，睡梦正酣。借着屋外的一轮残月的余晖，老人能够清清楚楚地看见他。老人轻轻地握住孩子的一只脚，直到孩子给握醒了，转过脸来望着他。老人点点头，孩子从床边椅子上拿起长裤，坐在床沿上把裤子穿上。

老人出得门来，孩子随即跟了上来。他还是昏昏欲睡，老人伸出胳臂搂住他的肩膀说：“对不起。”

“什么呀！”孩子说，“男子汉大丈夫就应该这样。”

黑暗中，他们顺着大路朝老人的棚屋走去，一路上，有些光脚的男人扛着自己船上的桅杆在走动。

他们走进老人的棚屋，孩子拿起装在篮子里的钓线卷，还有鱼叉和鱼钩，老人把裹着帆的桅杆扛上了肩。

“你想喝咖啡吗？”孩子问道。

“我们先把东西放在船里，然后再喝点咖啡吧。”

他们在一家供应渔夫的小吃馆里，喝着盛在炼乳罐里的咖啡，这家小吃馆一大清早就开门营业。

“你睡得怎么样，老爷子？”孩子问。他此时已经渐渐醒了过来，可是要他彻底摆脱睡意却没那么容易。

“睡得非常好，马诺林，”老人说，“我感到今天挺有胜算。”

“我也是，”孩子说，“现在，我得去拿你和我用的沙丁鱼，还有你的新鲜鱼饵。他那条船上的东西总是他自己拿的，他从来不要别人帮他拿东西。”

“我们可不是这样，”老人说，“你五岁时我就让你帮忙拿东西了。”

“我记得呀，”孩子说，“我去去就回。再喝杯咖啡吧，我们可以在这儿赊账。”

他走了，光着脚在珊瑚石铺的路上，向贮藏鱼铒的冷藏库走去。

老人慢慢地喝着咖啡。他今儿一整天只喝这个，他知道应该把它全都喝光。迄今为止，他已经厌食好长时间了，他出海还从来没带过午饭。他在小船的船头上放了一瓶水，一整天只喝一瓶水就够了。

这时，孩子带着沙丁鱼和用报纸包的两份鱼饵回来了，于是他们顺着小路向小船走去，感到脚下的沙地里嵌着鹅卵石。他们抬起小船，把小船滑进海里。

“祝你好运，老爷子！”

“也祝你好运。”老人说。他把桨上的绳圈套在桨索拴上，弯下腰来，把船桨往水里一撑，在黑暗中把船划出了港。别的海滩上也有其他船只在出海，虽然此刻月亮已落到了山后，老人看不清他们，却听得到他们的船桨入水和划动的声音。

偶尔会有人在船上说话，然而除了桨声外，大多数船只都静悄悄的。它们一出港口就四散开来，向有望能捕到鱼的那片海面划去。老人清楚自己要驶向远方，所以把陆地的气息抛在身后，划进大海清晨清新的气息中。他划过海里的一片水域，看见果囊马尾藻发出闪闪的磷光，渔夫们管这片水域叫“大井”，因为那儿水深骤然深至七百英寻(13)，海流冲击着海床深渊的峭壁，形成了旋涡，各种各样的鱼儿都齐聚集于此。这里集中着海虾和当鱼饵用的小鱼，在那些深不可测的水底洞穴里，有时还有成群结队的乌贼鱼，它们在夜间浮到紧贴海面的地方，东游西逛的大鱼就地把它们吃掉。

虽然是在黑暗里，老人依然能够感觉到清晨正在一步步地临近，他划呀划，同时耳中听得见飞鱼掠出水面时的颤抖声，还有它们在黑暗中腾空而起时坚挺的翅膀所发出的咝咝声。他超喜欢飞鱼，因为飞鱼是自己在大海上的主要朋友。他为鸟儿们伤感，特别是那些弱弱的黑黑的小燕鸥，它们一直在为了食物飞来飞去，寻寻觅觅，但几乎总是无功而返，他就想，在鸟类中，除了那些猛禽和高大威猛的大鸟，其余鸟儿的生活比我们人类还要艰难。既然大海这样残暴无情，为什么鸟儿，比如这些海燕，这样的鸟儿却生得这般柔弱纤巧呢？大海既仁慈和善又美轮美奂，然而她却会变得这般残暴无情，又来得这样猝不及防，而这些飞翔的鸟儿，俯冲下来觅食，微弱地哀鸣着，它们太柔弱了，不适宜在海上生存。

每当他想起海洋，总是叫她lamar，这是人们热爱大海的时候用西班牙语对她的叫法。有时候，热爱大海的人们也说大海的坏话，不过总是把大海当做女性看待的。有些年轻些的渔夫，就是那些用浮标当钓线上的浮子，靠出售鲨鱼肝赚了大笔大笔的钱置办了汽艇的人，都管海洋叫elmar，这是把大海当做男性的叫法。他们说起大海时，是把大海当做竞争对手或是一个地方，甚至是一个敌人。然而，老人总是把大海当做女性，她或是给予人或是不愿给予人莫大的恩惠。倘若她做出了什么狂野或者缺德的事儿来，那是由于她身不由己，情不自禁。他以为，月亮对大海产生影响，就像月亮对女人产生影响一样。

他不慌不忙地划着，因为他恰到好处把速度控制在自己正常速度的范围之内，所以对于他来说并不吃力。除了偶尔有几处水流旋涡儿之外，海面平静安宁。他正让海流帮他干三分之一的活儿的时候，天色渐亮，他发现，与预想此时到达的地方相比，自己划远了。

我在这“深井”里打了一个礼拜的鱼，却空手而归，他想，今天，我要找到那些鲣鱼和长鳍金枪鱼群在什么地方，说不定还有条大鱼跟它们在一块呢。

天色还没大亮，他就放出了一个又一个鱼饵，让船随着海流漂着。一个鱼饵沉到了四十英寻深的地方。第二个在七十五英寻的地方，第三个和第四个分别在蓝色海水中一百英寻和一百二十五英寻的地方。每个鱼饵都是由新鲜沙丁鱼做的，个个头朝下，钓钩的钩身穿进小鱼的身体，被扎紧缝牢了。钓钩的所有突出部分，包括弯钩和尖端，都包裹在鱼肉里。每一条沙丁鱼都用钓钩穿过双眼，这样一来，鱼的身子在突出的钢钩上构成了半个圆形，不论大鱼接触到钓钩的哪部分，都是香浓美味的。

孩子给了他两条新鲜的小金枪鱼，或者叫长鳍金枪鱼，它们正像测深锤似地挂在那两根最深的钓线上。他在其余钓线挂了一条蓝色的大西洋大蓝鲹鱼和一条黄色的狗鱼，这些钓饵以前都用过，但保存完好，更不用说还有质量上乘的沙丁鱼给它们增添香味和吸引力。每根钓线有粗铅笔那么粗，钓线的一端都缠在一根被侵蚀成绿色的钓竿上，这样，只要鱼一拉或者一碰鱼饵，钓竿就会沉下来。而每根钓线有两个四十英寻长的钓线卷，可以牢牢地系在其他备用的钓线卷上，这一来，需要的时候，一条鱼可以拉出三百多英寻长的钓线来。

此时此刻，老人一面紧盯着在小船边伸出的那三根钓竿，观察着动静，一面轻轻地划着小船，保持钓索垂直向下，深度适宜。天光已经大亮，太阳随时都会喷薄而起。

太阳从海上升起来了，阳光微弱。老人看见其他船只，朝着海岸的方向，低低地贴着水面，与海流呈垂直角度散开。接下来，太阳愈见明亮起来，耀眼的阳光照在海面上。再接着，太阳完完全全地升起了，一平如镜的海面把阳光反射到他的双眼，双眼刺痛得很厉害，所以，他没有直视太阳，而是埋头划船。他俯视水里，观察着那几根垂到黑漆漆的深水里的钓线。他把钓线垂得比谁都要直，这样在黑漆漆的湾流深处的每个不同深度，都会有一个鱼饵刚好在他所预期的地方等待着游到那里的鱼。其他渔夫任由钓线随着海流漂来荡去，有时候他们以为钓线在一百英寻的深处，其实只到了六十英寻的地方。

他想，我把钓线总能放在准确的地方，只是我点儿背罢了。不过谁又能说得准呢？说不定今天就是转运的日子。每一天都是新的，撞大运自然再好不过，不过我宁愿做到准确，这样运气到了的时候，你就准备好了。

现在两个小时过去了，太阳也升得更高了，他朝东方望去，已不觉得像刚才那么刺眼了。此时此刻，他的视线之内只有三条船，又低又远地靠在海岸旁。

我活了一辈子，初升的太阳把我的眼睛刺了一辈子，他想，不过，我的眼睛还没被刺坏。傍晚时分，我可以直视着太阳，眼前也不会发黑。傍晚的阳光穿透力更强一些，不过只有清晨的阳光才会刺痛眼睛。

就在这时，他看见一只军舰鸟(14)扑扇着长长的黑色翅膀在他前方的天空盘旋飞翔。突然，它斜斜地俯冲下来，双翅后掠，然后再次盘旋起来。

“它一定是相中什么啦，”老人道出了心中的想法，“它不只是瞧瞧看看那么简单。”

他悠悠缓缓、稳稳当当地朝鸟儿盘旋的地方划去。他一点儿也不慌张，让那些钓线保持着上下笔直的样子。他还是靠海流略微近了些，这样他就可以继续用正确的方式捕鱼，不过，因为他要利用鸟儿来指路，所以速度加快了。

军舰鸟在空中飞得更高了，又盘旋起来，双翅却一动不动。接着，它突然俯冲下来，老人看见从海里跃出了一条飞鱼，拼命掠过海面。

“鲯鳅，”老人把心里想到的说了出来，“大鲯鳅。”

他把双桨收回船舱，从船头下面拿出一根细细的钓线。钓线上系着一段钢丝接钩绳和一只中号钓钩，他把一条沙丁鱼挂在钓钩上。他把钓线顺着船沿溜下水去，将钓线的另一端系在船尾的一个带圈的螺栓上。接下来，他给另一根钓线上也装上了鱼饵，把卷成团的钓线丢到船头的暗影里。他继续划船，观察着那只黑色的、翅膀长长的鸟，此时此刻，它正在水面上低低地掠过。

他正观察着，只见那只鸟又俯冲下来，为了加快俯冲的速度，翅膀朝后掠起，随后疯狂地扑扇着翅膀追踪飞鱼，却没追上。老人看见海面微微隆起，那是那些大鲯鳅追赶脱逃的飞鱼扇起来的。飞鱼飞掠海面，鲯鳅在鱼的下方破水前行，单等飞鱼一掉下，就迅速地扎入水里。好大一群鲯鳅啊，他想。它们四散得到处都是，飞鱼脱逃的机会太少。那只鸟哪里有成功的机会，飞鱼比它个头大得多，飞的速度也快得多。

他看着飞鱼一次又一次地从海里冒出来，看着那只鸟一次又一次地徒劳无功。那群鲯鳅已经从我身边逃走了，他想，它们逃得太快，游得太远啦，不过说不定我能逮住一条掉队的，说不定我预想的大鱼就在它们周围呢，我的大鱼总该在一个什么地方啊。

此时此刻，陆地上升起山样的云彩，海岸空余一条绿色的长线，一些淡蓝色的小山掩映在后。此时此刻，海水呈深蓝色，深得近乎于紫色了。他低头看着海水，只见深蓝色的海水里散布着红色的浮游生物，星星点点，闪闪烁烁，此时此刻，阳光在水中变幻出奇异的光彩。他盯着那几根钓线，小心翼翼地让它们垂直向下没入深不见底的水里。看到这么多浮游生物，他心中大悦，因为这意味着此处有鱼。此时此刻，太阳升得更高了，阳光在水中变幻出奇异的光彩，说明天气晴好，陆地上空的云彩的形状也说明了这一点。不过，此时此刻，那只鸟儿差不多淡出了视线，海面上什么都不见了，只剩下几摊被太阳晒得泛白的黄色马尾藻和一个僧帽水母。这个僧帽水母胶质的浮囊呈紫色，生得有形有款，闪耀着七色光彩，紧靠着船沿浮动着。它向一侧一翻，然后又竖直了身体。它喜滋滋地像个气泡似地浮动着，身后拖着那些长长的要命的紫色触须，在水中拖了有一码长。

“水母(15)，”老人说，“你个婊子。”

他坐着轻轻摇荡双桨，从他所在的地方低头朝水中望去，看见一些小巧玲珑鱼，鱼身的颜色跟拖在水中的触须一样，它们在触须和触须之间以及浮囊在浮动时所投下的小小阴影中游着。它们对毒性具有免疫力，可人却没有，有些粘着紫色黏液的触须会缠在钓丝上，老人把鱼钓上来的时侯，胳臂和手上就会出现伤痕和疮肿，就像被毒漆树或栎叶毒漆树感染了似的。唯一不同的是这水母的毒素发作得更快，痛得像挨了鞭子抽似的。

这些闪着七色光彩的气泡美丽极了，不过，它们却是大海里最狡诈的玩意儿，所以老人乐意看到大海龟把它们吃掉。大海龟一发现它们，就从正面进逼，然后闭上眼睛，这样，龟体全身就有了龟壳保护，然后把它们吃个精光，连触须什么的都不留。老人爱看海龟把它们吃掉，爱在风暴过后在海滩上与它们相遇，爱听自己长着粗硬老茧的脚掌踩在气泡上时它们爆裂的啪啪声。

他喜欢绿色的海龟和玳瑁，它们形态优雅，游速快，又有非常高的价值。他鄙视那些傻大傻大的笨笨的蠵龟，却没有恶意。蠵龟的防身的甲壳黄黄的，做爱的方式稀奇古怪，吞食僧帽水母时闭上眼睛，心情那么愉快。

虽然乘船捕龟多年，他并不觉得海龟神秘。他为所有的海龟伤怀，甚至连那些长得像小船、重达一吨的大梭龟也不例外。人们多半都残酷无情对待海龟，因为海龟被宰杀切割几个小时以后，它的心脏依然还在跳动。可老人却想，我也有这样一颗心脏，我的手脚也跟海龟的一样。老人吃白色的海龟蛋，为的是让身体长力气。整个五月，他连续吃了一个月的海龟蛋，为的是到九月份、十月份的时候能身强力壮，去捕真正的大鱼。

他每天还从一只大圆桶里舀一杯鲨鱼肝油喝，大圆桶在一个棚屋里，棚屋是好多渔夫们存放工具的地方。鲨鱼肝油桶就放在那儿，渔夫们谁想喝就喝。大多数渔夫都不喜欢鲨鱼肝油的味道，不过怎么也强似摸黑起大早，况且还能有效防治伤风流感，对视力也有好处。

此时此刻，老人抬眼望去，只见那只鸟儿开始盘旋了。

“它找着鱼啦。”他把心中的想法说了出来。此时海面上一条飞鱼也没有，也没有四处逃窜的小鱼。可是，就在老人观察的时候，只见一条小金枪鱼一跃而起，在空中一个翻转，头朝下扎进水中。在阳光下，这条金枪鱼银光闪闪的，它刚刚入水，金枪鱼就一条接着一条跳出水面，四面八方，此起彼伏，搅得海水翻腾起来。它们跳得很远追着鱼饵。它们绕着鱼饵转，驱赶着鱼饵。

要是它们游得没这么快的话，我就可以冲进鱼群，老人想。他盯着鱼群把海水搅出白色的水沫，盯着那只鸟儿此时俯冲下来，扎进饵鱼中间，饵鱼惊慌失措地浮上海面。

“这只鸟可帮了个大忙。”老人说。就在这一刻，他脚下的那根细钓线绷紧了，原来船梢的那根细钓丝在他脚上绕了一圈，于是他放下双桨，紧紧抓住细钓线往回拉，手里感到那条小金枪鱼颤巍巍的，有点儿分量。他越往回拉，钓线就颤得越厉害。他还没把小金枪鱼拎过船帮丢进船，就瞥见了水里蓝色的鱼背和金色的鱼身两侧。鱼躺在船尾，阳光下的鱼身结实，状如子弹，一双愚蠢的大眼睛直勾勾瞪着，尾巴利落地抖动着，砰砰地拍打着船板，最后力竭而死。老人出于善意，敲打了一下它的头，用脚把它踢到船尾背阴的地方，鱼身还在颤抖。

“长鳍金枪鱼，”他把心中的想法说了出来，“用做鱼饵真不赖，大约有十磅重吧。”

他不记得他何时开始在独处的时候自言自语的了。以往，他独处的时候在夜里曾经唱过歌，有时候会在小渔船或捕龟船上值班掌舵时唱。自言自语大概是在那个孩子离开了他，只剩下他一个人的时候开始的，不过他记得也不是很清楚。他跟那个孩子一起捕鱼的时候，除非必要，通常他们也不说话。他们会在夜里或者因恶劣天气被困在海上的时候说话。在海上，除非必要，绝不说话，这被视为一种美德，老人一直认同和信守这个美德。可是现在既然不会干扰别人，所以他多次把心里想说的话说了出来。

“要是别人听到我自言自语，肯定以为我疯了，”他把心里的想法说了出来，“不过既然我没疯，我就不在意。有钱人把收音机带到船上，有收音机跟他们说话，还给他们带来棒球赛的消息。”

现在可不是想棒球赛的时候，他想，现在只应该想一件事，那就是我生来要干的事。这个鱼群周围很可能有一条大鱼，他想，我捕住的不过是正在吃小鱼的金枪鱼群中的一条掉队的鱼。可是，鱼群正向远方游去，游得还挺快。今天海面上露面的所有生物都游得很快，还都朝着东北方向。难道一天的这个时辰就应该是这样的吗？不然的话，莫非是什么我不清楚的某种天气征兆？

此时此刻，他已经看不见海岸的那一抹绿色了，能看得见的只有那些仿佛白雪皑皑的蓝色山峰，以及山峰上空仿佛高耸的雪山似的云彩。海水的颜色很深，阳光在海水中形成了折光。此时此刻，太阳已经高高在上，那些斑斑点点数不清的浮游生物在阳光下无影无踪了，此时此刻老人看得见的只有蓝色海水深处巨大幽深的折光，还有他那几根笔直垂到水下一英里处的钓线。

渔夫们管这类鱼一律称作金枪鱼，只有在出售、或者换鱼饵的时候，才叫专有名称，把它们区分开来。此时此刻，金枪鱼再次沉了下去。此刻的阳光已经灼热难当，老人感到脖颈上热辣辣的，划船的时候，觉得汗珠一滴滴地从背上流了下来。

我完全可以随波逐流睡上一觉，他想，把钓线缠在脚趾上，有动静自然就会醒来。不过，今天已经是第八十五天了，我应该充分利用今天好好钓鱼才对。就在这时，就在他盯着钓线的时候，他看见一根在海面上伸出的绿色钓竿猛地向下一沉。

“来啦，”他说，“来啦。”他随即把双桨从桨架上拿下来，一点儿也没有碰到船。他伸手去拉钓线，用右手的大拇指和食指轻轻地夹着钓线。他既没有感到钓线抽紧，也没感到有多重，于是轻松地夹着。接着钓线又动了一下，这一拉是试探性的一拉，拉得松松的，轻轻的，他心领神会：在一百英寻的大海深处有一条大马林鱼正在咬饵。这个钓钩是手工制作，钩刺从一条小金枪鱼的头部穿出，钩尖端和钩身都被沙丁鱼裹住了。

老人轻轻巧巧地握着钓线，又轻轻用左手把钓线从竿子上解下来。他现在可以让钓线在手指间滑动，不让鱼感到被拉紧了。

这条鱼离海岸这么远，长到这个月份，个头一定大得可以，他想，鱼啊，吃鱼饵吧。吃吧。请你吃吧。这些鱼饵多新鲜呐，而你呢，却待在六百英尺深黑漆漆、冷冰冰的水里。在黑暗里转个身，回来吃这些鱼饵吧。

他感到手中的钓线被轻轻地、弱弱地拉了一下，接着重重地拉了一下，肯定是很难把沙丁鱼的鱼头从钓钩上扯下来。接下来就一点儿动静也没有了。

“快点，”老人把心里的想法说了出来，“再转个身，闻闻，这些鱼饵不是挺鲜美吗？趁新鲜快吃吧，完了还有那条金枪鱼哩。硬硬的，凉凉的，美美的。别不好意思，鱼啊，把它们吃了吧。”

老人把钓线夹在大拇指和食指之间等着，与此同时，眼睛盯着这条钓线和其他那几条钓线，因为这鱼可能已游到了高一点或着低一点的地方了。接下来，钓线又被那么轻轻地拉了一下。

“它会咬饵的，”老人把心里的想法说了出来，“上帝，帮它咬饵吧。”可是鱼儿没有咬饵，它游走了，老人手里什么感觉都没有。

“它怎么可能游走呢，”他说，“基督晓得它是不可能游走的，它正在转身呢，也许它以前上过钩，还没有彻底忘哩。”

接着，他感到钓线轻轻地动了一下，他高兴起来。

“它刚才不过是在转身嘛，”他说，“它会咬饵的。”

老人感到钓线被轻轻地拉了一下，满心欢喜。接下来，他感到特别有力，重得令人难以置信。这是鱼的重量造成的，于是，他松开手让钓索往下溜，下，朝下溜，两卷备用钓线中的一卷都放出了。尽管他的大拇指和食指所施加的压力几乎微乎其微，难以觉察，但钓线从老人的指间轻轻下滑的时候，老人还是可以感觉到鱼的分量很重。

“好厉害的鱼啊，”他说，“它正用嘴角咬着鱼饵，带着鱼饵游呢。”

它就会转过身来把饵吞掉的，他想。他没有把这句话说出来，因为他知道，好事一旦说破，可能就不会来了。他知道这是条超大的鱼，他想象着它嘴里横衔着金枪鱼在黑暗中游走的样子。就在这时，他觉得它不再游动，可是自己手里还是沉甸甸的。接下来，他觉得手里的分量越来越重了，于是又放出一段钓线。那一刻，他加大了大拇指和食指间的压力，钓线上的分量也随着增加了，一直传到海水深处。

“它咬饵啦，”他说，“那我就让它好好大吃一顿。”

他一面让钓线从指缝间溜下去，同时左手伸到下面，把两卷备用钓线松开的那头牢牢地系在旁边那根钓线的两卷备用钓线的环扣上。他现在都准备好了。此时，除了正用的那钓线卷儿，他还有三个四十英寻长的钓线卷儿备用。

“再吃点吧，”他说，“好好吃。”

吃吧，吃了钓尖就扎进你的心脏，要你的命，他想，慢慢地浮上来吧，让我把鱼叉刺进你的身体。可以了吧？你准备好了吧？你进餐的时间够长了吧？

“来吧！”他把心里的想法说了出来，双手猛地一拉钓线，收回了一码，然后，以体重为支撑，抡圆了膀子，使出全身的力气，双臂交替着一下接一下使劲儿拉，使出胳膊上的全副劲儿，把钓线往回拉。

一点儿效果也没有。那条鱼只是慢悠悠地游走了，老人一英寸都拉不回来。他这条钓线结实得很，是专为钓大鱼做的，他把钓线勒到背上使劲儿拉，绷得超紧了的钓线竟溅出水珠来。接着，钓线在水里开始发出拖长的咝咝声，他依旧攥着钓线，身体死死地抵住横座板，上半身仰着来抵抗鱼的拉力。船儿慢慢地向西北方向移动。

大鱼一直游着，鱼和船在平静的水面上慢慢地移动。其余几个鱼饵还在水里，没有动静，不用管。

“要是那个孩子现在在这儿就好啦，”老人把心里的想法说了出来，“我被一条鱼拖着，我成了系缆绳的桩子啦。我不是不可以把钓线系在船舷上，可这样的话，鱼儿会把钓线扯断啊。我说什么也不能放手，它拉得厉害，我就放些钓线。感谢上帝，它没有朝下沉，还在往前游。”

它要是执意下沉，我可怎么好？我不知道。如果它沉下去死了，我该怎么办？我不知道。可是我得采取一些措施，我能做的事情多着呢。

他把钓线搭上肩，注视着背后斜入水中的钓线。小船一直平稳地朝西北方移动。

这样会要它的命啊，老人想。它不可能一直这样游下去。可是，四个小时过去了，鱼还拖着小船不停地向大海深处游去，而老人还紧紧攥着勒在背上的钓线。

“我是中午钓上的鱼，”他说，“可到现在我还没跟它照过面儿哩。”

他把这条鱼钓上来以前，就已经把草帽拉下来扣在脑门上了，此时勒得他的脑门好疼。此外，他觉得口也渴起来，于是双膝跪下，小心翼翼不要牵拉钓线，尽量朝船头挪动，一只手伸出去够水瓶。他打开瓶盖，喝了点儿水，然后靠在船头上休息。他坐在放下的桅杆和船帆上，尽量不多想，只管撑下去。

接着他回头一望，发现陆地已经在视线里消失了。消失就消失，他想。我总能凭借哈瓦那灯光的导引上岸回家的。太阳落下来，还要两个小时，鱼也许不到那个时辰就会浮上来。如果那时候还不上来，也许会在月亮升起的时候浮上来。如果那时候还不上来，也许会在太阳升起的时候浮上来。我手脚到现在都没抽筋，觉得身强体壮。倒是大鱼的鱼嘴给钩住了。不过拉力这么大，这大鱼一定小不了啊。它的嘴肯定死死地咬住了金属鱼钩。我但愿能够看到它，能知道我这对手的样子，哪怕看一眼也行啊。

老人观察天上的星斗的位置，得出结论，这条鱼一直都没有改变游动的路线和方向。太阳落下以后天气冷了起来，老人的背脊、胳膊和老腿上的汗水都干了，身体开始发冷。白天的时候，他曾把盖在鱼饵箱上的麻袋取下来，摊在阳光里晒干。太阳落下以后，他把麻袋系在脖子上，麻袋就披到了背上。他还小心地把麻袋塞在钓线底下，现在他把钓线斜背在肩上了。有麻袋垫着钓索，他就可以向船头曲身靠着，这样差不多算是很舒服了。其实，这姿势只能算是没那么难受而已，而他却觉得算是舒服了。

只要它就这么拖着船一直不停地游下去，结果就是我奈何不了它，它也奈何不了我。

老人站起来过一次，隔着船沿小解，抬头望了望星斗，判断航行的方向。钓线好似一道磷光，从他肩上直直地垂进海里。此时鱼和船移动的速度慢了下来，哈瓦那的灯光也不那么明亮了，他心里清楚，海流一定是在把他们带往东方。要是我看不见哈瓦那的炫彩的灯光的话，我们肯定是到了东方更远地方，他想。原因就是，假如这条鱼没有改变路线，好几个小时以后，我一定还看得见哈瓦那的灯光。不知道今天的棒球大联赛出了什么结果，他想。干我这行，有台收音机该多好。接下来他想，老惦记着这个，想想你正在干的事吧，你不能冒傻气啊。

然后老人把心中的想法说出声来：“要是那个孩子在就好啦，他可以帮我一把，也让他见见这世面。”

人老了，不能独来独往，老人想，不过这也是免不了的。为了保持体力，我一定要记着趁金枪鱼没坏时就把它吃掉。别忘啰，不管你多么不想吃，也一定要在早上吃下去。别忘啰，他自言自语道。

入夜以后，两条海豚游到小船边，老人听见了海豚翻跃和喷水的声音。他还能辩别出哪个是雄海豚喧闹的喷水声，哪个是雌海豚喘息似的喷水声。

“它们真不错，”他说，“它们嬉戏玩闹，相亲相爱。它们像飞鱼一样，是我们的兄弟。”

接着老人怜惜起这条被他钓住的大鱼来了。它真出类拔萃，真有个性，天知道它几岁啦，他想，我从没有钓到过这么身强力壮的鱼，也没见过行为这么古怪的鱼呢。也许它太聪明伶俐，所以才不肯跳出来。它完全可以跳出来，或者来个猛冲，那我可就完了。不过，也许它曾经多次上钩，所以知道应该这么搏斗。它哪里会知道对手只有孤身一人，还是个老头儿呢。不过它是条多么巨大的鱼啊，要是鱼肉好的话，在市场上能卖多大一笔钱呐。它咬饵的样子像雄鱼，拖钓线的样子也像雄鱼，搏斗起来镇定自若。不知道它是心中有数呢，还是跟我一样地拼命死扛？

他想起有一回钓到了一对大马林鱼中的雌鱼的过程。那条雄鱼总是习惯性地让那条雌鱼先吃，不料雌鱼就这样上了钩。上了钩的雌鱼抓了狂，惊慌失措绝望挣扎着，不一会儿就筋疲力尽了。那条雄鱼始终跟雌鱼待在一起，在钓线下游过来游过去，跟它一起在水面转圈。雄鱼靠钓线靠得好近好近，老人生怕它用尾巴把钓线割断。它的尾巴像大镰刀，锋利得很，大小和形状也跟大镰刀差不多。老人用鱼钩把雌鱼钩上来，抓住那边缘如沙纸似的长剑形鱼嘴，用棍子不停地打它的头，直打得颜色变得和镜子背面的红色差不多才住手，接下来在那个孩子的帮助下，把它拖上了船。期间，雄鱼一直守在船旁。后来，就在老人解钓线、准备鱼叉的时候，船旁的雄鱼突然一跃而起，在空中查看雌鱼在哪里。然后，雄鱼钻进了深水，它大张那貌似淡紫色的翅膀，这翅膀实际上是它的胸鳍，于是它身上所有淡紫色的宽条纹都显露无遗。老人记得它很美丽，还有，它一直待在那儿没有离开。

这个情景是我看过的最伤感的情景了，老人想，孩子也很伤感，于是我们请求那条雌鱼宽恕我们，随即把它杀了。

“要是那个孩子在这儿就好啦。”老人把心里的想法说了出来。背靠船头圆圆的厚木板上，透过勒在肩上的钓线，他感受到了这条大鱼的力量，它在朝自己选定的方向潇潇洒洒稳稳当当地游去。

它上了我的套，非做选择不可了，老人想。

它选择的是待在黑暗的深水里，远离一切圈套、罗网和计谋。我选择的是到以前从来没有去过的地方去找寻它。世界上没人去过的地方。现在我跟它摽在一起了，从中午开始就摽在一起了。而且我和它都没有帮手助力。

也许我不该当渔夫，老人想，然而我是为这一行而生的。我一定要记着在天亮后吃那条金枪鱼。

天还没亮的时候，什么东西咬住了他背后的一个鱼饵。他听见钓竿啪的一声折断了，钓线越过船沿朝外滑去。他摸黑拔刀出鞘，用左肩负担着大鱼所有的拉力，身子后仰，把那根钓线垫在船舷的木头割断了。接下来，他把另一根离他最近的钓线也割断了，又摸黑把这两根备用钓线卷儿的断头系住。他一只手熟练地干着，打结时，一只脚踩住了钓卷，以免移动。他刚才割断的那两根有鱼饵的钓线上的两卷，加上被大鱼咬住鱼饵的那根上的两卷，现在全都接在一起了，他一共有六卷钓线。

等天亮了，他想，我再重新处理那根在水下四十英寻深处的带钓饵的线，把它也割断，跟那些备用钓线卷连起来。我会损失两百英寻上好的加泰罗尼亚(16)钓线，还有鱼钩和接钩绳。这些倒可以再置办。假如钓上的是别的什么鱼，反而损失了这条大鱼，那可用什么来补偿呢？我不知道刚才是什么鱼咬的饵，很可能是条大马林鱼，要么是剑鱼，或者是鲨鱼。我根本吃不准，我得赶紧把它处理了才是。

老人把心里的想法说了出来：“要是那个孩子在这里就好啦。”

可孩子却不在这里，他想，你只有孤身一人，你现在最好还是回去把最后那根钓线搞掂，别管摸黑不摸黑，割断钓线，把它跟那两卷备用钓线连起来。

于是他开始干了起来。摸黑干困难重重，有一次，那条大鱼掀起了波涛把他拖趴下了，眼睛下面划破了一道口子。鲜血从他脸颊上淌下来，还没流到下巴上就凝固了，干掉了。他挪回到船头，靠在木板上。他拉好麻袋，小心翼翼地调整一下背上的钓线的位置，嵌在肩膀上，又小心翼翼地试试那条鱼的拉力，然后把手伸进水里测了测小船行进的速度。

我想知道为什么这条鱼刚才摇晃了一下，他想，一定是金属线在它高高隆起的背脊上滑了一下。它的背肯定不会像我的背这么痛。可是，不论这条鱼有多大，总归不能拖着小船没完没了地游吧？现在一切潜在的麻烦乱子都处理了，我还有足量的备用的钓线，我别无他求。

“鱼啊鱼，”老人把心里的想法轻轻地说出来，“我要舍命陪君子。”依我看，它也要跟我奉陪到死的，老人想。他等待着天亮。此时正是黎明前的时分，天气寒冷，他紧贴着木板取暖。它能坚持多久，我就能坚持多久，他想。天边露出第一抹光线的时候，钓线被拉长了，进入水中。从海平面下升起的太阳一露边儿，阳光就射在老人的右肩上，小船稳稳当当地移动着。

“它在往北游啊。”老人说。海流会把我们带往远远的东方，他想，但愿它会随着海流改变方向，这就证明它疲惫了。

太阳升得更高了，老人意识到这条鱼并没有疲惫。唯一一个对他有利的迹象，就是钓线的斜度证明它此时游动的位置没有原来那么深了，然而这并不说明它就一定会跃出水面。不过也不排除这种可能。

“上帝啊，叫它跳出来吧，”老人说，“我的钓线长倒是够长了，对付得了。”

也许我把钓线略微拉紧一点儿，它一觉着痛就会跳出来了，他想，既然是白天了，就让它跳出来吧，只有它一跳出来，鱼背上的气囊就会被空气充满，它就不能沉到深海死了。

他试着把钓线拉紧，可是自从他钓上这条鱼以来，钓线已经绷得快要断了，他身体后仰来拉钓线，感到硬邦邦的，便明白不能再拉了。我绝对不能突然猛拉，他想，每猛拉一次，钓钩划出的口子就会被扯得更大一点，它跳起来以后就可能会把钓钩甩掉。反正太阳已经出来了，我已经觉得好多了，起码这次我不用盯着太阳看了。

钓线上缠着黄色的海藻，可是老人知道这只会给鱼增加阻力，所以心花怒放。夜间发出很炫的磷光的，正是这种黄色的果囊马尾藻。

“大鱼啊，”他说，“我爱你，也非常尊敬你。不过不等今天结束，我一定要杀死你。”

让我们期待这样的结果吧，他想。

从北方朝小船飞来一只小鸟儿，这是一只刺嘴莺，贴着水面上低低地飞着。老人看出这只鸟儿已经疲劳不堪了。

小鸟儿飞到船尾上，在那儿歇息了一下。接下来绕着老人的头打转，最后落在那根钓线上，它觉得那里更舒服。

“你多大了？”老人问小鸟儿，“你这是第一遭出家门吧？”

老人说话的时候，小鸟儿望着他。小鸟儿太疲乏了，都没注意钓线稳当不稳当，就用纤巧的爪子紧紧抓住了钓索，在上面摇来荡去。

“钓线挺稳当的，”老人对它说，“再稳当不过啦。昨夜一夜都没刮风，照理说你不该这么疲劳啊，鸟儿都怎么啦？”

因为有老鹰，他想，鹰飞到海上来追鸟儿。可是老人没这么跟小鸟儿说，反正小鸟儿也听不懂他说的话，不过用不了多久就会领教老鹰的厉害。

“好好儿歇歇吧，小鸟儿，”他说，“然后再出征，像所有的人、鸟或者鱼那样，撞撞运气。”

他靠说话来鼓劲，他的背脊在夜里变得僵直，眼睛此时疼痛难忍，说说话能给自己打打气。

“小鸟儿，乐意的话就待在我家吧，”他说，“很抱歉，我不能扯起帆来借着这阵刚刚刮起的微风，把你带回去，因为我这里还有个朋友呢。”

就在这时，那条大鱼的鱼身猛地一歪，把老人拖到船头，倒了下去。假如老人不是早已防备，放出一段钓索，早被它拖进大海了。

钓线被猛地一拉，鸟儿飞走了，老人当时竟没有看到。他用右手小心地摸了摸钓线，这才发现手出血了。

“这么说这条大鱼是受伤了。”他把心里的想法说了出来，然后把钓线往回拉，看能不能把鱼转回来。可是就在钓线快绷断的时候，他把钓线牢牢地握住了，身子后仰，压在拉紧的钓线上。

“你现在觉得痛了吧，大鱼，”他说，“上帝知道，我也痛啊。”

这时，他东张西望，寻找那只小鸟儿，因为很乐意与它为伴。可小鸟儿已经飞走了。

你没有待多久啊，老人想，可你去的地方风大浪高，不上岸不会得平安。让那条大鱼猛地一拉，我就划破了手，我怎么会这样？我一定是越来越笨了。也许是因为我当时看着小鸟，一心都在小鸟身上吧。现在我要专心致志地干自己的营生，回头还得把那金枪鱼吃下去，这样才不会有气无力。

“要是那个孩子在这儿，我手边再有点儿盐就好啦。”他把心里的想法说了出来。

他把沉甸甸的钓线换到左肩上，小心翼翼地跪下，在海水里洗手，把手在水里浸了一分多钟，看着血在水中漂走，海水随着船的移动在他手上不停地拍打着。

“这鱼的速度减慢了不少。”他说。

老人倒是愿意把手在这盐水中多泡一会儿，却害怕那条鱼突然猛地一拉，于是，他站了起来，抖擞精神，举起那只手对着太阳。只是让钓线勒了一下，划破了肉，可偏偏是手上用劲儿的地方。他知道要结束这场战斗需要双手，他不喜欢还未出师就先挂彩。

“现在，”手晒干之后他开了口，“我该吃小金枪鱼了。我可以用手钩把它钓过来，在这儿舒舒服服地吃。”

老人跪下来，用手钩在船尾下找到了那条金枪鱼，拽到了自己身边，还小心翼翼地不让它碰着那几卷钓线。他还是用左肩抵住钓线，把左手和胳臂撑在座板上，把金枪鱼从手钩上摘下来，再把手钩放回原处。他一个膝盖压着鱼，从鱼头竖着向尾部剖开，一条条深红色的鱼肉就割了下来。这些肉条都是楔形的。他从脊骨的边缘下刀，一直割到鱼肚子的边缘。他割下了六条，把鱼肉条摊在船头的木板上，在裤子上擦了擦刀子，提起鱼尾，把金枪鱼的骨头扔到了海里。

“我想我也吃不下一条鱼的。”说着，他用刀子把一条鱼肉从中间切成两段。他感到那钓线一直紧紧拉着，他的左手抽起筋来。左手紧紧握住了沉重钓线，他厌恶地看着自己的左手。

“这算什么手嘛，”他说，“你要抽筋就抽筋，抽成一只鸟爪得啦，对你有什么好处。”

快吃呀，他想着，望着斜斜地通向黑暗的海水里的钓线。赶紧把金枪鱼吃了，这样手才有力气。不能怨这只手，你跟这条鱼已经对抗了多少个时辰啦，不过你还是能奉陪到底的。赶紧把金枪鱼吃了。

他拿起半条鱼肉，放在嘴里慢慢地嚼，倒算不上难吃。

好好儿嚼吧，他想，连汁带水地都咽下去。要是加上一点儿酸橙、柠檬，盐也成，味道不会差。

“手啊，你感觉怎么样啦？”他问那只抽筋的手，那只手直挺挺，像僵尸似的，“我要为了你再吃一点儿。”

他把切成两段的那条鱼肉剩下的那一半吃了下去，他细嚼慢咽，最后把鱼皮吐出来。

“觉得好些了吗，手啊？是不是现在还说不来呀？”

他拿起一整条鱼肉嚼了起来。

“这是条身强体壮、血气旺盛的鱼啊。”他想，“我命好，捕到是它，这鱼一点儿也不甜，滋补还都在。幸好捕的不是鲯鳅，鲯鳅太甜了。”

不过，实用才是硬道理，他想。要是有点儿盐就好啦。我不知道太阳会不会把剩下的鱼肉给晒烂晒干，所以，我不饿，可还是顶好把它们都吃干净。那鱼现在安静又安稳，我趁机把这些鱼肉都吃下去，这样就可以严阵以待啦。

“就忍耐一时吧，手啊，”他说，“我这么吃可都是为了你哟。”

但愿我也能给这条大鱼一点儿吃的，他想，它是我的兄弟啊。可我非得把它杀死不可，为此，还要保持精力旺盛。他慢慢地、尽心竭力把那些楔形的鱼肉全吃掉了。

他直起腰来，在裤子上擦了擦手。

“好啦，”他说，“你可以把钓线松开了，手啊，我只用右臂来对付大鱼，等你不再胡闹再说。”他用左脚踩住原本用左手攥着的那根重重的钓线，身子后仰，用背部来承受钓线上的拉力。

“上帝帮帮我，让这只手不要抽筋啦，”他说，“因为我不知道这条大鱼还要耍什么把戏呢。”

不过它似乎安安静静的，他想，还在按着自己的计划行动。可它的计划又是什么呢，他想。我又有什么计划呢？它是个大块头，所以我必须随机应变，制定我的计划来应对它的计划。它要是跳出水面，我倒可以杀死它。但它要是总这么待在水下面不上来，那我就坐等。

他在裤子上擦了擦那只抽筋的手，想舒散舒散手指，可是手却无法张开。也许随着太阳出来它能张开吧，他想，也许等那些补人的生金枪鱼肉消化后才能张开。如果我非靠这只手不可，我要不惜任何代价把它张开。可我眼下不愿把它生生地掰开。就让它自然张开，自动恢复原样吧。说到底，是我昨天夜里非得把一条条钓线断开，系在一起，让它劳累过度了。

他的目光在海面上扫过，此时此刻发觉自己是多么的孤清。但是，他可以看见黑漆漆的海水深处的七色彩虹，面前伸展着的钓线和那一平如镜的海面上异样的波动。信风吹来，所以此时的云块正在堆积。他向前一看，只见到一群野鸭掠过海面，野鸭的身影在天空的映衬下，时而历历在目，时而模模糊糊，于是他意识到，一个人在大海上永远不会孤清。

他想到，有些人划着小船出海，就怕望不见陆地。他也清楚，在天气会骤然变坏的那几个月份里，他们怕得有理。不过，现在正值飓风时节。若是飓风还没到，那这些飓风时节恰是一年中天气最好的那几个月份。

要是飓风来了，碰巧你又在海上的话，你总会提前几天就看见天空出现种种预兆。在岸上人们可就看不见啰，因为他们不知道该看什么，他这样想。不过，陆地上也一定会出现异常现象，云彩的形状就肯定不一样。不过，此时没有刮飓风的预兆。

他看了看天，看见一团团白色的积云，形状像一堆堆可人心意的冰淇淋，而在高高的上空，九月秋高气爽的天空衬托着一团团薄薄的羽毛般的卷云。

“微风，(17)”他说，“鱼啊，这天气对我更有利。”

他的左手还在抽筋，但他正在慢慢地把它撑开。

我讨厌抽筋，他想，这是对自己身体的背叛。因为食物中毒在别人面前腹泻或是呕吐，那是丢人现眼。但是抽筋，在西班牙语中叫calambre，是对自己的羞辱，尤其是独自一人的时候。

要是那孩子在这儿，还可以给我揉搓揉搓胳臂，从前臂一直往下揉搓，他想，不过这手总归会松开的。

过了一会儿，他用右手去摸钓线，觉得拉力变了，这才发现钓线在水里的斜度也变了。接下来，他弯下身来绷紧钓线，左手啪啪地使劲儿拍打大腿，看见倾斜的钓索在慢慢地向上升起。

“它上来啦，”他说，“手啊，快点儿好了吧，求你快一点儿。”

钓线缓缓地稳稳地上升，接着船头前面的海面涌起来了，大鱼出水了。它一次又一次地跳出水面，海水从鱼身上向两边直泻而下。大鱼在阳光里亮光光的，脑袋和背部是深紫色，两侧的条纹在阳光里显得很宽，呈淡淡的紫色。大鱼的长嘴像棒球棒那样长，逐渐变细，像一把轻剑。大鱼把全身从头到尾都露出海面，然后又像潜水员似地顺滑地钻进水里。老人看见它那大镰刀一样的尾巴没入水里，钓线开始飞速往外窜去。

“它比我这小船还长两英尺哩。”老人说道。钓线朝水中放得虽快，却很稳，鱼没有受惊。老人用双手拉住钓线，拉得够紧，却还不致于被鱼扯断。他明白，要是他不能稳稳地把大鱼的速度减慢，大鱼就会把钓线拖尽、绷断。

它是条大鱼，我一定要制服它，他想，我一定不能让它清楚它的力气有多大，也不能让它清楚如果它逃了的话，它的能量有多大。我要是它，我此时此刻就要使出吃奶的力气，一直逃啊逃，不把钓线绷断不罢休。不过，感谢上帝，虽然鱼比我们渔夫高尚，更有能耐，却没有我们这些要杀鱼的渔夫聪明。

老人见过许多大鱼。他见过许多超过一千磅的，这辈子也曾捕到过两条这么大的，却从来没有独自一个人单打独斗过。可是，现在他独自一人，看不见陆地，却和一条他从未见过、也未听说过的大鱼紧紧地拴在一起，而他的左手却像蜷缩的鹰爪一样紧缩着。

不过左手会复原的，他想，它一定会复原，来帮我右手的忙。有三样东西是我的亲兄弟：这条大鱼和我的两只手。这只手一定会复原的。还抽筋，真没用。鱼的速度又慢了下来，以常速向前游着。

我真不清楚刚才它跳出水干嘛，老人想。简直就像是为了向我炫一下它的块头有多大才跳的。总归我现在是清楚了，他想。我也很想能让它瞧瞧我是一个什么样的人。可这一来，它就会看到我这只抽筋的手了。要让它以为我是个比现在的我更有男子气概才好，我也能做到表里如一。我多愿自己就是这条大鱼，他想，多想拥有它所拥有的一切，只须应对我的意志和我的智慧就可以了。

老人舒舒服服地靠在木船舷上忍着袭来的痛，而那条大鱼稳稳当当地游着，小船穿过深色的海水缓缓前行。东方风起，大海微波荡漾。及至中午时分，老人那只抽筋的左手复原了。

“鱼啊，这对你是坏消息哦。”他说着，把钓线从肩上的麻袋上挪动了一下。

他很享受，也很受罪，虽然他根本不承认痛苦。

“我并不是一个虔诚的教徒，”他说，“可我愿意念十遍《天主经》和《圣母经》，好保佑我把这条大鱼捕到。我还要发愿：要是捕到了，我一定去朝拜科布莱的童贞圣母。这是我许的愿。”

他机械地念起祈祷文来。有时候，他太累了，背不出祈祷文了，就故意念得特别快，好让祷词顺口念出。《圣母经》可比《天主经》容易念，他想。

“万福玛利亚，沐浴天恩，主与您同在。您是女人中的有福之人，您腹中的胎儿耶稣也是有福之人。天主圣母玛利亚，圣灵玛利亚，不论是现在，还是在我们的弥留之际，为我们这些罪人祈祷。阿们。”末了，他还追加上了两句：“万福童贞圣母，虽然这条大鱼出类拔萃，请您祈祷还是叫它去死吧。”

念完了祈祷文，老人觉得好多了，虽然还像先头一样地痛，或许还更痛了些，于是，他靠住船头的木板，机械地活动起左手的手指来。

此时此刻，虽然有微风吹拂，阳光依然滚烫。

“我还是给船尾的那根小钓线重新装上钓饵的好，”他说，“要是这条大鱼决意要在这里再过一夜，那我可得再吃点儿东西才成。再说，水瓶里的水也不多了。我看在这儿除了鲯鳅，也捕不到什么别的东西。话又说回来，鲯鳅要是趁新鲜的时候吃，味道倒也不赖。我真希望今夜能有条飞鱼蹦到船上来，可惜我没有灯光，没法引诱飞鱼上船。飞鱼生吃味道好极啦，用不着切成小块。现在我需要养精蓄锐，保持体力。天主啊，我原来怎么会不知道这条鱼这么大呢。”

“可是我要把它杀掉，”他说，“不管它多么出类拔萃，多么气势汹汹。”

虽然这不公平，他想，可我还是要秀给它看人的能量和人的耐力。

“我曾经跟那孩子说过，我是个不同寻常的老头儿，”他说，“现在是我拿出证明的时候啦。”

老人已经证实过千百次了，可以往的算不上什么。现在，他要再证实一次。每一次都是新的，他每次证实的时候，从来不回首过去。

我希望它能睡去，这样我也可以睡去，去梦见狮子，老人想。为什么现在的梦里剩下的基本都是狮子呢？别想了，老人，他对自己说道。现在什么都不要想，轻轻地靠着船上的木板歇息歇息。大鱼正劳心费神呢，你尽可能少劳心费神吧。

时间已是下午，船依旧慢慢悠悠而稳稳当当地移动着。只是此时东方吹来的微风给船平添了阻力，老人随着海上细浪缓缓地划着，背上勒的钓线造成的痛感变得舒适温和些了。

下午有一次，钓线又升上来了。可是这条鱼不过是在稍微高一点的层面上继续向前游罢了。太阳晒在老人的左胳臂、左肩和脊背上，他据此推测这条鱼转向了东北方向。

因为老人看见过这条大鱼一面，所以他可以想象出它在水里游动的样子：胸鳍是紫色的，翅膀似的大张着，大尾巴直直地竖立着，划破了黑漆漆的海水。不知道它在那么深的海里能看见多少东西，老人想，它的眼睛可真大，马的眼睛虽然比它的眼睛小得多，却能看得见黑暗里的东西。以前我在黑暗里也能看得比较清楚，可是在漆黑一片的地方不行，可我的视力不过跟猫差不离。

由于有阳光晒着，加上他手指不停地活动着，他那抽筋的左手此时已经完全复原了，于是他让左手多负担一些拉力，同时耸耸背上的肌肉，挪挪钓线，略略摆脱一下疼痛。

“鱼啊，你要是不累的话，”老人把心里的想法说出声来，“那你一定不寻常。”

此时此刻，老人感到筋疲力尽。他知道黑夜即将来临，所以竭力想些别的事儿。他想到棒球的两大联赛，就是他用西班牙语所说的Gran Ligas，他知道纽约市的扬基队正在对阵底特律的老虎队(18)。

这是联赛的第二天，可我还不知道比赛(19)的结果，他想。可是我一定要有信心，一定要对得起那了不起的迪马吉奥，他把一切干得十全十美，就算脚后跟长了骨刺，疼痛难忍也不例外。骨刺是什么玩意儿？他问自己。西班牙语叫做unespuela de hueso。我们渔夫不长骨刺。骨刺痛起来是不是斗鸡脚上装的距铁刺扎进脚后跟时一样？我想我忍受不了这种痛苦，也不能像斗鸡那样，一只眼睛或两只被啄瞎后照斗不误。与伟大的鸟兽相比，人真的算不上什么。我倒是情愿做那只待在海洋深处黑漆漆的水里的动物。

“除非有鲨鱼来，”老人把心里的想法说出声来，“要是有鲨鱼来，愿上帝怜悯我和它两个吧。”

你以为那个伟大的迪马吉奥能像我守着这条鱼一样旷日持久地守着吗？他想，我相信他能，而且会比我守的时间更长，因为他年轻力壮，再说他父亲还当过渔夫。不过骨刺会不会让他疼痛难忍呢？

“我说不好，”老人把心中的想法说出声来，“因为我又从来没有长过骨刺。”

夕阳西下的时候，为了给自己加油打气，他忆起当年那次在卡萨布兰卡(20)的一家酒店里，跟那个码头上身强力壮数第一的人，那个从西恩富戈斯(21)来的大块头黑人掰手腕的情景。他们把胳膊肘拄在桌子上的那道粉笔线上，前臂竖直，两只人的手紧紧地握了整整一天一夜。双方都竭尽全力要把对方的手按压到桌子上。煤油灯下，人们走进走出，好多人在赌谁胜谁负。他打量着黑人的胳膊、手，还有黑人的脸。前八小时过后，他们每四小时换一个裁判员，好让裁判员轮流睡觉。血从他和黑人手指甲缝里渗出来，两人直勾勾地盯着对方的眼睛、手和前臂。打赌的人在屋里走进走出，坐在靠墙的高高椅子上观看。四壁是木板，漆着鲜艳的蓝色，几盏灯把他们的影子映照到墙上。黑人的影子巨大无比，微风吹，挂灯摇，黑人的影子也在墙上晃。

整整一夜，局势一直处于此消彼长、难分伯仲的状态。他们给黑人喂朗姆酒，给黑人点烟。黑人一喝了酒，就拼命发力，有一回把老人的手（他当时还不是个老人，而是“冠军圣地亚哥”(22)）扳下去差不多三英寸。不过，老人又把手扳了回来，恢复势均力敌的局面。虽然这个黑人有种，是个伟大的运动员，但是当时的他对击败对方信心百倍。破晓时分，打赌的人们要求当和局算了，裁判员摇头不同意的时候，老人卯足了力气，硬是把黑人的手一点一点地扳下去，扳下去，终于压在木桌上。这场比赛是在星期天早上开始的，进行到星期一早上才结束。因为好多打赌的人得去码头干活，把大袋大袋的蔗糖装上船，或者上哈瓦那煤行干活，所以才要求和局算了。不然的话，大家都会要求把比赛进行到底的。不过，无论如何，他终于结束了比赛，还是赶在大家上工之前结束的。

从那时起，有好一阵子，人人都管他叫“冠军”。翌年春天两人又赛了一次，不过赌的数目不大，又因为他在第一场比赛中摧毁了那个西恩富戈斯黑人的自信心，他此次赢得易如反掌。此后，他又比过几次，后来就不比了。他深信，只要一门心思地想击败对方，那么他想击败谁，就能够击败谁。他还深信，掰手腕对他用来钓鱼的右手没有好处。在几次练习赛中，他曾经尝试过用左手，但他的左手一向是个叛徒，不肯服从命令听指挥，他信不过左手。

现在，太阳就会把左手晒得热热的，他想，只要夜里不冷得厉害，它不会再抽筋了。我真无法想象今夜会发生什么事。

一架飞机从他头上飞过，循着航线飞向迈阿密，他看着飞机的影子惊起一群群飞鱼。

“有这么多的飞鱼，按说这里就该有鲯鳅。”老人边说边带着钓线往后靠，看能不能把那鱼拉过来一些。结果没有奏效，钓线还是紧绷绷、硬邦邦的，上面水珠颤动，再拉非断不可。小船缓缓地前行，他一直盯着飞机，直到看不见为止。

坐在飞机里一定感觉怪怪的，他想，不知道从那么高的地方向下看，大海是什么样子？要不是飞得太高，他们一定能清楚地看到这条大鱼。我倒希望能在两百英寻的高度慢慢悠悠地飞一飞，从空中看看这条大鱼。在捕龟船上，我曾经爬到桅顶横架上向下看，就从那样的高度也能看到不少东西。从桅顶横架上朝下看，鲯鳅的颜色似乎更绿，连鲯鳅身上的条纹和紫色斑点你能看得清清楚楚，你可以看见它们整个游动的鱼群。怎么搞的，凡是在黑漆漆的水流中游得很快的鱼的鱼脊都是紫色的，多半还有紫色条纹或斑点呢？鲯鳅在水里看上去自然发绿色，因为它们其实本来是金黄色的。但是当它们饥饿难捱、急需进食的时候，鱼身子两侧就会像大马林鱼那样现出紫色条纹。或许是因为愤怒，还是游得太快，才露出这些条纹的？

天擦黑之前，他们经过一大片马尾藻，黄色的毯子似的马尾藻在微波荡漾的海面上起起伏伏，仿佛大海正在毯子下跟什么东西做爱一般。这时候，他那根细钓线给一条鲯鳅咬住了。他第一次看见它，它正从水面上一跃而起，在最后一线阳光中，宛如纯金。它在空中曲起鱼身，疯狂地扑打着，惊慌失措得一次次跃出水面，好像在进行杂技表演。与此同时，老人挪到船尾蹲了下来，用右手和右胳臂攥住那根粗钓线，用左手把鲯鳅往回拉，钓线收回一段，就用赤裸的左脚踩住一段。等到这条带紫色斑点的金光灿灿的鱼被拉到了船尾，绝望地左奔右突乱蹦乱跳时，老人探出身去，把它拖到船尾上。鱼嘴被钓钩挂住了，它抽搐着，不停地急促地咬着鱼钩，还用扁长的鱼身、鱼尾和鱼头啪啪地拍打着船底，直到他用木棍打了一下它那金灿灿亮闪闪的鱼头以后才抖了抖，不再动了。

老人从鱼嘴里把钓钩卸下来，重新装上一条沙丁鱼作鱼饵以后，把钓线甩进海里。接下来，他慢慢挪回到船头。他洗了左手，在裤子上擦干。接下来，他把那根沉重的钓线从右手挪到左手，在海里洗了洗右手，一面望着太阳沉入大海，还看着那根倾斜的沉重钓线。

“这条鱼一丁点儿变化都没有。”他说。不过，他通过流动的海水拍打在他手上的情形，发现大鱼的速度显然慢了下来。

“我要把这两支桨交叉起来绑在船尾，这样会在夜里让大鱼慢下来，”他说，“它是夜猫子，我也是。”

最好再等等，一会儿再给鲯鳅开膛，这样可以让鱼血渗进鱼肉里，他想。我可以再稍等片刻，现在我把桨捆起来，在水里拖着，增加点儿阻力。此时此刻还是让大鱼安静，日落时分，不要太惊动它。太阳下沉的时候，也是所有鱼难熬的时候。

老人把手擎起来晾干后拽住钓线，尽量放松身体，任凭钓线把自己拖到前面顶着木板，这样一来，船承担的拉力和他自己承担的拉力就一样了，或许更大些。

我渐渐学会该怎么捕这条鱼了，他想，起码在这方面就是这样。还有，别忘了大鱼咬饵以来还没吃过东西，它块头那么大，需要吃很多的食物。我已经把整条金枪鱼都吃了。明天我还要吃那条鲯鳅鱼。他管鲯鳅鱼叫“黄金鱼”(23)。也许我该在给鲯鳅开膛时吃上一点儿。鲯鳅比那条金枪鱼要难吃。不过话说回来，干什么都不容易。

“鱼啊，你觉得怎么样？”他开口问，“我觉得挺好的，我左手已经好多了，我有食物，够一天一夜吃的。鱼啊，你就拉船吧。”

老人并不是真的觉得挺好，因为钓线勒在背上，痛得几乎不能再痛，已经变得麻木，让他不放心。不过，比这更糟糕的事儿我也遭遇过，他想，我一只手只是割破了一点儿，另一只手也不抽筋了，我的两条腿都没问题。还有呢，目前在食物方面我也比大鱼更有优势。

这时天黑了。因为现在是九月份，这时候的太阳一落，天随即就跟着黑下来。他靠着船头上磨损的木板上，尽可能地休息。第一拨星星出来了，他不知道猎户座左下方最亮的那颗星(24)叫什么名字，不过他却看到了它，还知道用不了多久其他星星都会齐齐亮相，这些远方的朋友又会来给他做伴了。

“这条大鱼也是我的朋友，”老人把心中的想法说了出来，“我从没看见过，也没听说过这样的鱼。不过我必须把它杀死。我很高兴，我们不必去杀死那些星星。”

想象一下，人如果必须每天都去杀月亮，他想，结果会怎样？月亮会逃之夭夭的。不过想象一下，人如果必须每天都去杀太阳，那又会怎么样？我们总算生来就命好，他想。

于是他为这条没东西吃的大鱼难过起来，然而要杀死它的决心绝对没有因为为它难过而削减。大鱼能够多少人吃呢？他想，不过，他们这些人配吃大鱼吗？不配，当然不配。凭着大鱼的举止风度和伟大尊严来看，没有什么人配吃它。

这些事我不懂，他想。好在我们不必去杀太阳、月亮和星星。在海上谋生，要杀死我们的亲兄弟，已经够我们受的了。

现在，他想，我该考虑考虑水里的阻力——那两个船桨了。船桨捆在那里会带来危险，也会带来好处。如果大鱼使劲儿地拉，而两个船桨造成的阻力还存在，船不像原来那样轻飘，我可能会损失那么长的钓线，也会损失大鱼。如果不用双桨制造阻力，会延长我们双方的痛苦，但这也保证了我的安全，因为这条大鱼的游速很快，不过至今还没有一显身手罢了。不管发生什么事，我一定要把给鲯鳅开膛剖肚，免得坏掉，吃一点儿还能给自己加把劲儿。

现在我要再歇一个钟头观察观察，等我确定大鱼稳定下来了，再回到船头去干活，决定对策。在这段时间里，我可以看看它怎么动作，有没有什么变化。把两把桨放在那儿倒不失为一个高招；不过已经到了该稳妥行事的时候了。这条大鱼还是那么牛。我看见过鱼钩钩住它嘴角的样子，而它却紧闭着嘴巴。鱼钩带来的痛苦不算什么。饥饿的痛苦，还有与一个莫名其妙的对手对峙，这才是棘手的大问题。现在歇一歇，老人，让它去干它的事，等轮到该你干的时候再说。

老人推断自己已经休息了两个钟头。月亮要等到很晚才爬上来，他没法推算时间。其实他没能好好休息，就算是多多少少歇了一会儿罢了。他肩上还在承受着鱼的拉力，只是他把左手按在船头的舷边上，渐渐地更多地依靠小船本身来给大鱼阻力了。

要是能把钓线拴住，那该有多省事啊，他想。可是只要大鱼稍微歪一歪，就能把钓线绷断。我必须用自己的身子来缓冲钓线的拉力，双手随时准备放钓线。

“可你还没睡过觉呢，老家伙，”他把心里的想法说了出来，“已经过了半个白天和一整夜，现在是第二天了，可你一直没睡觉。你必须想个法子，趁着大鱼不闹不跳的时候睡上一会儿。你要是不睡觉，脑瓜会犯糊涂的啊。”

我脑瓜够清醒的，他想，太清醒啦，我像我的星星兄弟一样清醒。不过，我还是得睡觉不可。它们睡觉，月亮和太阳都睡觉，在那些平静无波、没有激浪的日子里，甚至连大海有时候也要睡觉。

可是，千万别忘了睡觉，他想，强迫你自己睡觉，想个简单而稳妥的办法来处理那根钓线。现在回到船梢收拾那条鲯鳅吧。既然你肯定要睡觉，把桨作为牵引船的力量可太危险啦。

我不睡觉也能行，他自言自语道，不过这太危险啦。

老人跪着爬回船尾，小心翼翼不去扯动钓线，惊动大鱼。它也许正在半梦半醒之间，他想，可是我不让它休息，我要它一直拉到死。

回到了船尾，他转过身来，左手攥住紧勒在肩上的钓线，右手从刀鞘中拔出刀子。此时此刻，星光灿烂，他可以清清楚楚地看见鲯鳅。他一刀扎进鱼头，然后把刀从船尾下拔出来。他一只脚踩在鱼身上，飞快地从肛门直剖到下颌尖端。然后，他放下刀子，用右手掏内脏，掏干净之后，索性把鳃也扯下来了。他感觉到手里的鱼胃沉甸甸、滑溜溜的，剖开一看，原来里面有两条小飞鱼。小鱼都很鲜很硬，他把两条小鱼并排摆好，把内脏和鱼鳃扔出船去。这些东西沉下去以后，在海水里留下一道磷光。此时此刻，冰冷的鲯鳅在星光下像麻风病人的皮肤，灰白灰白的。老人用右脚踩住鱼头，把鱼身上一侧的皮剥下来。然后，他把鱼翻转过来，剥掉另一侧的皮，把鱼身两边的肉从头到尾割下来。

他把鱼骨轻轻丢到船外，看它在水里是不是打旋，却只看到它慢慢下沉时的磷光。接着，他回身把两条飞鱼放在那两片鲯鳅肉中间，把刀子插回刀鞘，这才慢慢挪动身子，回到船头。钓线上的重负把他拉弯了腰，他的右手还拿着鱼肉。

回到船头后，他把两片鲯鳅肉和飞鱼并排摊在船板上。然后，他把勒在肩膀上的钓线换个位置，再次用左手抓住钓线，手放在船舷上。接下来，他靠在船舷上在海水里洗飞鱼，注意着海水冲到手上的速度变了。因为剥了鱼皮，他的手沾上了磷光，他观察着海水拍打着他的手的样子。水流没有原来那么急了，他在小船船板上蹭手的时候，星星点点的磷质漂浮开来，慢慢向船尾漂去。

“它要么是越来越累了，要么就是在休息，”老人说，“现在我来把这鲯鳅吃完，再休息一下，睡一会儿吧。”

在繁星点点、越来越冷的夜色里，他吃了半片鲯鳅肉，还吃了一条已经去掉了内脏、鱼头的飞鱼。

“鲯鳅做熟了以后多好吃啊，”他说，“生吃真是难吃死了。以后不带盐不带酸橙，我绝对不划船出海了。”

我可真没脑子，我要是往船头泼一天海水的话，海水晒干了不就有盐了，他想，不过话得说回来，我是在太阳快落山的时候才钓到这条鲯鳅的。说到底，还是准备工作做得不足。然而我细细咀嚼，全都吃下去了，也没有恶心呕吐。

东方天空上的乌云越积越多，他所认识的星星一颗接一颗地不见了。此时此刻他似乎正驶进一个乌云深谷，风已经停了。

“用不了三四天就会变天，”他说，“但是今夜和明天还变不了。现在，老家伙，趁着大鱼平静稳定，睡它一会儿吧。”

老人右手紧握着钓线，再用大腿抵住了右手，斜倚着身体，把全身的重量压在船头的木板上。然后，他把勒在肩上的钓线往下撺了一点儿，用左手撑住了。

只要大腿能撑紧钓线，我右手就能握住，他想，要是我睡着时钓线松了滑出去的话，我的左手就会感觉到，我就会醒。这样一来，右手会很吃重，不过右手吃惯了苦。哪怕我能睡上二十分钟或者半个钟头，也是好的啊。他俯身向前，用整个身子撑住钓线，把全身的重量都压在右手上，他睡着了。

他在梦中没有见到狮子，却见到了一大群海豚。这群海豚绵延八到十英里，正处于交配期的它们会高高地跳到半空中，然后跳回它们跳起来时在水里形成的涡里。

接下来，他梦见自己在村子里，躺在自己的床上，凄厉的北风吹过，他感到透心凉。因为他的头没有枕在枕头上，而是枕在右胳膊上，所以右胳膊麻木了。

在这以后，他梦见那道长长的黄色海滩，看见有只狮子在暮色降临的时候率先来到海滩上，接着其余的狮子也来了。抛了锚的船停泊在那里海滩，徐徐的晚风吹过，他把下巴垫在船头的木板上，等着看更多的狮子来，心中大畅。

月亮爬上来已经好长时间了，而他还在熟睡，大鱼稳稳当当地向前拉着，小船驶进云峡的深谷里。

突然，他的右拳猛的朝他的脸打去，钓线飞快地从他右手里溜出去，他一下子惊醒过来。他的左手已经完全失去了知觉，所以他就用右手拼命去拉钓线却拉不住，钓线还在往外滑。最后，他的左手终于抓住钓线了，于是他身体向后仰着撑住钓线，这样一来，钓线勒着他的背脊和左手生痛生痛，左手承负了全部的拉力，给勒得好深。他回头望望那些钓线卷儿，钓线正源源不断地放出。正在这节骨眼上，大鱼一跃而起，海面迸裂，巨浪滔天，随即大鱼又重重地落下了来。接下来，大鱼一而再，再而三地跳了又跳，老人把钓线拉了又拉，都快要绷断了，可是小船依旧走得飞快，钓索依旧飞也似地向外滑。老人被拉倒了，脸贴在那片切下的鲯鳅肉上，紧紧地靠在船头，一动都不能动。

我们等到啦，他想，让我们来面对吧。

非得让它为了拉线付出代价，他想，非得让它为此付出代价。

他看不见大鱼跳跃的样子，只听得见海面迸裂的声音，和鱼落下时浪花重重的飞溅声。钓线飞快地溜出，他的手勒得好深好痛，不过他一直放着这招，所以想方设法不让钓线滑到掌心和手指上，而是勒在起老茧的地方。

要是孩子在这儿的话，他会把这些钓索卷淋湿的，老人想，就是啊，要是孩子在这儿的话，要是孩子在这儿的话。

钓索朝外滑呀滑呀滑，不过这时的速度却是越来越慢了。他正在让大鱼所拉走的每一英寸都得付出代价。现在，他从木船板上，从那片被他的脸压烂的鱼肉上抬起头来。随后，他先是跪了起来，然后慢慢地站了起来。他的钓线还在往外放，但速度却越来越慢了。他挪到虽然看不见、却可以用脚触到那些放钓线卷的地方。钓线还多得很，现在，大鱼要把这么多新钓线拉进水里，就要先抵消磨擦力才行。

是啊，他想，到现在为止，它已经跳了至少不下十二次了，鱼脊的那些气囊灌满了空气，不会沉到深海中，死在我没法捞上来的地方。它马上就会开始转圈圈，到那时我一定要好好对付它。我想知道它为什么这么冷不丁地跳了起来？该不是饥饿急了，生死都不顾了？还是在夜间受到什么惊吓了？不过，有可能它突然感到害怕了。不过它是一条那样沉着冷静、身强力壮的大鱼，似乎是无所畏惧、信心百倍的啊。真奇怪。

“老家伙，你最好自己也毫无畏惧、信心十足啊，”老人说，“你又把它拉住了，可钓线你却收不回来。不过幸好它一会儿就该兜圈子了。”

此时老人怕鲯鳅肉会使他恶心，弄得他呕吐，丧失体力，于是用他的左手和双肩拽住了大鱼，哈腰用右手捧起海水，把粘在脸上被压烂的鲯鳅肉洗掉。洗完了脸，他倚着船帮，把右手放进海水里洗了洗，然后让它泡在盐水里，同时注视着黎明前的第一线曙光。大鱼大概是朝东方走的，他想，这说明它累了，在顺着潮流走。它马上就得兜圈子了。那时我们就会真正开战啦。

他觉得右手在水里泡得差不多了，便拿出来看了看。

“伤得不算重，”他说，“大男人嘛，一点痛算什么。”

他抓住钓线，小心翼翼地不让钓线勒进新伤痕里。他调整了一下身体重心，便于从小船的另一侧把左手泡到海水里去。

“你个废物点心，今晚总算干得还不赖，”他对他的左手说，“可是曾经那么一阵子，你却不来帮我。”

为什么我没生出两只好手呢？他想，也许是我自己的过，没有努力训练这只手。可是上帝作证它的学习机会已经够多了。话又说回来，它今天夜里干得还可以，只抽了一回筋。要是它再抽筋的话，就让这钓线把它勒断算了。

想着想着，他感到脑子已经糊涂了。他想起应该再嚼一点儿鲯鳅。可是我不可以这样，他告诫自己。头晕眼花也比恶心呕吐、浑身无力好。因为我的脸把鲯鳅肉压烂了，就算吃进去，胃里肯定也存不住。鲯鳅没坏，我就先留着，以备急需。可是现在要想即时增加营养来增强气力，已经太迟了。你可真笨，他骂自己。把那条剩下的飞鱼吃了不就得了嘛。

洗得干干净净的飞鱼就摆在那里，触手可及。老人用左手拎起飞鱼，细嚼慢咽，最后连骨头带尾巴吃了个精光。

飞鱼差不多比什么鱼都更有营养，他想，起码可以增强我的体力，这可是我需要的。现在，我能做到的都做了，他想，让大鱼尽管来兜圈子吧，我们开战吧。

自从老人出海以来，这是第三次出太阳，这时鱼打起转来了。

从钓线的倾斜的角度，他还无法看出大鱼在兜圈子，还不到时候。他只隐约觉得钓线上的拉力略略减轻了一些，就开始用右手轻轻往回拉。钓线像往常那样绷紧了，而就在它快被拉断的关口，却慢慢地放松，可以收回来了。他把肩膀和头从钓线下面钻出来，然后开始稳稳地、缓缓地往回收钓线。他挥舞着双手，左右开弓，使尽全身力气，尽量让身体和双腿也使上劲儿。他一下接一下地拉着，带动着两条老迈的双腿和肩膀跟着晃动。

“真是个大圈呢，”他说，“大鱼终于兜圈子啦。”

没过多久，钓线拉不回来了，他用力拉着，看见阳光下的钓线被绷得水珠飞溅。接下来，钓线开始往外滑了，老人跪了下来，让它再次滑回进黑漆漆的海水中，满心的不情愿。

“它正绕到圈子的最外围的地方了。”他说。我必须死死拉住，他想，只要拉住了，它兜的圈子就会越来越小。我大概不到一个小时就会看到它。我眼下一定要降服它，然后杀死它。

可是大鱼还在慢悠悠地兜圈子，两小时以后，老人已经汗流浃背，骨头都酸软了。不过此时圈子已经小了不少，老人凭借钓线倾斜的程度，判断出大鱼一面游一面在不断地上浮。

一个小时了，老人总觉得眼前发黑，到处是黑点，他的眼睛、眼睛上方和额头上的伤口被带盐分的汗水浸得生痛。眼前的那些黑点他倒不怕，他拉钓线时卯足了劲儿，出现黑点很正常。让他忧心忡忡的是已有两次感到头昏目眩了。

“我不能让自己垮下去，就这样死在一条鱼的手里，”他说，“既然我已经叫它这样漂漂亮亮地过来了，上帝，求求您，帮助我挺过来吧。虽然我现在不能念，但事后我会念一百遍《天主经》和一百遍《圣母经》的。”

就算已经念过了吧，他想，我过后会补上的。

就在这关口，他觉得双手抓着的钓线被突然一撞一扯，来势汹汹，凌厉而沉重。

它正用它的长剑一样的嘴巴撞击金属接钩线，他想，这是一定会发生的情况。它只好这样干。可是这样的话，可能会使得它跳起来，我倒宁愿它继续兜圈子。它非得跳出海面来呼吸空气不可。可是每跳一次，钓钩扯开的伤口就会扯大一些，最终它就可能脱钩。

“别跳啦，大鱼，”他说，“别跳啦。”

大鱼又朝金属接钩绳猛撞了数次，它每甩一次头，老人就放出一小段钓线。

我必须让它痛的地方更痛，他想。我痛没什么，我能忍住，它却能痛得发疯。

过了一会儿，大鱼不再狠撞金属接钩绳，重又慢吞吞地兜起圈子。老人这时正在逐渐收拢钓线。但是他又感到头晕目眩了，于是他用左手舀了些海水，淋在头上。随后他再淋了点儿，在脖子上揉搓着。

“我还没抽筋，”他说，“大鱼很快就会跳出水面，我挺得住。你当然要挺住，这还有什么好说的。”

老人倚着船头跪下，暂时又把钓线背在背上。现在，我要趁大鱼朝外兜圈子的空挡歇一歇，等它兜回来的时候再站起身来对付它，他的主意已定。

他多么渴望在船头歇一下，让大鱼自己兜一个圈子，不用回收一点儿钓线啊。但是等到钓线松了，说明大鱼已经转身往小船游的时候，老人还是站起身来，开始转动身体，左右开弓，双手交替着收钓线，他的钓索都是这样收回来的。

我从来没有这么累过，他想，现在信风又刮起来了。不过，顺风顺水地正好把大鱼拖回去。我太需要这信风啦。

“等大鱼下次朝外兜圈子的时候，我得歇一歇，”他说，“我现在觉得好多了。大鱼要是再兜两三圈的话，我就能捉住它。”

他的草帽掉到后脑勺上去了，他觉察到大鱼正在转身，他被钓线一扯，结果一屁股坐到了船头。

你现在就扯吧，鱼啊，他想，回头看我怎么收拾你。

海浪更大更高了，不过这是晴天里吹的和风，他得靠和风才能回家。

“我只要朝西南划就可以，”他说，“大男人在海上是绝对不会迷路的，再说这还有个长长的大岛呢(25)。”

大鱼兜到第三圈，他才第一次跟它打了个照面。

他先是看到一个黑呼呼的身影，它从船底下经过，过了那么长时间，他简直无法相信它有这么长。

“不会吧，”他说，“它怎么会这么大呢。”

但是它的确就是这么大，第三圈兜下来，大鱼就在三十码开外冒出了海面，尾巴高高地伸出海面上，比一把大镰刀的刀头还要长。老人看见它一条很淡很淡的紫色的尾巴向后偏斜，在深蓝的海面上挺立着。鱼在海面上游动的时候，老人看得见它庞大的身躯和浑身的紫色条纹。它的脊鳍低垂，宽大的胸鳍大开着。

大鱼兜这个圈子回来的时候，老人看见它的一只眼睛，还有绕着它游动的两条灰色的乳鱼。它们时而紧紧地靠着大鱼，时而快速地闪开，时而在大鱼的阴影里逍遥地游窜。每条乳鱼都足有三英尺多长，游得快时全身摇摆，活像鳗鱼。

此时此刻，老人汗流浃背，是太阳晒的，更有别的原因。大鱼每次稳稳当当、安安静静地兜转回来时，他都收回一点儿钓线，所以他相信，大鱼再兜上两圈，他就有机会用鱼叉叉中它了。

可是我一定要把大鱼拉近，拉近，拉近，越近越好，他想，我绝不能扎它的头。我要扎进它的心脏。

“要稳，要狠，老家伙。”他说。

大鱼又兜了一圈，鱼脊露出了水面，只是离小船还不够近。大鱼再兜了一圈，还是太远，不过鱼脊在水面上露得更多些了，所以老人可以肯定，只要再收回一段钓线，就可以把大鱼拉到船帮了。

老人早就把鱼叉准备停当，连着叉上的那卷细绳子放在一个圆筐里，另一头牢牢地绑在船头的缆绳柱上。

就在此刻，大鱼兜完了一个圈游回来了，它从容淡定，优雅漂亮，只有大尾巴在摆动。老人使出全身的力量想把大鱼拽得近些。一时间，大鱼的身子倾斜了一点儿，后来又竖直了身体，又兜开圈子了。

“我拽动大鱼了，”老人说，“我这次拽动大鱼了。”

他又感到头晕目眩，可他还是使出全身力气拽住了那条大鱼。我拽动了大鱼，他想，也许这次我能把它拽过来。拽吧，手啊，他想，站稳了，腿。为我挺下去吧，头。为了我挺下去吧。你可是从来没昏倒过。这一回我就要把它拽过来了。

可是，等他在大鱼还没有靠近船边的时候，就使出吃奶的力气开始拽，拼力往回拽，而大鱼却只是向小船靠近了一点点，然后就改变方向，游走了。

“大鱼啊，”老人说，“大鱼，你反正是活不成了，莫非你让我也活不成吗？”

照这样下去我会无功而返，他想。他口干舌燥，说不出话来，可是现在他不能取水喝。我这次非把它拽过来不可，他想，它要是再兜几圈，我就完了。不，你能行，他对自己说。你总是好样儿的。

在大鱼兜下一圈的时候，他差不多就要把它拽过来了。可是大鱼又转变了方向，缓缓地游走了。

你要把我拖死啊，大鱼啊，老人想，不过拖死我，也是你的权利。我打了一辈子的鱼，从没见过比你更庞大、更优雅、更沉静、更高贵的东西，兄弟。来吧，拖死我吧。我觉得咱俩谁整死谁都成。

你现在脑子犯浑啦，他想，你一定要保持头脑清醒。保持头脑清醒，要像个男子汉大丈夫，经得起艰难困苦，要不就像一条鱼那样，他想。

“清醒一下吧，脑袋瓜子，”他说，声音轻得连自己都几乎听不见，“清醒一下吧。”

鱼又兜了两圈，还是老样子。

我搞不明白，老人想。每次他都觉得自己快要挺不住了。我搞不明白，可我还要试一下。

他又试了一下，等他把鱼拽过来的时候，他觉得累得快昏倒了。大鱼在海面上摆动着巨大的尾巴，摆正了身体，又缓缓地游开了。

虽然双手已经软弱无力，眼睛也时时模糊不清，老人还是对自己许诺，再试一下。

他又试了一次，情形还是那样。原来如此，他想，还没动手就觉得要昏过去了，我还要再试一次。

他强忍伤痛，拼却余力，抖擞精神，恢复久违的自傲，全身心地迎接大鱼的垂死挣扎。就在这时，大鱼向船边游了过来，在他身边文静地游着，鱼嘴差点儿碰着了小船的船帮。它正在船边游过，银光闪闪的身体那么长，那么高，那么宽，布满了紫色条纹，在水里看不到尽头。

老人放下钓线，一脚踩住，把鱼叉高高举起，举得尽可能的高，使出全身的力气，加上他刚才积聚的气力，朝下直刺过去，鱼叉正中鱼身的一侧大胸鳍后面的鱼腰。胸鳍高高地竖立在空中，与老人的胸膛一样高。老人感觉已经把铁叉刺进了鱼身，就用身子顶住鱼叉，让鱼叉刺得更深，然后用全身的重量压了下去。

接着，死到临头的大鱼开始了垂死挣扎，它从水中凌空而起，展示了它那惊人的长度与宽度，力量和美丽。一时间，大鱼犹如高悬在空中一般，就在小船里的老人的头上。然后，随着哗的一声，大鱼落入水中，浪花溅到老人的身上、船上，到处都是。

老人感到头昏眼花，恶心难受，看不清楚东西。可他还是挣扎着放开了叉绳，让它从两只擦破了皮的双手中缓缓滑开。等恢复了视力以后，他看见大鱼仰面朝天，露出了银光闪闪的肚皮。鱼叉的柄从鱼的肩部斜伸出来，形成了一定的角度。从大鱼的心脏里流出的鲜血染红了周围的海水。开始，这摊血黑糊糊的，犹如一英里多深的蓝色海水中的一个鱼群。继而，它像云彩般铺散开来。大鱼银光闪闪，直挺挺地随着波浪起起伏伏。

老人趁眼睛看得清时，向周围仔细地看了看。随后，他把鱼叉绳在船头的缆桩上绕了两圈，然后双手托着腮。

“一定要让我的头脑保持清醒，”他倚在船头的木板上说，“我现在是一个筋疲力尽的老头儿，可是我杀死了这条大鱼，它是我的兄弟，所以我得去干苦活儿啦。”

现在我得准备好套索和绳子，把它们拴在船帮上，他想，就算我这里有两个人，把船装满了水，把大鱼拉上船，然后把水舀出去，这条小船也绝对装不下大鱼。我得做好一切准备，然后把大鱼拽过来，捆好系牢，然后竖起桅杆，张帆回航。

于是，老人动手拽大鱼，想把大鱼拽到船边，好用一根绳子从鳃里穿进去，再从嘴里拉出来，把鱼头牢牢地绑在船头侧翼。我想看看它，他想，碰碰它，摸摸它。它是我的财富啊，他想，不过，我想摸摸它倒不是为了这个。我第二次握着鱼叉的把柄刺进去的时候，我认为刚才碰到了它的心脏，他想，现在得把它拽过来绑紧，用一根套索拴住它的尾巴，另一根拴住它的腰部，把它和小船绑定。

“开始干吧，老家伙。”他说。他喝了一小口水。

“仗已经打完，还有好多苦活儿要干呢。”

老人举头望了望天空，又低头望了望船外的大鱼。他仔细端详着太阳。晌午才过了一会儿功夫，他想。信风就起来了。现在，这些钓线都派不上用场了。回家以后，我和孩子再把它们接起来吧。

“过来呀，大鱼，”他说。可是大鱼非但没过来，却反而躺在海面上翻滚起来，老人只好划着小船向它靠拢。

等他跟大鱼并排，又把鱼的头靠在船头边以后，他简直无法相信大鱼竟有这么大。他从缆桩上解下叉绳，穿进鱼鳃，从鱼嘴里抽出来，绕着那长剑似的上颚上绕了一圈，然后从另一个鱼鳃穿进来，在剑嘴上绕了一圈，把这双股绳子打个结，牢牢地绑在船头的缆桩上。最后，他割下一段绳子，走到船尾，把大鱼尾巴系住。他定睛一看，大鱼已经从原来的紫色和银色变成了纯银色，周身的条纹和尾巴一样，成了淡紫色。这些条纹比一个人五指张开的巴掌还要宽，大鱼的眼神看上去呆滞冷漠，像潜望镜中的折射镜或者礼拜行列中的圣徒像。

“只有这么干，才能杀死它。”老人说。他喝了水以后，感觉渐渐地好些了，知道自己不会昏过去了，脑子还清醒。看这条大鱼的块头，足有一千五百磅重，他想，只多不少。掐头去尾以后，纯肉的重量也占三分之二了，按一磅三角钱算，这条大鱼能卖多少钱呢？

“我需要一支铅笔，这样才能算清楚，”他说，“我的脑子没那么清醒，心算是算不出来的。不过，我想那个伟大的迪马吉奥今天也会为我自豪。我没像他那样长骨刺，就是双手和后背真够痛的。”骨刺是什么东西呢，他想，没准儿我们人人都长着骨刺，自己还不知道吧。

老人把鱼牢牢地捆系在船头、船梢和船中部的座板上。大鱼太大啦，就像在船边绑上了一条比小船大得多的大船。老人割下一段钓线，把鱼的下颌和长上颚拢在一起捆住，避免鱼嘴张开，船就可以尽可能顺畅地前行了。接下来，老人把桅杆竖起来，装上那根当手钩用的棍棒和下桁，扬起带补丁的帆，船移动起来了。他在船尾半躺半卧着，小船向西南方驶去。

老人不用罗盘导航就知道哪个方向是西南方。他只要感受到信风的吹拂和船帆的转向便可以清楚明了。我最好还是往水里放一根带匙形假饵的细线，弄点儿东西吃吃喝喝，润润嗓子。可是他找不到匙形假饵，连他的沙丁鱼也都烂掉了。于是他在小船经过一簇黄色的马尾藻的时候，用手钩把马尾藻钩了上来，然后抖了抖，马尾藻里的小虾就落到了小船船板上。小虾总共有十来只，像沙蚤一样欢蹦乱跳着。老人用拇指和食指把虾头掐掉，连壳带尾巴嚼起来，吃了下去。他清楚，小虾虽小，却既营养又美味。

老人的瓶里还有两口水，他吃完虾，喝了半口。小船小，载重大，能这样行驶已经蛮不错了。他用胳膊夹着舵柄，掌握着方向。老人能看得见大鱼，他只要瞧瞧自己的双手，感受到后背靠到船尾上所造成的疼痛，就可以相信这的确是发生过的真事儿，而不是一场梦。曾有那么一刻，他觉得很糟糕，无法进行到底了，当时他以为这也许是一场梦。等他后来看到鱼从水中一跃而起，在落下前一动不动地高悬在天际的那一刹那，他确信这里一定有着什么某种令人难以置信的莫大的奥秘。可那一瞬间他视线模糊，没能像现在这样看得跟平时一样分明。

此时此刻，老人清楚大鱼就在眼前，他的双手和后背上的疼痛也都不是梦中的幻觉。这双手很快就会好的，他想，咸咸的海水会把这双流干了鲜血的双手泡好的。这黑蓝的、纯正的湾流海水，是世上最好的灵丹妙药。我现在要做的就是保持头脑清醒。这两只手已经恪尽职守，我们的航行正常顺利。大鱼的嘴巴紧闭，尾巴竖得笔直笔直，我们像亲兄弟一样携手前行。后来，老人的头脑有点儿混乱了，他竟然想，是大鱼在带我回家，还是我在带大鱼回家呢？如果我把大鱼拖在船后面，那这个问题就不存在了。或者，假如大鱼尊严全无地被放在这小船上，那么也没有问题。可是大鱼和小船是绑在一起并驾齐驱，齐头并进的，所以老人想，只要它愿意，就让它带我回家好了。我其实是用了手段才胜它一筹的，而它原本并没有伤害我的意思。

大鱼和小船行驶正常平稳。老人把手泡到咸咸的海水里，竭力保持着头脑清醒。天上的积云叠层架屋，积云的上面更有厚厚的卷云，老人就此判断：和风还会刮下去，持续一夜。老人时不时地望望大鱼，来肯定确有其事。这时，距第一条鲨鱼来袭击大鱼还有一个小时。

这条鲨鱼的出现绝非偶然。当那一大摊暗红的鲜血向一英里深的海里下沉弥漫的时候，鲨鱼就从水底深处蹿上来了。它蹿得飞快，简直是不顾一切，径直穿破了蓝色的海面，暴露在阳光下。随后鲨鱼又跃入海中，循着血腥味，沿着着小船和大鱼所走的路线游了过来。

有时候，血腥味会嗅不到，不过，过一会儿总会再次嗅到，哪怕是只嗅到那么一丁点儿，鲨鱼都会穷追不舍，迅速跟进。这条灰色大鲭鲨，天生魁伟，像海里游得最快的鱼一样迅猛，除了上下颚，通体美妙。它的背部蓝蓝的，像剑鱼，肚子银白，鱼皮光滑亮丽。除了它那张大嘴，这条鲨鱼貌似剑鱼。此时此刻，它紧闭着大嘴正在水面下快速地游着，高高耸起的脊鳍刀一般地划破水面，不摇不动。在它紧闭着的双唇里，八排利齿，颗颗内倾。与普通鲨鱼常见的金字塔形牙齿不同，它们像动物的爪子般地蜷曲起来的人的手指，跟老人的手指差不多一样长，两侧的刃口都像剃刀般锋利。这种鱼生来就把海里所有的鱼当食料，它们速度迅猛，体格健壮，武器精良，所向无敌。此时此刻，它闻到了鲜美的血腥味，随即加快了速度，蓝蓝的脊鳍一路划破了水面。

老人看见鲨鱼游过来，知道这是一条胆大包天、任性妄为的鲨鱼。他一面注视着鲨鱼动静，一面准备鱼叉，系紧绳索。可绳子却短了些，缺的那段，正是被他割下绑鱼的那段。

此时此刻，老人头脑清醒，状态正常，决心很大，但没抱多大希望。好梦太好，怎奈不长，他想。他密切注视着鲨鱼迫近，还抽空看了一眼自己的大鱼。这或许就是一场美梦，他想，我不能阻止它的进攻，但是也许我能杀死它。尖嘴灰鲭鲨(26)，他想，叫你妈的倒霉。

鲨鱼飞速地逼近船尾，老人看见鲨鱼袭击大鱼的时候张开的大嘴和那双怪异的眼睛。只听嘎吱一声，鲨鱼便一口咬住了大鱼尾巴上面的皮肉。鲨鱼的头钻出了水面，鱼脊也显露出来，老人清楚地听见大鱼的皮肉被撕裂的声音。就在这时，他举起鱼叉，猛地向下刺进鲨鱼的脑袋，正刺在鲨鱼两眼连成的横线和鼻梁以上的纵向交点眉心上。其实这两条线并不存在。存在的是那尖尖的、重重的蓝色脑袋，一双大大的眼睛和那嘎吱作响、吞噬一切的突出的两颚。可是老人所刺中的交点，正是脑子的位置，老人直朝脑子刺去。他用鲜血模糊的双手，使出全身力气，高举一支锋利的鱼叉刺去。老人刺鲨鱼，虽然不抱希望，却决心十足，仇恨满腔。

鲨鱼翻了白，老人看出它眼神暗淡下来了，接着它又翻了个，自己给自己缠上了两道绳索。老人清楚，鲨鱼奄奄一息了，但却还在做垂死挣扎。于是，它肚皮朝天，尾巴甩打着，颚骨嘎吱作响，像一条快艇似地破浪前进。它的尾巴把海水拍打出一片雪白的浪花，四分之三的身体显露在海面上，就在这时，绳子绷紧了，颤动着，啪的一声断了。鲨鱼在水面上静静地漂浮了一会儿，老人目不转睛盯着它，看着它终于缓缓地地沉下去了。

“它咬掉了大约四十磅肉。”老人把心里的想法说出声来。它把我的鱼叉连同所有的绳子都带走了，他想，而现在我的大鱼又流血了，会招来别的鲨鱼的。

因为大鱼已经被咬得残缺不全了，老人不忍心再看大鱼一眼。大鱼被撕咬的时候，他感到就像自己被撕咬了一样。

可是我杀死了这条袭击我的大鱼的鲨鱼，他想，而它是我见到过的最大的鲭鲨。上帝作证，大鲨鱼我可是没少见呢。

好梦太好，怎奈不长，他想，我现在但愿这是一场梦，但愿我根本没有钓到过这条大鱼，但愿我正独自躺在铺着报纸的床上睡大觉。

“不过人不是为被打败而生的，”他说，“一个人可以被毁灭，却不能被打败。”尽管如此，我杀掉了大鱼，心里还是很伤感，他想，现在困难的时刻就要来了，可我却连鱼叉也没有了。尽管这条鲭鲨凶悍残忍、身强力壮、精明强干，但是我比它更聪明。他转念一想，这也不一定，也许我只是武器装备比它强吧。

“别想啦，老家伙，”他把心里的想法说出声来，“顺着这航线向前走，事到临头再面对吧。”

可是我非想不可，他想，因为我要做的只有这件事了。这件事，还有棒球赛。不知道伟大的迪马吉奥可会喜欢我刺中鲨鱼的脑子的方式？这不是什么了不得的事儿，他想，任何人都能干得来。可是，你认为我这双受伤的手是一个像骨刺一样的大麻烦吗？我无法知道。我的脚后跟从来没有出过问题，唯一的一次例外是在游泳时，一脚踩着了一条海鳐鱼，脚后跟扎了一下，当时小腿就麻木了，痛得受不了。

“别自寻烦恼啦，想点儿高兴的事吧，老家伙，”他说，“每过一分钟，你离家就近一点。你损失了四十磅鱼肉，小船走起来却更轻便了。”

他心里很明白，小船驶进了海流的中段会发生什么事情。可是现在却是一筹莫展。

“不是这样的，我有招儿了，”他把心里的想法说出声来，“我可以把刀绑在一支桨把上嘛。”

说做就做，他用胳膊挟着舵柄，用一只脚踩着帆脚索把刀绑上了。

“好嘞，”他说，“我还是个老头儿，可我现在有武器了。”

这时，和风劲吹，小船顺风顺水。他只盯着鱼的上半身看，心中重新燃起了些许希望。

人不抱希望才傻呢，他想，还有啊，我认为这是一宗罪。别想什么罪过不罪过的了，他想，不想罪过，现在的烦心事已经够多啦，再说我对罪过也一窍不通。

我对罪过一窍不通，也说不准是不是相信罪过的说法。杀死这条大鱼也许算是一宗罪过。虽然我是为了糊口，也是为了给许多人供应吃食才这么干的，我看还是一宗罪过。不过要是这么想的话，干什么事都是罪过啦。别想罪过了，现在想也实在太晚了，再说有些人拿着薪水专门研究罪过的，就让他们去琢磨吧。你天生就是渔夫，正如那条大鱼天生就是鱼一样。圣徒彼得(27)是个渔夫，就像那个伟大的迪马吉奥的父亲一样。

但是老人喜欢去想一切与他有关的事情，而且因为没有读物可读，也没有收音机可听，他就不免想了许多，还继续想着罪过的问题。你杀了这条大鱼，不光是为了自己糊口、把鱼卖了再买食品，他想，你杀死它还是为了自己的尊严，因为你是个渔夫。大鱼活着的时候你爱它，大鱼死了以后你依然爱它。如果你爱它，杀死它就不是罪过。也许是更大的罪过呢？

“你想得太多了，老家伙。”老人把心里的想法说了出来。

可是你很享受杀死那条鲭鲨的过程，他想，它跟你一样，靠吃活鱼为生。它不是食腐动物，也不像有些鲨鱼那样，只知道游来游去填饱肚皮。鲭鲨高贵而优雅，无所畏惧。

“我杀死它是正当自卫，”老人把心里的想法说出声来，“再说我干得也很干脆利落。”

还有，他想，世上的事物都是一物降一物，只是降服的方法不一样罢了。打鱼让我得以生存，也会让我丧命。那个孩子使我活下去，他想，我不能过于自欺。

老人探身船外，从大鱼身上扯下一片肉，那是被鲨鱼撕扯过的地方。他嚼起来，觉得肉质鲜嫩，味道鲜美，像食草动物的肉似的肉紧多汁，只不过不是红色的。鱼肉里一根筋都没有，他清楚，这样的鱼肉拿到市场上，准能卖上最好的价钱。可是没法控制它的香味不在水里传播开去，老人清楚，即将大难临头了。

微风不停地吹拂着，又微微偏向了东北，老人明白，这意味着风不会停歇。老人向前极目远眺，却不见一丝帆影、一只船身或轮船冒出的青烟。只有从他船头下方跃起的飞鱼，向船两边逃窜，还有一摊摊黄色的马尾藻，他甚至连一只飞鸟也看不见。

老人的小船已经航行了两个钟头，他在船尾休息，时而从大马林鱼身上撕下一点儿肉来嚼嚼，尽量休养生息，保存体力，就在这时，他看到了两条鲨鱼中率先露面的那条。

“Ay。”他把心里的想法说出声来。这个词儿是不可译的，也许不过是一声叫喊，就像一个人觉得钉子穿透双手，被钉进木头时不自觉地发出的声音。

“铲鼻鲨(28)。”他把心里的想法说出声来。他看见在第一个鳍的后面，又出现了一个鳍，老人从棕褐色的三角鳍和摆来摆去的尾巴来判断，它们是两条铲鼻鲨。它们嗅到了血腥气，情绪高昂，因为饿昏了头，激动得一会儿找不到腥味，一会儿又嗅到了。它们一直在步步迫近。

老人系紧帆脚索，固定住舵柄。随后抄起绑着刀子的船桨，尽量轻轻地举起，因为他那双手疼痛难忍了。然后他张开手掌，再轻轻握住桨，让双手松弛下来。他一面握紧双手，忍着巨痛，绝不退缩，一面注视着鲨鱼过来。此时此刻，他已经能够看它们那铲子似的宽宽扁扁的头，和宽宽的、上端惨白的胸鳍。这是两条可恶的鲨鱼，臭气熏天，既吃其他种类的活鱼，也吃腐烂的死鱼，饿急了的时候，连船桨和船舵都吃。就是这些鲨鱼，会趁海龟在海面上熟睡的时候，咬掉海龟的脚和鳍状肢。如果饿了，还会在水里袭击人，尽管人身上并没有鱼血或黏液的腥味。

“Ay，”老人说，“铲鼻鲨。来吧，铲鼻鲨。”

它们来啦，但是它们来的方式和那条灰鲭鲨不一样。一条鲨鱼一转身，消失在小船底下看不见了，它用嘴撕扯着大鱼，老人感觉小船被憾动了。另一条鲨鱼用它那黄色的眯缝眼盯着老人，然后快速冲了过来，大张着半圆形的上下颚，朝大鱼身上被咬过的地方咬去。鲨鱼棕褐色的头顶以及鱼头与脊髓相连的鱼脊上有道清晰的条纹，老人举起绑在桨上的刀向那个交叉点刺去，又拔出来，扎进鲨鱼的猫眼般的黄眼睛里。鲨鱼松了口，身子朝下滑，临死时还把咬下的肉吞了下去。

另一条鲨鱼还在祸害那条大鱼，小船还在摇晃。老人放开帆脚索，让小船侧过来，露出了船底的鲨鱼。老人一看见鲨鱼，就从船舷上探出身子挥桨猛扎。鲨鱼的鱼皮又厚又硬，很难扎透，老人只扎到了鱼肉。这一扎，不仅伤了老人的双手，还伤了老人的肩膀。可就在这个节骨眼上，鲨鱼快速浮出海面，露出了脑袋，鼻子伸出水面触到了那条大鱼，老人对准它扁平的脑袋正中扎了下去。老人抽出刀来，瞄准同一地方又扎了下去。鲨鱼依旧上下颚紧闭，死死地咬住大鱼不放，老人一刀扎进鲨鱼的左眼，鲨鱼还是纠缠不休。

“还不罢休？”老人说着，把刀刃扎进鲨鱼的后颈。这次扎起来很容易，老人凭手感感到鲨鱼的软骨断了。老人把桨倒过来，把桨片插进鲨鱼的两颚之间，想撬开鲨鱼。老人把桨片一拧，鲨鱼松了口，夺路而逃。老人说：“逃吧，铲鼻鲨，逃到一英里深的水下吧。去找你的朋友吧，也可能是你妈吧。”

老人把刀刃擦了擦，把桨放下。然后他摸到了帆脚索，拉起船帆，让小船沿着原来的航线行驶。

“它们肯定把大鱼的四分之一都吞了，还都是上好的肉，”老人把心里的想法说了出来，“我多希望这只是梦一场，多希望我从来不曾钓过它。我真为这件事抱歉，大鱼。把一切都搞砸啦。”他住了嘴，这时再也不愿意看大鱼一眼。大鱼流尽了血，又被海水冲刷，看上去像镜子背面银色的水银，身上的条纹依旧清晰可见。

“大鱼啊，我真不该出这么远的海，”他说，“你也不该，我也不该，我对不起你啊，大鱼。”

得了，他对自己说，检查一下绑刀子的绳子，看看断了没有。再把手伤治一治弄好，因为还有更多的鲨鱼要来呢。

“真希望有块石头可以磨磨刀，”老人检查了一下绑在桨把上的刀子后说，“我原该带一块磨石来的。”你应该带来的东西多着呢，他想，可是你却没带来，老家伙。现在可不是想你没带什么东西的时候，还是想想怎么用现有的东西备战吧。

“你给了我太多的忠告了，”老人把心里的想法说了出来，“我都听烦啦。”

他把舵柄夹在胳膊下面，双手泡在海水里，小船朝前驶去。

“上帝知道最后那条鲨鱼究竟吃了多少鱼肉，”他说，“不过小船现在倒是轻得多了。”他不愿去想大鱼那残破不堪的鱼肚子。他清楚，鲨鱼每次猛烈地撞击，总要扯掉一块肉，还清楚，大鱼此刻在海上给所有的鲨鱼留下了一条血腥气路线，宽得像公路一样。

这条大鱼够一个人吃一冬的，他想，别想这个啦。还是休整一下，尽力把你的手恢复好，也好守住剩下的鱼肉吧。海里的血腥味这么重，我手上的血腥味就不算什么了。再说我手上出的血并不多。割破的地方也不算什么。左手出血或许还能防止我的左手不抽筋呢。

我这个时候还有什么可想？他想，没什么了。我必须心无旁骛，专待下一批鲨鱼的进攻。我多么希望这果真是一场梦啊，他想，不过谁能料得着呢？也许会转危为安呢。

接着来的鲨鱼是条独行的铲鼻鲨。如果说猪能有一张可以把脑袋伸进去的大嘴的话，那么来势汹汹的这条铲鼻鲨就像是一头直奔食槽的猪。老人任由它去咬大鱼，然后举起桨上绑着的刀向下扎去，扎进了它的脑袋。可鲨鱼却奋力扭动，连连后退，刀子啪地一声断了。

老人平心静气地回身掌舵，不理会那条大鲨鱼在缓缓下沉，起初还是原来那么大，后来渐渐小了，最后只剩下一点点儿这种情景向来让老人着迷。可是这次他连看都不看一眼。

“我现在还有手钩，”他说，“不过没用。我还有两把桨、一个舵把和一根短棍。”

现在它们把我打败了，他想，我太老了，没有力气用棍子打死鲨鱼了。可是只要我的桨、短棍和舵把还在，我就要试试看。

老人又把双手放在海水里泡着。下午快过去了，傍晚即将来临，天苍苍，海茫茫，此外他什么也看不到。天空中的风更大了，他盼望不久可以看到陆地。

“你筋疲力尽啦，老家伙，”他说，“身心俱疲。”

日落前，鲨鱼再次来袭。

老人看见两片褐色的鳍，鲨鱼正顺着大鱼的血腥味不可避免地在水里留下的宽阔的路线赶来。它们无须刻意寻找，而是并驾齐驱，径直冲了过来。

老人刹住舵把，捆好风帆脚索，伸手到船尾下面拿棍子。这本来是个桨把，是从一支断桨上锯下的，约有两英尺半长。因为上面有个把手，他只能使一只手，于是他一面用右手好好地抓起短棍，牢牢地攥住，一面注视着着冲过来的鲨鱼。两条都是加拉诺鲨。

我必须等第一条鲨鱼牢牢地咬住了大鱼再打它的鼻尖，或者直接打它的头顶中央，他想。

两条鲨鱼双双迫近，老人一看到离他较近的那条张嘴咬进大鱼银白色的胁腹，就高举起棍子，狠狠地打下去，砰！正中鲨鱼宽阔的头盖骨。棍子落下去，感觉得好像打在柔韧的橡胶上，同时也感受到了硬邦邦的骨头。他就趁鲨鱼从那鱼身上朝下滑的时候，又狠狠地朝它鼻尖上打了一下。

刚才，另一条鲨鱼一直在往来奔突，这时张大了嘴巴又冲了上来。它一头撞在大鱼身上，合拢了两颚，于是老人看见一块块白花花的鱼肉从它嘴角耷拉了下来。老人抡起棍子便打，只打中了它的头。鲨鱼看了看老人，把咬在嘴里的肉一口扯下。老人趁它边吞咽鱼肉边溜之大吉的时候，又抄起棍子朝它打下去，只打中了鲨鱼那又厚又韧橡胶似的鲨鱼皮上。

“来吧，加拉诺鲨，”老人说,“再来呀。”

鲨鱼又急吼吼地冲了上来，老人竭尽全力，把棍子高高举起，趁它合拢两颚时给了它一下，这一下着实打中了。老人觉得打中的是脑后骨，所以又给脑后骨补了一棍。鲨鱼呆呆地把嘴里咬的鱼肉扯了下来，从大鱼身边滑下去了。

老人守着，等着，以为第二条鲨鱼会卷土重来，可是两条鲨鱼都没有露面。接着他发现其中一条鲨鱼在海面上转圈儿游着，他没有看见另外一条鲨鱼的鳍。

我没奢望打死它们，他想，那是我年轻时候的本领。可我已经把它俩打成了重伤，哪条鲨鱼都好不到哪去。要是我能用双手抡起一根棒球棒，我准能把第一条鲨鱼打死。就算是现在也没问题，他想。

他不忍再看那条大鱼，他知道大鱼的半个鱼身已经被咬烂了。他刚才跟鲨鱼搏斗的时候，太阳已经落下去了。

“天马上就要黑了，”老人说，“天黑以后，我就能看见哈瓦那的灯火。如果我往东走得太远了，我会看见一个刚刚开发的海滩上的灯光啦。”

现在我离陆地也不会太远，他想，我希望没人为我担心。当然啦，只有那个孩子会担心。可是我相信他一定有信心。不少老渔夫也会担心的，还有其他人，人不会少，他想，我住的镇子里的人真好。

大鱼已经被咬得太惨了，他不能再跟大鱼说话了。随后，他脑袋里想起了什么。

“半拉子鱼啊，”老人说，“你本来是完整无缺的一条鱼呀。对不起，我出海出得太远了。害了你，也害了我。不过我和你，我们还联手杀死了好多条鲨鱼，还打伤了好多条。你杀死过多少鱼啊，宝贝大鱼？你头上长着那只长剑似的嘴，可不是白长的哦。”

他喜欢想这条大鱼，想如果它在大海里自由自在、纵横驰骋的话，它会采用什么方法去修理鲨鱼。我应该砍下它这长长的剑嘴做武器，跟那些鲨鱼斗，他想，可是没有斧头，那把刀也没了。

可是，如果我有刀，我就可以把它的剑嘴砍下来，绑在桨把上，那该是件多么好的武器啊。这样，我们就能够联手跟鲨鱼大干一场啦。要是鲨鱼夜里来偷袭，你会怎么办？你又有什么妙计？

“跟它们斗，”他说，“死了都要斗。”

可是，此时此刻四周一片黑暗，天上没有光亮，远处不见灯火，只有风在刮，帆不住地鼓着，老人觉得自己可能已经死了。他双手合掌，摸了摸掌心，一开一合之间，生命的痛楚感同身受，这双手没有死。他把后背靠在船尾上，他的肩膀告诉他，自己没有死，他明白。

老人想到，我许过愿，如果捕到了这条大鱼，就念多少遍祷文，只不过我现在筋疲力尽了，念不了啦。我最好还是把麻袋拿来披在肩上吧。

老人躺在船尾掌着舵，两眼望着天，等着天透亮。我还有半条鱼，他想，也许我交上好运，就能把大鱼的前半部带回去。我总该多少有点儿运气吧。不，他说，你出海出得太远，把好运给冲啦。

“别犯傻了，”他把心里的想法说了出来，“别犯迷糊，掌好舵。你也许还会鸿运当头，好运连连呢。”

“要是有什么地方有好运卖，我可是要买点儿。”他说。

我用什么买呢？他问自己，能用一支丢了的鱼叉、一把折断的刀子和两只受伤的手吗？

“没准儿能呢，”他说，“你不是曾经想用出海八十四天买过嘛，人家差一点儿就卖给你啦。”

我不能再胡思乱想，老人想，好运这东西，常常以许多不同的样式出现，谁能看出来呢？不过，不管什么样式的好运，我都想买一点儿，不惜代价。我多想看到灯火的反光啊，老人想，我的愿望太多了，可我此刻最大愿望只有这个。老人尽量坐得舒服些，也好掌舵。老人从身体的疼痛推断出，自己还没有死。

肯定是在夜里十点左右的时候，老人看见了城市的灯火的反光。开始只是隐约可见，就像月亮升起之前天上淡淡的光泽，接下来光辉渐渐明朗。与此同时，海风越来越大，海面变得波涛汹涌，小船已经走进了灯光折射的水域，他想，很快就能到达湾流的边缘了。

这场拼杀终于结束了，老人想，鲨鱼可能还会再来袭击我。可是，沉沉黑夜，孤身一人，没有武器，如何应对呢？

此时此刻，老人全身僵硬，在夜晚的寒气里，他的伤口和身上所有劳损的部位都疼痛难忍。但愿别再打了，他想，我真的不想再争斗了。

可是到了子夜时分，老人不得不再次奋起反击，而他明白这次反击也是徒劳。鲨鱼成群结队向大鱼扑去，他只看见一片片鱼鳍磷光闪闪，在海面上划出一道道线。老人用木棍打它们的头，听到上下颚咬大鱼发出的咔咔声，感觉到它们在船底下咬住了大鱼，小船在摇晃。老人什么也看不清，只能凭感觉和听觉，一棍接一棍地拼命地打。突然，他感到短棍被什么东西抓住了，短棍被拽走了。

他从舵上一把把舵把拧了下来，用舵把又打又砍，双手攥住了舵把一次次朝下扎去。可是此时此刻，鲨鱼都在船头边，先是单兵作战，后是集团冲锋，咬下一块块鱼肉，它们杀回马枪的时候，一块块鱼肉在水下闪闪发亮。

最后，有条鲨鱼朝大鱼的鱼头冲了过来，老人知道这下完了。鱼头坚硬，鱼肉咬不下来，鲨鱼被沉甸甸的鱼头卡住了，老人抡起舵把朝鲨鱼的脑袋砸去，一下，两下，三下。他听见舵把咔嚓一声断了，遂用剩下的一截向鲨鱼扎去。他感到扎了进去，清楚断头舵把很尖利，于是第二次扎了进去。鲨鱼松了口，连滚带爬地跑了。这是这群鲨鱼中来得最晚的那条。它们再也没有什么可吃的了。

老人这时已经上气不接下气，觉得嘴里有股怪怪的味道。这味道带着铜腥气，甜丝丝的，他一时紧张起来，好在味道没有那么重。

老人朝海里吐了一口说：“把它吃了，加拉诺鲨。做个好梦吧，梦见你杀了一个人。”

老人清楚自己终于被打败了，没法补救了，就回到船头，发现舵把那锯齿形的断头还可以安在船舵窄窄的槽里，他还能用它来掌舵。他把麻袋披在肩上，驾着小船顺着原来的航线驶去。船开得很轻松，他什么想法都没有，什么感觉都没有。此时此刻，他已超脱了一切，只想尽心尽力开好船，明智地把小船驶回自己家乡的港口。夜里，又有一些鲨鱼来咬大鱼的残骸，就像人从饭桌上捡面包屑吃一样。老人不去理会，除了掌舵以外他什么都不理会。他只留意到此时此刻船边没有了沉重的东西，小船行驶来那么轻松，那么出色。

小船还是好端端的，老人想，完整无缺，没有一点儿破损，只是断了一个舵把，换起来也不难。

此时此刻，老人感觉到已经行驶在湾流中，看得见海边渔村的万家灯火了。他知道到了什么地方，回家已经不是问题了。

老人想，无论如何，风总是我们的朋友。然后他又追加一句：有时候是。还有大海，海上有我们的朋友，也有我们的敌人。还有床，他想。床是我的朋友。对，就是小小的床，他想。床会是一件伟大的东西。被打败以后，感觉很轻松，他想。我从来没想到会这么轻松。那么，是什么把你打败的呢，他想。

“什么也不是，”他把心里的想法说了出来，“怪只怪我出海出得太远了。”

等老人驶进小港，带露台的饭馆的灯光都熄灭了，他知道人们都已上床睡觉了。此时此刻，和风越来越大，已经很强劲了，不过港湾里还是静悄悄的，他径直开到岩石下一小片卵石滩上。没有人帮忙，他只好尽自己的力量把船往上划。接着他跨出小船来，把小船系在一块岩石上。

他放下桅杆，卷起船，捆扎好。然后他打起桅杆，开始往岸上爬。这时候他才明白自己累到什么份上。他停了一会儿，转身回望，看到在街灯的映衬下，大鱼的巨大尾巴直挺挺地竖在小船船尾的后边。他看清了它那根白森森、赤裸裸的脊骨、利剑般的长嘴和黑糊糊的鱼头，而头尾之间却空空荡荡，一片肉也没有。

他继续往上爬，刚爬到坡顶就摔倒了。他顺势躺了一会儿，桅杆还是扛在肩上。他挣扎着想爬起来，可是太困难了，于是他就扛着桅杆坐在那儿，望着大路。一只猫从路对面走过，忙它自己的事，老人注视着它。接下来他只望着大路。

最后，他终于放下桅杆，站起身，把桅杆竖起，扛在肩上，顺着大路走去。他不得不坐下歇了五次，才回到他的棚屋。

进了棚屋，老人把桅杆靠在板墙上，在黑暗中摸到水瓶，喝了一口水。然后他便倒在床上，拽过毯子，盖住了双肩，然后裹住了背部和双腿，他脸朝下趴在报纸上，胳膊伸得直直的，手掌向上。

清晨，那个孩子从门外探头一看，他还睡着。风声正紧，那些漂网渔船不会出海了，孩子才睡了个懒觉。孩子清早起床以后，就到老人的棚屋来，天天如此。孩子看见老人还有气，再看老人的那双手，就哭起来了。孩子蹑手蹑脚地出了棚屋，去弄点儿咖啡，一路走一路哭。

好多渔夫围拢着老人那条小船，看着绑在船边的东西，其中一个渔夫卷起了裤腿站在水里，用一根钓线在量那条大鱼的骨架。

孩子没下去，他刚才去过了，其中有个渔夫正在替他照看小船。

“他现在怎么样啦？”一个渔夫大声问道。

“睡着呢。”孩子高声回答。人家看见他在哭，他不在乎。

“谁也别去打扰他。”

“从鼻子到尾巴有十八英尺长哦。”测量大鱼的渔夫喊道。

“我信。”孩子说。

他走进露台饭店，要了一罐咖啡。

“要烫的，多加牛奶和糖。”

“还要什么？”

“就这些，完了我再看他能吃点儿什么。”

“好大的鱼呀，”饭店老板说，“从来没有见过这样的鱼。你昨天捕到的那两条也不错。”

“我那两条，见鬼去吧。”孩子说完，又哭了起来。

“你自己想喝点儿什么饮料吗？”老板又问。

“不要，”孩子说，“告诉大伙别去打扰圣地亚哥。我去去就来。”

“告诉他，说我为他多么难过。”

“谢谢。”孩子说。

孩子捧着那罐热咖啡径直回到老人的棚屋，坐在他身旁，等他醒来。有一次眼看他快醒过来了，可又沉沉地睡过去了，于是孩子就跨过大路去借木柴，回来热咖啡。

老人总算是醒了。

“不要起来，”孩子说，“喝点儿这个。”他往一个玻璃杯里倒了些咖啡。

老人接过去喝了。

“它们把我打败了，马诺林，”他说，“它们真的把我打败了。”

“它没有打败你，那条大鱼没有打败你。”

“说真的，被打败是后来的事。”

“佩德里科在看着小船和打鱼的东西。你打算把鱼头怎么处理？”

“让佩德里科砸开切碎了，放到鱼栏里吧。”

“那个大长嘴呢？”

“你要你就拿去。”

“我要，”孩子说，“现在我们得商量商量别的事情啦。”

“他们找过我吗？”

“当然找过，还带了海岸警卫队和飞机呢。”

“大海太大，小船太小，不容易看见，”老人说。他发现对一个人说话，而不是自言自语或者对着大海说话真开心。“我挺想你的，”他说，“你们捕了多少鱼？”

“头一天一条，第二天一条，第三天两条。”

“挺好的。”

“现在我们又可以一起打鱼了。”

“不要，我运气不好，我再不会转运了。”

“让好运见鬼去吧，”孩子说，“我会带来好运的。”

“你家人会怎么说呢？”

“我才不管呢。我昨天抓了两条。不过我们现在要一起钓鱼，我还有好多东西要学呢。”

“我们得弄一支能扎鱼的好长矛，常备在船上。你可以用一辆旧福特牌汽车上的弹簧片做矛头。我们可以拿到瓜纳巴科亚(29)去磨，应该磨得快快的，不用淬火，免得折断。我的刀子就断了。”

“我再弄把刀子来，把弹簧也磨一磨。这大风要刮多少天啊？”

“也许三天，也有可能更长。”

“我会把什么都备好，”孩子说，“你把你的手养好，老爷子。”

“我知道怎么保养。夜里，我吐出了一些奇怪的东西，感到胸口有什么东西碎了。”

“把这个也养好，”孩子说，“躺下吧，老爷子，我去给你拿件干净的衬衫来，还有吃的。”

“我出海时候的报纸，你也随便拿一份来。”老人说。

“你得快点儿好起来，我要学的东西还有好多，你可以把你的本领都教给我。你受了多少罪啊？”

“太多啦。”老人说。

“我去把吃的东西和报纸拿来，”孩子说，“好生歇着吧，老爷子。我到药房去给你买点儿药治手。”

“别忘了跟佩德里科说，鱼头给他了。”

“忘不了，我记着呢。”

孩子出了门，顺着那磨损的珊瑚石路走去，他又哭了。

那天下午，露台饭店来了一群游客，其中有个女人朝下面的海水望去，看见一条又粗又长的白色鱼脊骨突兀在一些空啤酒罐和死梭子鱼中间，末端有条巨大的尾巴，在港湾外的东风不断掀起的巨浪中，随着潮水摇摆着、起伏着。

“那是什么？”她指着大鱼的长长的脊骨，向一个侍者发问。如今的鱼脊骨只不过是一堆垃圾，只等被潮水冲走。

“鲨鱼(30)，”侍者说，“虾鱼(31)。”他正打算解释一下这件事情的始末。

“原来鲨鱼有这么美丽、线条这么优美的尾巴啊，我不知道。”

“我也不知道。”她的男伴说。

在大路那头的老人的棚屋里，老人又睡着了。他还是脸朝下趴着，孩子坐在他身旁，守护着他。这时，老人梦见了狮子。

————————————————————

(1) 墨西哥湾暖流的简称，从古巴西南方开始，流入北大西洋。

(2) 原文为西班牙文。

(3) 实际上指的是古巴北岸阔希马尔镇的一家著名的餐馆，在哈瓦那以东四英里的地方。

(4) 位于中美洲尼加拉瓜的东海岸。

(5) 原文为西班牙文。

(6) 法国修女玛格丽特·玛丽·阿拉科克于17世纪提倡崇拜耶稣肉身的心脏。

(7) 科布莱是古巴东部的一个市镇，南门小山上有著名的慈悲圣母院。

(8) 原文为西班牙文。

(9) 乔·迪马吉奥生于1914年，为1936～1951年美国纽约扬基队的外场手。

(10) 指美国费城的希贝公园。

(11) 原文为西班牙文。

(12) 位于摩洛哥西南方，是北大西洋东部的一个群岛。

(13) 测量水深的单位，一英寻等于6英尺。

(14) 热带海洋上的一种猛禽，常常强迫其他海鸟吐出嘴里叼的鱼，故名。

(15) 原文为西班牙文。

(16) 原文为西班牙文，为西班牙古地区名。

(17) 原文为西班牙文。

(18) 原文为西班牙文。

(19) 原文为西班牙文，意为“大联赛”。

(20) 位于哈瓦那湾以东的郊区。

(21) 位于哈瓦那东南，为古巴中南部的一个港口。

(22) 原文为西班牙文。

(23) 原文为西班牙文。

(24) 指参宿七星。

(25) 指古巴，古巴的地形呈岛状。

(26) 原文为西班牙文，是古巴人对灰鲭鲨的俗称。

(27) 耶稣的十二信徒之一，跟从耶稣前是渔夫，所以在基督教国家成了渔民特别敬奉的护佑圣徒。

(28) 原文为西班牙文，是鲨鱼的俗称之一。

(29) 古巴城市名，在阔希马尔以西一英里处。

(30) 原文为西班牙文。

(31) 侍者用英语说“鲨鱼”时的错误发音的音译。

He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff(1) in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish(2) .In the first forty days a boy had been with him.But after forty days without a fish the boy's parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally salao(3) , which is the worst form of unlucky, and the boy had gone at their orders in another boat which caught three good fish the first week. It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his skiff empty and he always went down to help him carry either the coiled(4) lines or the gaff(5) and harpoon(6) and the sail that was furled(7) around the mast(8) . The sail was patched(9) with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat.

The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck. The brown blotches(10) of the benevolent(11) skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic(12) sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down creased(13) scars from handling heavy fish on the cords(14) . But none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions(15) in a fishless desert.(16)

Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the seaand were cheerful and undefeated.

"Santiago," the boy said to him as theyclimbed the bank from where the skiff was hauled up(17) . "I could go with you again. We've made some money."

The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him.

"No," the old man said. "You're with a lucky boat. Stay with them."

"But remember how you went eighty-seven days without fish and then we caught big ones every day for three weeks."

the old man said. "I know you did not leave me because you doubted."

"It was papa made me leave(18) . I am a boy and I must obey(19) him."

"I know," the old man said. "It is quite normal."

"He hasn't much faith(20) ."

"No," the old man said. "But we have. Haven't we?"

"Yes," the boy said. "Can I offer you a beer on the Terrace(21) and then we'll take the stuff home."

"Why not?" the old man said. "Between fishermen." They sat on the Terrace and many of the fishermen made fun of the old man and he was not angry. Others, of the older fishermen,looked at him and were sad. But they did not show it and they spoke politely about the current and the depths they had drifted(22) their lines at and the steady good weather and of what they had seen. The successful fishermen of that day were already in and had butchered(23) their marlin(24) out and carried them laid full length across two planks(25) , with two men staggering(26) at the end of each plank, to the fish house where they waited for the ice truck to carry them to the market in Havana. Those who had caught sharks had taken them to the shark factory on the other side of the cove where they were hoisted(27) on a block and tackle(28) , their livers removed, their fins cut off and their hides skinned out and their flesh cut into strips for salting(29) .

When the wind was in the east a smell came across the harbour from the shark factory; but today there was only the faint(30) edge of the odour because the wind had backed into the north and then dropped off and it was pleasant and sunny on the Terrace.

"Santiago," the boy said.

"Yes," the old man said. He was holding his glass and thinking of many years ago.

"Can I go out to get sardines(31) for you for tomorrow?"

"No. Go and play baseball. I can still row and Rogelio will throw the net."

"I would like to go. If I cannot fish with you. I would like to serve(32) in some way."

"You bought me a beer," the old man said. "You are already a man."

"How old was I when you first took me in aboat?"

"Five and you nearly were killed when I brought the fish in too green(33) and he nearly tore the boat to pieces(34) . Can you remember?"

"I can remember the tail slapping and banging and the thwart(35) breaking and the noise of the clubbing(36) . I can remember you throwing me into the bow where the wet coiled lines were and feeling the whole boat shiver(37) andthe noise of you clubbing him like chopping(38) a tree down and the sweet blood smell all over me."

"Can you really remember that or did I just Tell it to you?"

"I remember everything from when we first went together."

The old man looked at him with his sunburned(39) , confident loving eyes.

"If you were my boy I'd take you out and gamble(40) ," he said. "But you are your father's and your mother's and you are in a lucky boat."

"May I get the sardines? I know where I can get four baits(41) too."

"I have mine left from today. I put them in salt in the box."

"Let me get four fresh ones."

"One," the old man said. His hope and his confidence(42) had never gone. But now they were freshening as when the breeze(43) rises.

"Two," the boy said.

"Two," the old man agreed. "You didn't steal them?"

"I would(44) ," the boy said. "But I bought these."

"Thank you," the old man said. He was too simple to wonder when he had attained(45) humility(46) . But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful(47) and it carried no loss of true pride.

"Tomorrow is going to be a good day with this current(48) ," he said.

"Where are you going?" the boy asked.

"Far out to come in when the wind shifts. I want to be out before it is light."

"I'll try to get him to work far out," the boy said. "Then if you hook something truly big we can come to your aid(49) ."

"He does not like to work too far out."

"No," the boy said. "But I will see something that he cannot see such as a bird working and get him to come out after dolphin."

"Are his eyes that bad?"

"He is almost blind."

"It is strange," the old man said. "He never went turtle-ing(50) . That is what kills the eyes."

"But you went turtle-ing for years off the Mosquito Coast(51) and your eyes are good."

"I am a strange old man"

"Rut are you strong enough now for a truly big fish?"

"I think so. And there are many tricks(52) ."

"Let us take the stuff home," the boy said. "So I can get the cast net and go after the sardines."

They picked up the gear(53) from the boat. The old man carried the mast on his shoulder and the boy carried the wooden box with the coiled, hard-braided(54) brown lines, the gaff and the harpoon with its shaft(55) . The box with the baits was under the stern(56) of the skiff along with the club that was used to subdue(57) the big fish when they were brought alongside. No one would steal from the old man but it was better to take the sail and the heavy lines home as the dew was bad for them and, though he was quite sure no local people would steal from him, the old man thought that a gaff and a harpoon were needless temptations to leave in a boat.

They walked up the road together to the old man's shack(58) and went in through its open door. The old man leaned the mast with its wrapped sail against the wall and the boy put the box and the other gear beside it. The mast was nearly as long as the one room of the shack. The shack was made of the tough budshields(59) of the royal palm which are called guano(60) and in it there was a bed, a table, one chair, and a place on the dirt floor to cook with charcoal. On the brown walls of the flattened(61) , overlapping(62) leaves of the sturdy(63) fibered guano there was a picture in color of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and another of the Virgin of Cobre. These were relics of his wife. Once there had been a tinted(64) photograph of his wife on the wall but he had taken it down because it made him too lonely to see it and it was on the shelf in the corner under his clean shirt.

"What do you have to eat?" the boy asked.

"A pot of yellow rice with fish. Do you want some?"

"No. I will eat at home. Do you want me to make the fire(65) ?"

"No. I will make it later on. Or I may eat the rice cold."

"May I take the cast net(66) ?"

"Of course."

There was no cast net and the boy remembered when they had sold it. But they went through this fiction(67) everyday. There was no pot of yellow rice and fish and the boy knew this too.

"Eighty-five is a lucky number," the old man said. "How would you like to see me bring one in that dressed out(68) over a thousand pounds?"

"I'll get the cast net and go for sardines(69) .Will you sit in the sun in the doorway?"

"Yes. I have yesterday's paper and I will read the baseball."

The boy did not know whether yesterday's paper was a fiction too. But the old man brought it out from under the bed.

"Perico(70) gave it to me at the bodega(71) , " he explained. "I'll be back when I have the sardines. I'll keep yours and mine together on ice and we can share them in the morning. When I come back you can tell me about the baseball."

"The Yankees cannot lose."

"But I fear(72) the Indians of Cleveland."

"Have faith in(73) the Yankees(74) my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."

"I fear both the Tigers of Detroit and the Indians of Cleveland."

"Be careful or you will fear(75) even the Reds of Cincinnati and the White Sax of Chicago."

"You study it and tell me when I come back."

"Do you think we should buy a terminal(76) of the lottery(77) with an eighty-five(78) ? Tomorrow is the eighty-fifth day."

"We can do that," the boy said. "But what about the eighty-seven of your great record?"

"It could not happen twice. Do you think you can find an eighty-five?"

"I can order one.

"One sheet. That's two dollars and a half. Who can we borrow that from?"

'That's easy. I can always borrow two dollars and a half."

"I think perhaps I can too. But I try not to borrow. First you borrow. Then you beg(79) ."

"Keep warm(80) old man," the boy said. "Remember we are in September."

"The month when the great fish come," the old man said. "Anyone can be a fisherman in May(81) ."

"I go now for the sardines," the boy said.

When the boy came back the old man was asleep in the chair and the sun was down. The boy took the old army blanket(82) off the bed and spread it over the back of the chair and over the old man's shoulders. They were strange shoulders, still powerful although very old, and the neck was still strong too and the creases did not show so much when the old man was asleep and his head fallen forward. His shirt had been patched(83) so many times that it was likethe sail(84) and the patches were faded(85) to many different shades by the sun. The old man's head was very old though and with his eyes closed there was no life in his face. The newspaper lay across his knees and the weight of his arm held it there in the evening breeze(86) . He was barefooted(87) .

The boy left him there and when he came back the old man was still asleep.

"Wake up old man," the boy said and put his hand on one of the old man's knees.

The old man opened his eyes and for a moment he was coming back from a long wayaway. Then he smiled.

"What have you got?" he asked.

"Supper," said the boy. "We're going to have supper."

"I'm not very hungry."

"Come on and eat. You can't fish and not eat(88) ."

"I have(89) ," the old man said getting up and taking the newspaper and folding it. Then he started to fold the blanket.

"Keep the blanket around you(90) ," the boy said. "You'll not fish without eating while I'm alive."

'Then live a long time and take care of yourself," the old man said. "What are we eating?"

"Black beans and rice, fried bananas, and some stew(91) ."

The boy had brought them in a two-decker(92) metal container(93) from the Terrace. The two sets(94) of knives and forks and spoons were in his pocket with a paper napkin(95) wrapped(96) around each set.

"Who gave this to you?"

"Martin. "The owner.

"I must thank him."

"I thanked him already," the boy said. "You don't need to thank him."

"I'll give him the belly meat of a big fish," the old man said. "Has he done this for us more than once?"

"I think so."

"I must give him something more than the belly meat(97) then. He is very thoughtful(98) for us."

"He sent two beers."

"I like the beer in cans(99) best."

"I know. But this is in bottles, Hatuey(100) beer,and I take back the bottles."

"That's very kind of you," the old man said.

"Should we eat?"

"I've been asking you to," the boy told him gently(101) . "I have not wished to open the container until you were ready."

"I'm ready now," the old man said. "I only needed time to wash."

Where did you wash? the boy thought. The village water supply was two streets down the road. I must have water here for him(102) , the boy thought, and soap and a good towel. Why am I so thoughtless(103) ? I must get him another shirt and a jacket for the winter and some sort of(104) shoes and another blanket.

"Your stew is excellent," the old man said.

"Tell me about the baseball," the boy asked him.

"In the American League it is the Yankees asI said," the old man said happily.

"They lost today," the boy told him.

"That means nothing(105) . The great DiMaggio is himself again(106) ."

"They have other men on the team(107) ."

"Naturally(108) . But he makes the difference(109) . In the other league, between Brooklyn and Philadelphia I must take Brooklyn. But then I think of Dick Sisler and those great drives(110) in the old park."

"There was nothing ever like them. He hits the longest ball I have ever seen."

"Do you remember when he used to come to the Terrace?"

"I wanted to take him fishing but I was too timid to ask him. Then I asked you to ask him and you were too timid(111) ."

"I know. It was a great mistake. He might have gone with us. Then we would have that for all of our lives."

"I would like to take the great DiMaggio fishing," the old man said. "They say his father was a fisherman. Maybe he was as poor as we are and would understand."

"The great Sisler's father was never poor and he, the father, was playing in the Big Leagues when he was my age(112) ." "When I was your age I was before the mast on a square rigged(113) ship that ran to Africa and I have seen lions on the beaches in the evening."

"I know. You told me."

"Should we talk about Africa or about baseball?"

"Baseball I think," the boy said. "Tell me about the great John J. McGraw." He said Jota for J(114) .

"He used to come to the Terrace sometimes too in the older days. But he was rough(115) and harsh-spoken(116) and difficult(117) when he was drinking. His mind was on horses(118) as well as baseball. At least he carried lists of horses at all times in his pocket and frequently spoke the names of horses on the telephone."

"He was a great manager," the boy said. "My father thinks he was the greatest."

"Because he came here the most times," the old man said. "If Durocher had continued to come here each year your father would think him the greatest manager.

"Who is the greatest manager, really, Luque or Mike Gonzalez?"

"I think they are equal."

"And the best fisherman is you."

"No. I know others better."

"Que Va," the boy said. "There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But there is only you(119) ."

"Thank you. You make me happy. I hope no fish will come along(120) so great that he will prove us wrong."

"There is no such fish if you are still strong as you say."

"I may not be as strong as I think," the old man said. "But I know many tricks(121) and I have resolution(122) ."

"You ought to go to bed now so that you will be fresh(123) in the morning. I will take the things back to the Terrace."

"Good night then. I will wake(124) you in the morning."

"You're my alarm clock," the boy said.

"Age is my alarm clock," the old man said. "Why do old men wake so early? Is it to have one longer day?"

"I don't know," the boy said. "All I know is that young boys sleep late and hard(125) ."

"I can remember it," the old man said. "I'll waken you in time."

"I do not like for him(126) to waken me. It is as though I were inferior."

"I know."

"Sleep well old man."

The boy went out. They had eaten with no light on the table and the old man took off his trousers and went to bed in the dark. He rolled(127) his trousers up to make a pillow, putting the newspaper inside them. He rolled himself in the blanket and slept on the other old newspapers that covered the springs(128) of the bed. He was asleep in a short time and he dreamed of Africa when he was a boy and the long golden beaches and the white beaches, so white they hurt your eyes, and the high capes(129) and the great brown mountains. He lived along that coast now every night and in his dreams he heard the surf roar and saw the native boats come riding through it. He smelled the tar(130) and oakum(131) of the deck as he slept and he smelled the smell of Africa that the land breeze brought at morning.

Usually when he smelled the land breeze he woke up and dressed to go and wake the boy. But tonight the smell of the land breeze came very early and he knew it was too early in his dream and went on dreaming to see the white peaks(132) of the Islands rising from the sea and then he dreamed of the different harbours(133) and roadsteads of the Canary Islands.

He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences(134) , nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength(135) , nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy. He never dreamed about the boy. He simply woke, looked out the open door at the moon and unrolled(136) his trousers and put them on. He urinated(137) outside the shack and then went up the road to wake the boy. He was shivering(138) with the morning cold. But he knew he would shiver himself warm and that soon he would be rowing.

The door of the house where the boy lived was unlocked and he opened it and walked inquietly with his bare feet. The boy was asleep on a cot(139) in the first room and the old man could see him clearly with the light that came in from the dying moon(140) . He took hold of one foot gently and held it until the boy woke and turned and looked at him. The old man nodded and the boy took his trousers from the chair by the bed and, sitting on the bed, pulled them on.

The old man went out the door and the boy came after him. He was sleepy and the old man put his arm across his shoulders and said, "I am sorry."

"Qua Va(141) ," the boy said. "It is what a man must do(142) ."

They walked down the road to the old man's shack and all along the road, in the dark, barefoot men were moving, carrying the masts of their boats.

When they reached the old man's shack the boy took the rolls of line in the basket and the harpoon and gaff and the old man carried the mast with the furled(143) sail on his shoulder.

"Do you want coffee?" the boy asked.

"We'll put the gear(144) in the boat and then get some."

They had coffee from condensed(145) milk cans at an early morning place that served fishermen.

"How did you sleep(146) old man?" the boy asked. He was waking up now although it was still hard for him to leave his sleep(147) .

"Very well, Manolin," the old man said. "I feel confident(148) today."

"So do I," the boy said. "Now I must get your sardines and mine and your fresh baits. He brings our gear himself. He never wants anyone to carry anything."

"We're different," the old man said. "I let you carry things when you were five years old."

"I know it," the boy said. "I'll be right back. Have another coffee. We have credit(149) here."

He walked off(150) , bare-footed on the coral rocks, to the ice house where the baits were stored.

The old man drank his coffee slowly. It was all he would have all day and he knew that he should take it. For a long time now eating had bored him(151) and he never carried a lunch(152) . He had a bottle of water in the bow of the skiff and that was all he needed for the day.

The boy was back now with the sardines and the two baits wrapped in a newspaper and they went down the trail(153) to the skiff, feeling the pebbled(154) sand under their feet, and lifted the skiff and slid her into the water.

"Good luck old man."

"Good luck," the old man said. He fitted the rope lashings of the oars(155) onto the thole(156) pins and, leaning forward against the thrust(157) of the blades in the water, he began to row out of the harbour in the dark. There were other boats from the other beaches going out to sea and the old man heard the dip and push of their oars even though he could not see them now the moon was below the hills.

Sometimes someone would speak in a boat. But most of the boats were silent except for the dip(158) of the oars. They spread apart after they were out of the mouth of the harbour(159) and each one headed for the part of the ocean where he hoped to find fish. The old man knew he was going far out and he left the smell of the land behind and rowed out into the clean early morning smell of the ocean. He saw the phosphorescence(160) of the Gulf weed(161) in the water as he rowed over the part of the ocean that the fishermen called the great well because there was a sudden deep of seven hundred fathoms where all sorts of fish congregated(162) because of the swirl(163) the current made against the steep walls of the floor of the ocean. Here there were concentrations of shrimp(164) and bait fish and sometimes schools of squid in the deepest holes and these rose close to the surface at night where all the wandering fish fed on them.

In the dark the old man could feel the morning coming and as he rowed he heard the trembling sound as flying fish left the water and the hissing(165) that their stiff set wings made as they soared away in the darkness. He was very fond of flying fish as they were his principal(166) friends on the ocean. He was sorry for the birds, especially the small delicate(167) dark terns(168) that were always flying and looking and almost never finding, and he thought, the birds have a harder life than we do except for the robber birds and the heavy strong ones. Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when the ocean can be so cruel? She is kind and very beautiful. But she can be so cruel and it comes so suddenly and such birds that fly, dipping and hunting(169) , with their small sad voices are made too delicately for the sea.

He always thought of the sea as la mar whichis what people call her in Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger fishermen, those who used buoys(170) as floats for their lines and had motorboats, bought when the shark livers had brought much money, spoke of her as el mar(171) which is masculine(172) . They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine(173) and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked(174) things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.

He was rowing steadily and it was no effort for him since he kept well within his speed and the surface of the ocean was flat except for the occasional swirls(175) of the current. He was letting the current do a third of the work and as it started to be light he saw he was already further out than he had hoped to be at this hour.

I worked the deep wells for a week and did nothing, he thought. Today I'll work out where the schools of bonito(176) and albacore(177) are and maybe there will be a big one with them.

Before it was really light he had his baits out and was drifting with the current. One bait was down forty fathoms. The second was at seventy-five and the third and fourth were down in the blue water at one hundred and one hundred and twenty-five fathoms(178) . Each bait hung head down with the shank(179) of the hook inside the bait fish, tied and sewed(180) solid and all the projecting part of the hook, the curve(181) and the point, was covered with fresh sardines. Each sardine was hooked through both eyes so that they made a half-garland(182) on the projecting steel. There was no part of the hook that a great fish could feel which was not sweet smelling and good tasting.

The boy had given him two fresh small tunas(183) , or albacores(184) , which hung on the two deepest lines like plummets(185) and, on the others, he had a big blue runner and a yellow jack(186) that had been used before; but they were in good condition still and had the excellent sardines to give them scent(187) and attractiveness. Each line, as thick around as a big pencil, was looped(188) onto a green-sapped stick so that any pull or touch on the bait would make the stick dip and each line had two forty-fathom coils(189) which could be made fast to the other spare coils so that, if it were necessary, a fish could take out over three hundred fathoms of line.

Now the man watched the dip of the three sticks over the side of the skiff and rowed gently to keep the lines straight up and down and at their proper depths. It was quite light and any moment now the sun would rise.

The sun rose thinly(190) from the sea and the old man could see the other boats, low on the water and well in toward the shore, spread out across the current. Then the sun was brighter and the glare(191) came on the water and then, as it rose clear, the flat sea sent it back at his eyes so that it hurt sharply and he rowed without looking into it. He looked down into the water and watched the lines that went straight down into the dark of the water. He kept thems traighter than anyone did, so that at each level in the darkness of the stream there would be a bait waiting exactly where he wished it to be for any fish that swam there. Others let them drift with the current and sometimes they were at sixty fathoms when the fishermen thought they were at a hundred.

But, he thought, I keep them with precision(192) . Only I have no luck any more. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.

The sun was two hours higher now and it did not hurt his eyes so much to look into the east(193) . There were only three boats in sight(194) now and they showed very low and far inshore(195) .

All my life the early sun has hurt my eyes, bethought. Yet they are still good. In the evening I can look straight into it without getting the blackness(196) . It has more force in the evening too. But in the morning it is painful.

Just then he saw a man-of-war bird with his long black wings circling in the sky ahead of him. He made a quick drop(197) , slanting down on his back-swept wings(198) , and then circled again.

"He's got something," the old man said aloud. "He's not just looking."

He rowed slowly and steadily toward where the bird was circling. He did not hurry and he kept his lines straight up and down(199) . But he crowded the current a little so that he was still fishing correctly though faster than he would have fished if he was not trying to use the bird.

The bird went higher in the air and circled again, his wings motionless(200) . Then he dove suddenly and the old man saw flying fish spurt(201) out of the water and sail desperately(202) over the surface.

"Dolphin(203) ," the old man said aloud. "Big dolphin."

He shipped his oars(204) and brought a small line from under the bow. It had a wire leader(205) and a medium-sized hook and he baited it with one of the sardines. He let it go over the side and then made it fast to a ring bolt in the stern. Then he baited another line and left it coiled in the shade of the bow. He went back to rowing and to watching the long-winged black bird who was working, now, low over the water.

As he watched the bird dipped again slanting his wings for the dive and then swinging them wildly and ineffectually(206) as he followed the flying fish. The old man could see the slight bulge(207) in the water that the big dolphin raise das they followed the escaping fish. The dolphin were cutting through the water below the flight of the fish and would be in the water, driving at speed(208) , when the fish dropped. It is a big school(209) of dolphin, he thought. They are widespread and the flying fish have little chance. The bird has no chance. The flying fish are too big for him and they go too fast.

He watched the flying fish burst out(210) again and again and the ineffectual movements of the bird. That school has gotten away from me, he thought. They are moving out too fast and too far. But perhaps I will pick up a stray(211) and perhaps my big fish is around them. My big fis hmust be somewhere.

The clouds over the land now rose like mountains and the coast was only a long green line with the gray blue hills behind it. The water was a dark blue now, so dark that it was almost purple. As he looked down into it he saw the red sifting(212) of the plankton(213) in the dark water and the strange light the sun made now. He watched his lines to see them go straight down out of sight into the water and he was happy to see so much plankton because it meant fish. The strange light the sun made in the water, now that the sun was higher, meant good weather and so did the shape of the clouds over the land. But the bird was almost out of sight now and nothing showed on the surface of the water but some patches of yellow, sun-bleached(214) Sargasso weed and the purple, formalized(215) , iridescent(216) , gelatinous(217) bladder(218) of a Portuguese man-of-war floating dose beside the boat. It turned on its side and then righted itself. It floated cheerfully as a bubble(219) with its long deadly purple filaments trailing a yard behind it in the water.

"Agua mala," the man said. "You whore(220) ."

From where he swung lightly against his oars he looked down into the water and saw the tiny fish that were coloured like the trailing filaments(221) and swam between them and under the small shade the bubble made as it drifted. They were immune to(222) its poison. But men were not and when same of the filaments would catch on a line and rest there slimy and purple while the old man was working a fish, he would have welts and sores on his arms and hands of the sort that poison ivy or poison oak can give. But these poisonings from the agua mala came quickly and struck like a whiplash(223) .

The iridescent bubbles were beautiful. But they were the falsest thing in the sea and the old man loved to see the big sea turtles eating them. The turtles saw them, approached them from the front, then shut their eyes so they were completely carapaced(224) and ate them filaments and all. The old man loved to see the turtles eat them and he loved to walk on them on the beach after a storm and hear them pop when he stepped on them with the horny(225) soles of his feet.

He loved green turtles and hawk-bills(226) with their elegance and speed and their great value and he had a friendly contempt for the huge, stupid loggerheads(227) , yellow in their armourplating(228) , strange in their love-making, and happily eating the Portuguese men-of-war with their eyes shut.

He had no mysticism(229) about turtles although he had gone in turtle boats for many years. He was sorry for them all, even the great trunk backs that were as long as the skiff and weighed a ton. Most people are heartless about(230) turtles because a turtle's heart will beat for hours after he has been cut up and butchered. But the old man thought, I have such a heart too and my feet and hands are like theirs. He ate the white eggs to give himself strength(231) . He ate them all through May to be strong in September and October for the truly big fish.

He also drank a cup of shark liver oil(232) each day from the big drum(233) in the shack where many of the fishermen kept their gear. It was there for all fishermen who wanted it. Most fishermen hated the taste. But it was no worse than getting up at the hours that they rose and it was very good against all colds and grippes(234) and it was good for the eyes.

Now the old man looked up and saw that the bird was circling again.

"He's found fish," he said aloud. No flying fish broke the surface and there was no scattering(235) of bait fish. But as the old man watched, a small tuna(236) rose in the air, turned and dropped head first into the water. The tuna shone silver in the sun and after he had dropped back into the water another and another rose and they were jumping in all directions, churning(237) the water and leaping in long jumps after the bait. They were circling it and driving it.

If they don't travel too fast I will get into them, the old man thought, and he watched the school working the water white and the bird now dropping and dipping into the bait fish that were forced to the surface in their panic(238) .

"The bird is a great help," the old man said. Just then the stern line came taut under his foot,where he had kept a loop of the line, and he dropped his oars and felt tile(239) weight of the small tuna's shivering pull as he held the line firm and commenced to haul it in. The shivering increased as he pulled in and he could see the blue back of the fish in the water and the gold of his sides before he swung him over the sid eand into the boat. He lay in the stern in the sun, compact(240) and bullet shaped(241) , his big, unintelligent(242) eyes staring as he thumped his life out(243) against the planking of the boat with the quick shivering strokes of his neat, fast-moving tail. The old man hit him on the head for kindness and kicked him, his body still shuddering, under the shade of the stern.

"Albacore," be said aloud. "He'll make a beautiful bait. He'll weigh ten pounds."

He did not remember when he had first started to talk aloud when he was by himself. He had sung when he was by himself in the old days and he had sung at night sometimes when he was alone steering(244) on his watch in the smacks(245) or in the turtle boats. He had probably started to talk aloud, when alone, when the boy had left. But he did not remember. When he and the boy fished together they usually spoke only when it was necessary. They talked at night or when they were storm-bound(246) by bad weather. It was considered a virtue not to talk unnecessarily at sea and the old man had always considered it so and respected it. But now he said his thoughts aloud many times since there was no one that they could annoy(247) .

"If the others heard me talking out loud they would think that I am crazy," he said aloud. "But since I am not crazy, I do not care. And the rich have radios(248) to talk to them in their boats and to bring them the baseball."

Now is no time to think of baseball, he thought. Now is the time to think of only one thing. That which I was born for. There might be a big one around that school, he thought. I picked up only a straggler(249) from the albacore(250) that were feeding. But they are working far out and fast. Everything that shows on the surface(251) today travels very fast and to the north-east. Can that be the time of day? Or is it some sign of weather that I do not know?

He could not see the green of the shore now but only the tops of the blue hills that showed white as though they were snow-capped(252) and the clouds that looked like high snow mountains above them. The sea was very dark and the light made prisms(253) in the water. The myriad(254) flecks(255) of the plankton were annulled(256) now by the high sun and it was only the great deep prisms in the blue water that the old man saw now with his lines going straight down into the water that was a mile deep.

The tuna, the fishermen called all the fish of that species(257) tuna and only distinguished among them by their proper names when they came to sell them or to trade them for baits, were down again. The sun was hot now and the old man felt it on the back of his neck and felt the sweat trickle down(258) his back as he rowed.

I could just drift, he thought, and sleep and put a bit of line around my toe to wake me. But today is eighty-five days and I should fish the day(259) well.

Just then, watching his lines, he saw one of the projecting green sticks dip sharply.

"Yes," he said. "Yes," and shipped his oars without bumping(260) the boat. He reached out for(261) the line and held it softly between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. He felt no strain(262) nor weight and he held the line lightly. Then it came again. This time it was a tentative(263) pull, not solid nor heavy, and he knew exactly what it was. One hundred fathoms down a marlin was eating the sardines that covered the point and the shank of the hook where the hand-forged(264) hook projected from the head of the small tuna.

The old man held the line delicately(265) , and softly, with his left hand, unleashed(266) it from the stick. Now he could let it run through his fingers without the fish feeling any tension(267) .

This far out(268) , he must be huge in this month, he thought. Eat them, fish. Eat them. Please eat them. How fresh they are and you down there six hundred feet in that cold water in the dark. Make another turn(269) in the dark and comeback and eat them.

He felt the light delicate pulling and then a harder pull when a sardine's head must have been more difficult to break from the hook. Then there was nothing.

"Come on," the old man said aloud. "Make another turn. Just smell them. Aren't they lovely? Eat them good now and then there is the tuna. Hard and cold and lovely. Don't be shy,fish. Eat them."

He waited with the line between his thumb and his finger, watching it and the other lines at the same time for the fish might have swum up or down. Then came the same delicate pulling touch again.

"He'll take it(270) ," the old man said aloud. "God help him to take it."

He did not take it though. He was gone and the old man felt nothing.

"He can't have gone," he said. "Christ knows he can't have gone. He's making a turn(271) . Maybe he has been hooked before and he remembers something of it.

Then he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy.

"It was only his turn," he said. "He'll take it."

He was happy feeling the gentle pulling and then he felt something hard and unbelievably(272) heavy. It was the weight of the fish and he let the line slip down, down, down, unrolling off the first of the two reserve coils(273) . As it went down, slipping lightly through the old man's fingers, he still could feel the great weight, though the pressure of his thumb and finger were almost imperceptible(274) .

"What a fish," he said. "He has it sideways(275) in his mouth now and he is moving off with it."

Then he will turn and swallow(276) it, he thought. He did not say that because he knew that if you said a good thing it might not happen(277) . He knew what a huge fish this was and he thought of him moving away(278) in the darkness with the tuna held crosswise(279) in his mouth. At that moment he felt him stop moving but the weight was still there. Then the weight increased and he gave more line(280) . He tightened(281) the pressure of his thumb and finger for a moment and the weight increased and was going straight down.

"He's taken it," he said. "Now I'll let him eat it well."

He let the line slip through his fingers while he reached down with his left hand and made fast the free end(282) of the two reserve coils to the loop of the two reserve coils of the next line. Now he was ready. He had three forty-fathom coils of line in reserve now, as well as the coil he was using.

"Eat it a little more," he said. "Eat it well."

Eat it so that the point of the hook goes into your heart and kills you, he thought. Come up easy and let me put the harpoon into you. All right. Are you ready? Have you been long enough at table(283) ?

"Now!" he said aloud and struck hard with both hands, gained a yard of line and then struck again and again, swinging with each arm alternately(284) on the cord with all the strength of his arms and the pivoted(285) weight of his body.

Nothing happened. The fish just moved away slowly and the old man could not raise him an inch. His line was strong and made for heavy fish and he held it against his hack until it was so taut(286) that beads(287) of water were jumping from it. Then it began to make a slow hissing sound in the water and he still held it, bracing(288) himself against the thwart and leaning(289) back against the pull. The boat began to move slowly off toward the north-west.

The fish moved steadily and they travelled slowly on the calm water. The other baits were still in the water but there was nothing to be done.

"I wish I had the boy(290) " the old man said aloud. "I'm being towed(291) by a fish and I'm the towing bitt. I could make the line fast. But then he could break it. I must hold him all I can and give him line when he must have it. Thank God he is travelling and not going down."

What I will do if he decides to go down, I don't know. What I'll do if he sounds and dies I don't know. But I'll do something. There are plenty of things I can do.

He held the line against his back and watched its slant in the water and the skiff moving steadily to the northwest.

This will kill him, the old man thought. He can't do this forever. But four hours later the fish was still swimming steadily out to sea, towing the skiff, and the old man was still braced solidly(292) with the line across his back.

"It was noon when I hooked him," he said. "And I have never seen him."

He had pushed his straw hat hard down on his head before he hooked the fish and it was cutting his forehead. I-Ic was thirsty too and he got down on his knees(293) and, being careful not to jerk(294) on the line, moved as far into the bow as he could get and reached the water bottle with one hand. He opened it and drank a little. Then he rested against the bow. He rested sitting on the un-stepped(295) mast and sail and tried not to think but only to endure(296) .

Then he looked behind him and saw that no land was visible(297) . That makes no difference, he thought. I can always come in on the glow from Havana. There are two more hours before the sun sets and maybe he will come up before that. If he doesn't maybe he will come up with the moon. If he does not do that maybe he will come up with the sunrise. I have no cramps(298) and I feel strong. It is he that has the hook in his mouth. But what a fish to pull like that. He must have his mouth shut tight on the wire. I wish I could see him. I wish I could see him only once to know what I have against me.

The fish never changed his course nor his direction all that night as far as the man could tell from watching the stars. It was cold after the sun went down and the old man's sweat(299) dried cold on his back and his arms and his old legs. During the day he had taken the sack(300) that covered the bait box and spread it in the sun to dry. After the sun went down he tied it around his neck so that it hung down over his back and he cautiously(301) worked it down under the line that was across his shoulders now. The sack cushioned(302) the line and he had found a way of leaning forward against the bow so that he was almost comfortable. The position actually was only somewhat less intolerable(303) ; but he thought of it as almost comfortable.

I can do nothing with him and he can do nothing with me, he thought. Not as long as he keeps this up(304) .

Once he stood up and urinated(305) over the side of the skiff and looked at the stars and checked his course. The line showed like a phosphorescent streak(306) in the water straight out from his shoulders. They were moving more slowly now and the glow of Havana was not so strong, so that he knew the current must be carrying them to the eastward. If I lose the glare of Havana we must be going more to the eastward, he thought. For if the fish's course held true I must see it for many more hours. I wonder how the baseball came out(307) in the grand leagues(308) today, he thought. It would be wonderful to do this with a radio. Then he thought, think of it always. Think of what you are doing. You must do nothing stupid.

Then he said aloud, "I wish I had the boy. To help me and to see this."

No one should be alone in their old age, he thought. But it is unavoidable(309) . I must remember to eat the tuna before he spoils(310) in order to keep strong. Remember, no matter how little(311) you want to, that you must eat him in the morning. Remember, he said to himself.

During the night two porpoises(312) came around the boat and he could hear them rolling and blowing. He could tell the difference between the blowing noise the male made and the sighing(313) blow of the female(314) .

"They are good," he said. "They play and make jokes and love one another. They are our brothers like the flying fish."

Then he began to pity the great fish that he had hooked. Life is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is, he thought. Never have I had such a strong fish nor one who acted(315) so strangely. Perhaps he is too wise to jump. He could ruin me by jumping or by a wild rush. But perhaps he has been hooked many times before and he knows that this is how he should make his fight. He cannot know that it is only one man against him, nor that it is an old man. But what a great fish he is and what will he bring in the market if the flesh is good. He took the bait like a male and he pulls like a male and his fight has no panic in it. I wonder if he has any plans or if he is just as desperate as I am?

He remembered the time he had hooked one of a pair of marlin. The male fish always let the female fish feed first and the hooked fish, the female, made a wild, panic-stricken(316) , despairing(317) fight that soon exhausted her, and all the time the male had stayed with her, crossing the line and circling with her on the surface. He had stayed so close that the old man was afraid he would cut the line with his tail which was sharp as a scythe(318) and almost of that size and shape. When the old man had gaffed her and clubbed her, holding the rapier(319) bill with its sandpaper(320) edge and dubbing(321) her across the top of her head until her colour turned to a colour almost like the backing of mirrors, and then, with the boy's aid, hoisted her aboard, the male fish had stayed by the side of the boat. Then, while the old man was clearing the lines and preparing the harpoon, the male fish jumped high into the air beside the boat to see where the female was and then went down deep, his lavender(322) wings, that were his pectoral(323) fins(324) , spread wide and all his wide lavender stripes(325) showing. He was beautiful, the old man remembered, and he had stayed.

That was the saddest thing I ever saw with them, the old man thought. The boy was sad too and we begged her pardon and butchered(326) her promptly.

"I wish the boy was here," he said aloud and settled himself against the rounded planks of the bow and felt the strength of the great fish through the line he held across his shoulders moving steadily toward whatever he had chosen.

When once, through my treachery(327) , it had been necessary to him to make a choice, the old man thought.

His choice had been to stay in the deep dark water far out beyond all snares(328) and traps(329) and treacheries. My choice was to go there to find him beyond all people. Beyond all people(330) in the world. Now we are joined together and have been since noon. And no one to help either one of us.

Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman, he thought. But that was the thing that I was born for(331) . I must surely remember to eat the tuna after it gets light.

Some time before daylight something took one of the baits that were behind him. He heard the stick break and the line begin to rush out over the gunwale(332) of the skiff. In the darkness he loosened his sheath(333) knife and taking all the strain of the fish on his left shoulder he leaned back and cut the line against the wood of the gunwale. Then he cut the other line closest to him and in the dark made the loose ends of the reserve coils fast. He worked skillfully(334) with the one hand and put his foot on the coils to hold them as he drew his knots(335) tight. Now he had six reserve coils of line. There were two from each bait he had severed(336) and the two from the bait the fish had taken and they were all connected.

After it is light, he thought, I will work back to the forty-fathom bait and cut it away too and link up the reserve(337) coils. I will have lost two hundred fathoms of good Catalan cardel and the hooks and leaders. That can be replaced. But who replaces this fish if I hook some fish and it cuts him off? I don't know what that fish was that took the bait just now. It could have been a marlin or a broadbill(338) or a shark. I never felt him. I had to get rid of(339) him too fast.

Aloud he said, "I wish I had the boy."

But you haven't got the boy, he thought. You have only yourself and you had better work back to the last line now, in the dark or not in the dark, and cut it away and hook up the two reserve coils.

So he did it. It was difficult in the dark and once the fish made a surge(340) that pulled him down on his face and made a cut(341) below his eye. The blood ran down his cheek a little way. But it coagulated(342) and dried before it reached his chin(343) and he worked his way back to the bow and rested against the wood. He adjusted the sack and carefully worked the line so that it came across a new part of his shoulders and, holding it anchored(344) with his shoulders, he carefully felt the pull of the fish and then felt with his hand the progress of the skiff through the water.

I wonder what he made that lurch(345) for, he thought. The wire must have slipped on the great hill of his back. Certainly his back cannot feel as badly as mine does. But he cannot pull this skiff forever, no matter how great he is. Now everything is cleared away(346) that might make trouble and I have a big reserve of line; all that a man canask(347) .

"Fish," he said softly, aloud, "I'll stay with you until I am dead."

He'll stay with me too, I suppose, the old man thought and he waited for it to be light. It was cold now in the time before daylight and he pushed against(348) the wood to be warm. I can do it as long as(349) he can, he thought. And in the first light the line extended out(350) and down into the water. The boat moved steadily and when the first edge of the sun rose it was on the old man's right shoulder.

"He's headed north(351) ," the old man said. The current will have set us far to the eastward, he thought. I wish he would turn with the current. That would show that he was tiring(352) .

When the sun had risen further the old man realized that the fish was not tiring. There was only one favorable sign(353) . The slant of the line showed he was swimming at a lesser depth. That did not necessarily mean that he would jump. But he might.

"God let him jump," the old man said. "I have enough line to handle(354) him."

Maybe if I can increase the tension just a little it will hurt him and he will jump, he thought. Now that it is daylight let him jump so that he'll fill the sacks along his backbone(355) with air and then he cannot go deep to die.

He tried to increase the tension, but the line had been taut up to the very edge of the breaking point(356) since he had hooked the fish and he felt the harshness(357) as he leaned back to pull and knew he could put no more strain on it. I must not jerk(358) it ever, he thought. Each jerk widens the cut the hook makes and then when he does jump he might throw it. Anyway I feelbetter with the sun and for once I do not-have to look into it.

There was yellow weed(359) on the line but the old man knew that only made an added drag(360) and he was pleased. It was the yellow Gulf weed that had made so much phosphorescence in the night.

"Fish," he said, "I love you and respect(361) you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends."

Let us hope so, he thought.

A small bird came toward the skiff from the north. He was a warbler(362) and flying very low over the water. The old man could see that he was very tired.

The bird made the stern of the boat and rested there. Then he flew around the old man's head and rested on the line where he was more comfortable.

"How old are you?" the old man asked the bird. "Is this your first trip?"

The bird looked at him when he spoke. He was too tired even to examine the line and he teetered(363) on it as his

delicate feet gripped(364) it fast.

"It's steady," the old man told him. "It's too steady(365) . You shouldn't be that tired after a windless night. What are birds coming to?"

The hawks(366) , he thought, that come out to sea to meet them. But he said nothing of this to the bird who could not understand him anyway and who would learn about the hawks soon enough.

"Take a good rest, small bird," he said. "Then go in and take your chance(367) like any man or bird or fish."

It encouraged him to talk because his back had stiffened(368) in the night and it hurt truly now.

"Stay at my house if you like, bird," he said. "I am sorry I cannot hoist(369) the sail and take you in with the small breeze that is rising. But Iam with a friend."

Just then the fish gave a sudden(370) lurch(371) that pulled the old man down onto the bow and would have pulled him overboard(372) if he had not braced himself and given some line.

The bird had flown up when the line jerked and the old man had not even seen him go. He felt the line carefully with his right hand and noticed his hand was bleeding(373) .

"Something hurt him then," he said aloud and pulled back on the line to see if he could turn the fish. But when he

was touching the breaking point he held steady and settled back against the strain of the line.

"You're feeling it(374) now, fish," he said. "And so, God knows, am I."

He looked around for the bird now because he would have liked him for company(375) . The bird was gone.

You did not stay long, the man thought. But it is rougher(376) where you are going until you make the shore(377) . How did I let the fish cut me with that one quick pull he made? I must be getting very stupid. Or perhaps I was looking at the small bird and thinking of him. Now I will pay attention to(378) my work and then I must eat the tuna so that I will not have a failure of strength(379) .

"I wish the boy were here and that I had some salt," he said aloud.

Shifting the weight of the line to his left shoulder and kneeling(380) carefully he washed his hand in the ocean and held it there, submerged(381) , for more than a minute watching the blood trail away and the steady movement of the water against his hand as the boat moved.

"He has slowed much," he said.

The old man would have liked to keep his hand in the salt water longer but he was afraid of another sudden lurch by the fish and he stood up and braced himself and held his hand up against the sun. It was only a line burn that had cut his flesh(382) . But it was in the working part of his hand. He knew he would need his hands before this was over and he did not like to be cut before it started.

"Now," he said, when his hand had dried, "I must eat the small tuna. I can reach him with the gaff and eat him here in comfort(383) ."

He knelt down and found the tuna under the stem(384) with the gaff and drew it toward him keeping it clear of the coiled lines. Holding the line with his left shoulder again, and bracing on his left hand and arm, he took the tuna off the gaff hook and put the gaff back in place. He put one knee on the fish and cut strips of dark red meat longitudinally(385) from the back of the head to the tail. They were wedge-shaped(386) strips and he cut them from next to the back bone down to the edge of the belly(387) . When he bad cut six strips he spread them out on the wood of the bow, wiped his knife on his trousers, and lifted the carcass(388) of the bonito by the tail and dropped it overboard.

"I don't think I can eat an entire one," he said and drew his knife across one of the strips. He could feel the steady hard pull of the line and his left hand was cramped. It drew up tight on the heavy cord and he looked at it in disgust(389) .

"What kind of a hand is that," he said. "Cramp then if you want. Make yourself into a claw(390) . It will do you no good."

Come on, he thought and looked down into the dark water at the slant of the line. Eat it now and it will strengthen the hand. It is not the hand's fault and you have been many hours with the fish. But you can stay with him forever. Eat the bonito(391) now.

He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth and chewed(392) it slowly. It was not unpleasant.

Chew it well, he thought, and get all the juices(393) . It would not be bad to eat with a little lime(394) or with lemon or with salt.

"How do you feel, hand?" he asked the cramped hand that was almost as stiff as rigor(395) mortis. "I'll eat some more for you.

He ate the other part of the piece that he had cutin two. He chewed it carefully and then spat(396) out the skin.

"How does it go, hand? Or is it too early to know?"

He took another full piece and chewed it.

"It is a strong full-blooded(397) fish," he thought. "I was lucky to get him instead of dolphin. Dolphin is too sweet. This is hardly sweet at all and all the strength is still in it."

There is no sense(398) in being anything but practical though, he thought. I wish I had some salt. And I do not know whether the sun will rot or dry what is left, so I had better eat it all although I am not hungry. The fish is calm and steady. I will eat it all and then I will be ready.

"Be patient(399) , hand," he said. "I do this foryou."

I wish I could feed the fish, he thought. He is my brother. But I must kill him and keep strong to do it. Slowly and conscientiously(400) he ate all of the wedgeshaped strips of fish.

He straightened up, wiping(401) his hand on his trousers. "Now," he said. "You can let the cord go, hand, and I will handle him with the right arm alone until you stop that nonsense(402) ." He put his left foot on the heavy line that the left hand had held and lay back against the pull against his back.

"God help me to have the cramp go," he said. "Because I do not know what the fish is going to do."

But he seems calm, he thought, and following his plan. But what is his plan, he thought. And what is mine? Mine I must improvise(403) to his because of his great size. If he will jump I can kill him. But he stays down forever. Then I will stay down with him forever.

He rubbed(404) the cramped hand against his trousers and tried to gentle the fingers. But it would not open. Maybe it will open with the sun, he thought. Maybe it will open when the strong raw tuna is digested(405) . If I have to have it, I will open it, cost whatever it costs. But I do not want to open it now by force. Let it open by itself and come back of its own accord(406) . After all I abused(407) it much in the night when it was necessary to free and untie(408) the various lines.

He looked across the sea and knew how alone he was now. But he could see the prisms in the deep dark water and the line stretching ahead and the strange undulation(409) of the calm. The clouds were building up now for the trade wind(410) and he looked ahead and saw a flight of wild ducks etching(411) themselves against the sky over the water, then blurring(412) , then etching again and he knew no man was ever alone onthe sea.

He thought of how some men feared being out of sight of land in a small boat and knew they were right in the months of sudden bad weather. But now they were in hurricane(413) months and, when there are no hurricanes, the weather of hurricane months is the best of all the year.

If there is a hurricane you always see the signs of it in the sky for days ahead, if you are at sea. They do not see it ashore because they do not know what to look for, he thought. The land must make a difference too, in the shape of the clouds. But we have no hurricane coming now.

He looked at the sky and saw the white cumulus(414) built like friendly piles of ice cream and high above were the thin feathers of the cirrus against the high September sky.

"Light brisa(415) ," he said. "Better weather forme than for you, fish."

His left hand was still cramped, but he was unknotting(416) it slowly.

I hate a cramp, he thought. It is a treachery of one's own body. It is humiliating before others to have a diarrhoea(417) from ptomaine(418) poisoning or to vomit(419) from it. But a cramp, he thought of it as a calambre(420) , humiliates(421) oneself especially when one is alone.

If the boy were here he could rub it for me and loosen it down from the forearm, he thought. But it will loosen up.

Then, with his right hand he felt the difference in the pull of the line before he saw the slant change in the water. Then, as he leaned against the line and slapped his left hand hard and fast against his thigh he saw the line slanting(422) slowly upward.

"He's coming up," he said. Come on hand. Please come on.

The line rose slowly and steadily and then the surface of the ocean bulged ahead of the boat and the fish came out. He came out unendingly(423) and water poured from his sides. He was bright in the sun and his head and back were dark purple and in the sun the stripes on his sides showed wide and a light lavender(424) . His sword was as long as a baseball bat and tapered(425) like a rapier and he rose his full length from the water and then reentered(426) it, smoothly(427) , like a diver(428) and the old man saw the great scythe-blade(429) of his tail go under and the line commenced(430) to race out.

"He is two feet longer than the skiff," the old man said. The line was going out fast but steadily and the fish was not panicked(431) . The old man was trying with both hands to keep the line just inside of breaking strength. He knew that if he could not slow the fish with a steady pressure the fish could take out all the line and break it.

He is a great fish and I must convince(432) him, he thought. I must never let him learn his strength nor what he could do if he made his run. If I were him I would put in everything now and go until something broke. But, thank God, they are not as intelligent(433) as we who kill them; although they are more noble and more able.

The old man had seen many great fish. He had seen many that weighed more than a thousand pounds and he had caught two of that size in his life, but never alone. Now alone, and out of sight of land, he was fast to the biggest fish that he had ever seen and bigger than he had ever heard of, and his left hand was still as tight as the gripped(434) claws of an eagle.

It will uncramp(435) though, he thought. Surely it will uncramp to help my right hand. There are three things that are brothers: the fish and my two hands. It must uncramp. It is unworthy(436) of it to be cramped. The fish had slowed again and was going at his usual pace.(437)

I wonder why he jumped, the old man(438) thought. He jumped almost as though to show me how big he was. I know now, anyway, he thought. I wish I could show him what sort of man I am. But then he would see the cramped hand. Let him think I am more man than I am and I will be so. I wish I was the fish, he thought, with everything he has against only my will and my intelligence.

He settled comfortably against(439) the wood and took his suffering as it came and the fish swam steadily and the boat moved slowly through the dark water. There was a small sea rising with the wind coming up from the east and at noon the old man's left hand was uncramped.

"Bad news for you, fish," he said and shifted the line over the sacks that covered his shoulders.

He was comfortable but suffering, although he did not admit(440) the suffering at all.

"I am not religious(441) ," he said. "But I will say ten Our Fathers(442) and ten Hail Marys(443) that I should catch this fish, and I promise to make a pilgrimage(444) to the Virgin of Cobre if I catch him. That is a promise."

He commenced to say his prayers mechanically.(445) Sometimes he would be so tired that he could not remember the prayer and then he would say them fast so that they would come automatically(446) . Hail Marys are easier to say than Our Fathers, he thought.

"Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners(447) now and at the hour of our death. Amen." Then he added, "Blessed Virgin, pray for the death of this fish. Wonderful though he is."

With his prayers said, and feeling much better, but suffering exactly as much, and perhaps a little more, he leaned against the wood of the bow and began, mechanically(448) , to work the fingers of his left hand.

The sun was hot now although the breeze was rising gently.

"I had better re-bait(449) that little line out over the stern," he said. "If the fish decides to stay another night I will need to eat again and the water is low in the bottle. I don't think I can get anything but a dolphin here. But if I eat him fresh enough he won't be bad(450) . I wish a flying fish would come on board tonight. But I have no light to attract(451) them. A flying fish is excellent to eat raw and I would not have to cut him up. I must save all my strength(452) now. Christ, I did not know he was so big."

"I'll kill him though," he said. "In all his greatness and his glory."

Although it is unjust(453) , he thought. But I will show him what a man can do and what a man endures(454) .

"I told the boy I was a strange old man," he said.

"Now is when I must prove(455) it."

The thousand times that he had proved it meant nothing. Now he was proving it again. Each time was a new time and he never thought about the past when he was doing it.

I wish he'd sleep and I could sleep and dream about the lions, he thought. Why are the lions the main thing that is left? Don't think, old man,he said to himself, Rest gently(456) now against the wood and think of nothing. He is working. Work as little as you can.

It was getting into the afternoon and the boat still moved slowly and steadily. But there was an added drag now from the easterly(457) breeze and the old man rode gently with the small sea and the hurt of the cord across his back came to him easily and smoothly.

Once in the afternoon the line started to rise again. But the fish only continued to swim at a slightly higher level. The sun was on the old man's left arm and shoulder and on his back. So he knew the fish had turned east of north(458) .

Now that he had seen him once, he could picture(459) the fish swimming in the water with his purple pectoral fins set wide as wings(460) and the great erect tail slicing(461) through the dark. I wonder how much he sees at that depth, the old man thought. His eye is huge and a horse, with much less eye(462) , can see in the dark. Once I could see quite well in the dark. Not in the absolute dark. But almost as a cat sees.

The sun and his steady movement of his fingers had uncramped his left hand now completely and he began to shift more of the strain to it and he shrugged(463) the muscles of his back to shift the hurt of the cord a little.

"If you're not tired, fish," he said aloud, "you must be very strange."

He felt very tired now and he knew the night would come soon and he tried to think of other things. He thought of the Big Leagues, to him they were the Gran Ligas, and he knew that the Yankees of New York were playing the Tigres of Detroit.

This is the second day now that I do not know the result of the juegos(464) , he thought. But I must have confidence and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel(465) . What is a bone spur(466) ? he asked himself. Un espuela de hueso. We do not have them. Can it be as painful as the spur of a fighting cock(467) in one's heel? I do not think I could endure that or the loss of the eye and of both eyes and continue to fight as the fighting cocks do. Man is not much beside(468) the great birds and beasts(469) . Still I would rather be that beast down there in the darkness of the sea.

"Unless sharks come," he said aloud. "If sharks come, God pity(470) him and me."

Do you believe the great DiMaggio would stay with a fish as long as I will stay with this one? he thought. I am sure he would and more since he is young and strong. Also his father was a fisherman. But would the bone spur(471) hurt him too much?

"I do not know," he said aloud. "I never had a bone spur.

As the sun set he remembered, to give himself more confidence, the time in the tavern(472) at Casablanca when he had played the hand game with the great negro(473) from Cienfuegos who was the strongest man on the docks. They had gone one day and one night with their elbows(474) on a chalk line(475) on the table and their forearms straight up and their hands gripped tight. Each one was trying to force the other's hand down onto the table. There was much betting and people went in and out of the room under the kerosene(476) lights and he had looked at the arm and hand of the negro and at the negro's face. They changed the referees(477) every four hours after the first eight so that the referees could sleep. Blood came out from under the fingernails(478) of both his and the negro's hands and they looked each other in the eye and at their hands and forearms(479) and the bettors(480) went in and out of the room and sat on high chairs against the wall and watched. The walls were painted bright blue and were of wood and the lamps threw their shadows against them. The negro's shadow was huge and it moved on the wall as the breeze moved the lamps.

The odds(481) would change back and forth all night and they fed the negro rum(482) and lighted cigarettes for him.

Then the negro, after the rum, would try for a tremendous(483) effort and once he had the old man, who was not an old man then but was Santiago El Campeon, nearly three inches off balance. But the old man had raised his hand up to dead(484) even again. He was sure then that he had the negro, who was a fine man and a great athlete, beaten. And at daylight when the bettors were asking that it be called a draw(485) and the referee was shaking his head, he had unleashed his effort(486) and forced the hand of the negro down and down until it rested on the wood. The match had started on a Sunday morning and ended on a Monday morning. Many of the bettors(487) had asked for a draw because they had to go to work on the docks loading(488) sacks of sugar or at the Havana Coal Company. Otherwise everyone would have wanted it to go to a finish. But he had finished it anyway and before anyone had to go to work.

For a long time after that everyone had called him The Champion and there had been a return match in the spring. But not much money was bet and he had won it quite easily since he had broken the confidence(489) of the negro from Cienfuegos in the first match. After that he had a few matches and then no more. He decided that he could beat anyone if he wanted to badly enough and he decided that it was bad for his right hand for fishing. He had tried a few practice matches(490) with his left hand. But his left hand had always been a traitor(491) and would not do what he called on it to do and he did not trust it.

The sun will bake(492) it out well now, he thought. It should not cramp on me again unless it gets too cold in the night. I wonder what this night will bring.

An airplane passed overhead(493) on its course to Miami and he watched its shadow scaring(494) up the schools of flying fish.

"With so much flying fish there should be dolphin," he said, and leaned back on the line to see if it was possible to gain any on his fish. But he could not and it stayed at the hardness and water-drop shivering that preceded(495) breaking. The boat moved ahead slowly and he watched the airplane until he could no longer see it.

It must be very strange in an airplane, he thought. I wonder what the sea looks like from that height? They should be able to see the fish well if they do not fly too high. I would like to fly very slowly at two hundred fathoms high and see the fish from above. In the turtle boats I was in the cross-trees(496) of the mast-head(497) and even at that height I saw much. The dolphin look greener from there and you can see their stripes and their purple spots(498) and you can see all of the school as they swim. Why is it that all the fast-moving fish of the dark current have purple backs and usually purple stripes or spots? The dolphin looks green of course because he is really golden. But when he comes to feed, truly hungry, purple stripes show on his sides as on a marlin. Can it be anger, or the greater speed he makes that brings them out?

Just before it was dark, as they passed a great island of Sargasso weed that heaved(499) and swung in the light sea as though the ocean were making love with something under a yellow blanket, hi ssmall line was taken by a dolphin. He saw it first when it jumped in the air, true gold in the last of the sun and bending(500) and flapping(501) wildly in the air. It jumped again and again in the acrobatics(502) of its fear and he worked his way back to the stern and crouching(503) and holding the big line with his right hand and arm, he pulled the dolphin in with his left hand, stepping on the gained line each time with his bare left foot. When the fish was at the stem, plunging(504) and cutting from side to side in desperation(505) , the old man leaned over the stern and lifted the burnished(506) gold fish with its purple spots over the stern. Its jaws were working convulsively(507) in quick bites against the hook and it pounded(508) the bottom of the skiff with its long flat body, its tail and its head until he clubbed it across the shining golden head until it shivered and was still.

The old man unhooked(509) the fish, re-baited the line with another sardine and tossed(510) it over. Then he worked his way slowly back to the bow. He washed his left hand and wiped it on his trousers. Then he shifted the heavy line from his right hand to his left and washed his right hand in the sea while he watched the sun go into the ocean and the slant of the big cord.

"He hasn't changed at all," he said. But watching the movement of the water against his hand he noted that it was perceptibly(511) slower.

"I'll lash the two oars together across the stern and that will slow him in the night," he said. "He's good for the night and so am I."

It would be better to gut the dolphin a little later to save the blood in the meat, he thought. I can do that a little later and lash the oars to make a drag(512) at the same time. I had better keep the fish quiet now and not disturb(513) him too much at sunset(514) . The setting of the sun is a difficult time for all fish. He let his hand dry in the air then grasped the line with it and eased(515) himself as much as he could and allowed himself to be pulled forward against the wood so that the boat took the strain as much, or more, than he did.

I'm learning how to do it, he thought. This part of it anyway. Then too, remember he hasn't eaten since he took the bait and he is huge and needs much food. I have eaten the whole bonito. Tomorrow I will eat the dolphin. He called it dorado(516) . Perhaps I should eat some of it when I clean it. It will be harder to eat than the bonito. But, then, nothing is easy.

"How do you feel, fish?" he asked aloud. "I feel good and my left hand is better and I have food for a night and a day. Pull the boat, fish."

He did not truly feel good because the pain from the cord across his back had almost passed pain and gone into a dullness(517) that he mistrusted(518) . But I have had worse things than that, he thought. My hand is only cut a little and the cramp(519) is gone from the other. My legs are all right. Also now I have gained on him in the question of sustenance(520) .

It was dark now as it becomes dark quickly after the sun sets in September. He lay against the worn wood(521) of the bow and rested all that he could. The first stars were out. He did not know the name of Rigel but he saw it and knew soon they would all be out and he would have all his distant friends.

"The fish is my friend too," he said aloud. "I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him. I am glad we do not have to try to kill the stars."

Imagine(522) if each day a man must try to kill the moon, he thought. The moon runs away. But imagine if a man each day should have to try to kill the sun? We were born lucky, he thought.

Then he was sorry for the great fish that had nothing to eat and his determination to kill him never relaxed in his sorrow(523) for him. How many people will he feed, he thought. But are they worthy to eat him? No, of course not. There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner(524) of his behaviour(525) and his great dignity(526) .

I do not understand these things, he thought. But it is good that we do not have to try to kill the sun or the moon or the stars. It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers.

Now, he thought, I must think about the drag. It has its perils(527) and its merits(528) . I may lose so much line that I will lose him, if he makes his effort and the drag made by the oars is in place and the boat loses all her lightness. Her lightness prolongs(529) both our suffering but it is my safety since he has great speed that he has never yet employed(530) . No matter what passes I must gut(531) the dolphin so he does not spoil and eat some of him to be strong.

Now I will rest an hour more and feel that he is solid and steady before I move back to the stern to do the work and make the decision. In the meantime I can see how he acts and if he shows any changes. The oars are a good trick; but it has reached the time to play for safety. He is much fish still and I saw that the hook was in the corner of his mouth and he has kept his mouth tight shut. The punishment(532) of the hook is nothing. The punishment of hunger, and that he is against something that he does not comprehend(533) , is everything. Rest now, old man, and let him work until your next duty comes.

He rested for what he believed to be two hours. The moon did not rise now until late and he had no way of judging the time. Nor was he really resting except comparatively(534) . He was still bearing(535) the pull of the fish across his shoulders but be placed his left hand on the gunwale(536) of the bow and confided(537) more and more of the resistance(538) to the fish to the skiff itself.

How simple it would be if I could make the line fast, he thought. But with one small lurch he could break it. I must cushion the pull of the line with my body and at all times be ready to give line with both hands.

"But you have not slept yet, old man," he said aloud. "It is half a day and a night and now another day and you have not slept. You must devise(539) a way so that you sleep a little if he is quiet and steady. If you do not sleep you might become unclear(540) in the head."

I'm clear enough in the head, he thought. Too clear. I am as clear as the stars that are my brothers. Still I must sleep. They sleep and the moon and the sun sleep and even the ocean sleeps sometimes on certain days when there is no current and a flat calm.

But remember to sleep, he thought. Make yourself do it and devise(541) some simple and sure way about the lines. Now go back and prepare the dolphin. It is too dangerous to rig(542) the oars as a drag if you must sleep.

I could go without sleeping, he told himself. But it would be too dangerous.

He started to work his way back to the stern on his hands and knees, being careful not to jerk against the fish. He may be half asleep(543) himself, he thought. But I do not want him to rest. He must pull until he dies.

Rack in the stern he turned so that his left hand held the strain of the line across his shoulders and drew his knife from its sheath(544) with his right hand. The stars were bright now and he saw the dolphin clearly and he pushed the blade of his knife into his head and drew him out from under the stem. He put one of his feet on the fish and slit(545) him quickly from the vent(546) up to the tip of his lower jaw. Then he put his knife down and gutted him with his right hand, scooping(547) him clean and pulling the gills clear.

He felt the maw(548) heavy and slippery in his hands and he slit it open. There were two flying fish inside. They were fresh and hard and he laid them side by side and dropped the guts(549) and the gills(550) over the stem. They sank leaving a trail of phosphorescence in the water. The dolphin was cold and a leprous(551) gray-white now in the starlight and the old man skinned one side of him while he held his right foot on the fish's head. Then he turned him over and skinned(552) the other side and cut each side off from the head down to the tail.

He slid the carcass overboard and looked to see if there was any swirl in the water. But there was only the light of its slow descent(553) . He turned then and placed the two flying fish inside the two fillets(554) of fish and putting his knife back in its sheath(555) , he worked his way slowly back to the bow. His back was bent with the weight of the line across it and he carried the fish in his right hand.

Rack in the bow he laid the two fillets of fish out on the wood with the flying fish beside them. After that he settled the line across his shoulders in a new place and held it again with his left hand resting on the gunwale(556) . Then he leaned over the side and washed the flying fish in the water, noting the speed of the water against his hand. His hand was phosphorescent(557) from skinning the fish and he watched the flow of the water against it. The flow was less strong and as he rubbed the side of his hand against the planking of the skiff, particles of phosphorus(558) floated(559) off and drifted slowly astern.

"He is tiring or he is resting," the old man said. "Now let me get through the eating of this dolphin and get some rest and a little sleep."

Under the stars and with the night colder all the time he ate half of one of the dolphin fillets and one of the flying fish, gutted and with its head cut off.

"What an excellent fish dolphin is to eat cooked," he said. "And what a miserable(560) fish raw. I will never go in a boat again without salt or limes."

If I had brains(561) I would have splashed(562) water on the bow all day and drying, it would have made salt, he thought. But then I did not hook the dolphin until almost sunset. Still it was a lack of preparation. But I have chewed it all well and I am not nauseated(563) .

The sky was clouding(564) over to the east and one after another the stars he knew were gone. It looked now as though he were moving into a great canyon(565) of clouds and the wind had dropped.

"There will be bad weather in three or four days," he said. "But not tonight and not tomorrow. Rig now to get some sleep, old man, while the fish is calm and steady."

He held the line tight in his right hand and then pushed his thigh(566) against his right hand as he leaned all his weight against the wood of the bow. Then he passed the line a little lower on his shoulders and braced his left hand on it.

My right hand can hold it as long as it is braced, he thought If it relaxes in sleep my left hand will wake me as the line goes out. It is hard on the right hand. But he is used to punishment(567) Even if I sleep twenty minutes or a half an hour it is good. He lay forward cramping himself against the line with all of his body, putting all his weight onto his right hand, and he was asleep.

He did not dream of the lions but instead of a vast school of porpoises(568) that stretched for eight or ten miles and it was in the time of theirmating(569) and they would leap(570) high into the airand return into the same hole they had made inthe water when they leaped.

Then be dreamed that he was in the village on his bed and there was a norther(571) and he was very cold and his right arm was asleep because his head had rested on it instead of a pillow(572) .

After that he began to dream of the long yellow beach and he saw the first of the lions come down onto it in the early dark and then the other lions came and he rested his chin(573) on the wood of the bows where the ship lay anchored with the evening off-shore breeze and he waited to see if there would be more lions(574) and he was happy.

The moon had been up for a long time but he slept on and the fish pulled on steadily and the boat moved into the tunnel(575) of clouds.

He woke with the jerk of his right fist coming up against his face and the line burning out through his right hand. He had no feeling of his left hand but he braked(576) all he could with his right and the line rushed out. Finally his left hand found the line and he leaned back against the line and now it burned his back and his left hand, and his left hand was taking all the strain and cutting badly. He looked back at the coils of line and they were feeding(577) smoothly. Just then the fish jumped making a great bursting(578) of the ocean and then a heavy fall(579) . Then he jumped again and again and the boat was going fast although line was still racing out(580) and the old man was raising the strain to breaking point and raising it to breaking point again and again. He had been pulled down tight onto the bow and his face was in the cut slice(581) of dolphin and he could not move.

This is what we waited for, he thought. So now let us take it. Make him pay for the line, he thought. Make him pay for it.

He could not see the fish's jumps but only heard the breaking of the ocean and the heavy splash as he fell. The speed of the line was cutting his hands badly but he had always known this would happen and he tried to keep the cutting across the calloused(582) parts and not let the line slip into the palm(583) nor cut the fingers.

If the boy was here he would wet the coils of line, he thought. Yes. If the boy were here. If the boy were here.

The line went out and out and out but it was slowing now and he was making the fish earn each inch of it. Now he got his head up(584) from the wood and out of the slice of fish that his cheek had crushed(585) . Then he was on his knees and then he rose slowly(586) to his feet. He was ceding(587) line but more slowly all the time. He worked back to where he could feel with his foot the coils of line that he could not see. There was plenty of line still and now the fish had to pull the friction(588) of all that new line through the water.

Yes, he thought. And now he has jumped more than a dozen times and filled the sacks along his back with air and he cannot go down deep to die where I cannot bring him up. He will start circling soon and then I must work on him. I wonder what started him so suddenly? Could it have been hunger(589) that made him desperate, or was he frightened(590) by something in the night? Maybe he suddenly felt fear. But he was such a calm, strong fish and he seemed so fearless(591) and so confident. It is strange.

"You better he fearless and confident yourself, old man," he said. "You're holding him again but you cannot get line. But soon he has to circle(592) ."

The old man held him with his left hand and his shoulders now and stooped down and scooped up water in his right hand to get the crushed dolphin flesh(593) off of his face. He was afraid that it might nauseate(594) him and he would vomit(595) and lose his strength. When his face was cleaned he washed his right hand in the water over the side and then let it stay in the salt water while he watched the first light come before the sunrise. He's headed almost east, he thought. That means he is tired and going with the current. Soon he will have to circle. Then our true work begins.

After he judged(596) that his right hand had been in the water long enough he took it out and looked at it.

"It is not bad," he said. And pain does not matter to a man.

He took hold of(597) the line carefully so that it did not fit into any of the fresh line cuts and shifted his weight so that he could put his left hand into the sea on the other side of the skiff.

"You did not do so badly for something worthless(598) ," he said to his left hand. "But there was a moment when I could not find you."

Why was I not born with two good hands? He thought. Perhaps it was my fault in not training that one properly(599) . But God knows he has had enough chances to learn. He did not do so badly in the night, though, and he has only cramped once. If he cramps again let the line cut him off.

When he thought that he knew that he was not being clear-headed(600) and he thought he should chew some more of the dolphin. But I can't, he told himself. It is better to be lightheaded(601) than to lose your strength from nausea(602) . And I know I cannot keep it if I eat it since my face was in it. I will keep it for an emergency(603) until it goes bad. But it is too late to try for strength now through nourishment(604) . You're stupid, he told himself. Eat the other flying fish.

It was there, cleaned and ready, and he picked it up with his left hand and ate it chewing the bones carefully and eating all of it down to the tail.

It has more nourishment than almost any fish, he thought. At least the kind of strength that I need. Now I have done what I can, he thought. Let him begin to circle and let the fight come.

The sun was rising for the third time since he had put to sea when the fish started to circle.

He could not see by the slant of the line that the fish was circling. It was too early for that. He just felt a faint(605) slackening(606) of the pressure of the line and he commenced to pull on it gently with his right hand. It tightened(607) , as always, but just when he reached the point where it would break, line began to come in. He slipped his shoulders and head from under the line and began to pull in line steadily and gently. He used both of his hands in a swinging motion(608) and tried to do the pulling as much as he could with his body and his legs. His old legsand shoulders pivoted with the swinging(609) of the pulling.

"It is a very big circle," he said. "But he is circling." Then the line would not come in any more and he held it until he saw the drops(610) jumping from it in the sun. Then it started out and the old man knelt down and let it go grudgingly(611) back into the dark water.

"He is making the far part of his circle now," he said. I must hold all I can, he thought. The strain will shorten(612) his circle each time. Perhaps in an hour I will see him. Now I must convince(613) him and then I must kill him.

But the fish kept on circling slowly and the old man was wet with sweat and tired deep into his bones(614) two hours later. But the circles were much shorter now and from the way the line slanted he could tell the fish had risen steadily while he swam.

For an hour the old man had been seeing black spots before his eyes and the sweat salted(615) his eyes and salted the cut over his eye and on his forehead. He was not afraid of the black spots. They were normal at the tension(616) that he was pulling on the line. Twice, though,he had felt faint and dizzy(617) and that had worried him.

"I could not fail myself and die on a fish like this," he said. "Now that I have him coming so beautifully, God help me endure(618) . I'll say a hundred Our Fathers and a hundred Hail Marys. But I cannot say them now.

Consider them said, he thought. I'll say them later. Just then he felt a sudden banging(619) and jerking(620) on the line he held with his two hands. It was sharp and hard-feeling and heavy.

He is hitting the wire leader with his spear, he thought. That was bound to come. He had to do that. It may make him jump though and I would rather he stayed circling now. The jumps were necessary for him to take air(621) . But after that each one can widen(622) the opening of the hook wound and he can throw the hook(623) .

"Don't jump, fish," he said. "Don't jump."

The fish hit the wire several times more and each time he shook(624) his head the old man gave up a little line.

I must hold his pain where it is, he thought. Mine does not matter. I can control mine. But his pain could drive him mad(625) .

After a while the fish stopped beating at the wire and started circling slowly again. The old man was gaining line steadily now. But he felt faint again. He lifted some sea water with his left hand and put it on his head. Then he put more on and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I have no cramps," he said. "He'll be up soon and I can last. You have to last(626) . Don't even speak of it."

He kneeled against the bow and, for a moment, slipped the line over his back again. I'll rest now while he goes out on the circle and then stand up and work on him when he comes in, he decided.

It was a great temptation(627) to rest in the bow and let the fish make one circle by himself without recovering(628) any line. But when the strain showed the fish had turned to come toward the boat, the old man rose to his feet(629) and started the pivoting and the weaving(630) pulling that brought in all the line he gained.

I'm tireder than I have ever been, he thought, and now the trade wind is rising. But that will be good to take him in with. I need that badly(631) .

"I'll rest on the next turn(632) as he goes out," he said. "I feel much better. Then in two or three turns more I will have him."

His straw hat was far on the back of his head and he sank down into the bow with the pull of the line as he felt the fish turn.

You work now, fish, he thought. I'll take you at the turn.

The sea had risen considerably. But it was a fair-weather breeze(633) and he had to have it to get home.

"I'll just steer south and west," he said. "A man is never lost at sea and it is a long island."

It was on the third turn that he saw the fish first.

He saw him first as a dark shadow that took so long to pass under the boat that he could not believe its length(634) .

"No," he said. "He can't be that big."

But he was that big and at the end of this circle he came to the surface(635) only thirty yards away and the man saw his tail out of water. It was higher than a big scythe blade and a very pale(636) lavender above the dark blue water. It raked back and as the fish swam just below the surface the old man could see his huge bulk(637) and the purple stripes that banded(638) him. His dorsal(639) fin was down and his huge pectorals were spread(640) wide.

On this circle the old man could see the fish's eye and the two gray sucking fish that swain(641) around him. Sometimes they attached themselves to him. Sometimes they darted off. Sometimes they would swim easily in his shadow. They were each over three feet long and when they swam fast they lashed(642) their whole bodies like eels.

The old man was sweating now but from something else besides the sun. On each calm placid(643) turn the fish made he was gaining line and he was sure that in two turns more he would have a chance to get the harpoon in.

But I must get him close, close, close, he thought. I mustn't try for the head. I must get the heart "Be calm and strong, old man," he said.

On the next circle the fish's back was out but he was a little too far from the boat. On the next circle he was still too far away but he was higher(644) out of water and the old man was sure that by gaining some more line he could have him alongside(645) .

He had rigged his harpoon long before and its coil of light rope was in a round basket(646) and the end was made fast(647) to the bitt in the bow.

The fish was coming in on his circle now calm and beautiful looking and only his great tail(648) moving. The old man pulled on him all that he could to bring him closer. For just a moment the fish turned a little on his side. Then he straightened(649) himself and began another circle.

"I moved him," the old man said. "I moved him then."

He felt faint again now but he held on the great fish all the strain that he could. I moved him, he thought. Maybe this time I can get him over. Pull, hands, he thought. Hold up, legs. Last for me, head. Last for me. You never went This time I'll pull him over. But when he put all of his effort on, starting it well out before the fish came alongside and pulling with all his strength(650) , the fish pulled part way over and then righted himself and swam away.

"Fish," the old man said. "Fish, you are going to have to die anyway(651) . Do you have to kill me too?"

That way nothing is accomplished(652) , he thought. His mouth was too dry to speak but he could not reach for the water now. I must get him alongside this time, he thought. I am not good for many more turns. Yes you are, he told himself. You're good for ever.

On the next turn, he nearly had him. But again the fish righted(653) himself and swam slowly away.

You are killing me, fish, the old man thought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble(654) thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who.

Now you are getting confused(655) in the head,he thought. You must keep your head clear. Keep your head clear and know how to suffer(656) like a man. Or a fish, he thought.

"Clear up(657) , head," he said in a voice he could hardly hear. "Clear up."

Twice more it was the same on the turns.

I do not know, the old man thought. He had been on the point of feeling himself go each time. I do not know. But I will try it once more.

He tried it once more and he felt himself going when he turned the fish. The fish righted himself and swam off again slowly with the great tail weaving(658) in the air.

I'll try it again, the old man promised(659) , although his hands were mushy(660) now and he could only see well in flashes.

He tried it again and it was the same. So he thought, and he felt himself going before he started; I will try it once again.

He took all his pain and what was left of his strength and his long gone pride(661) and he put it against the fish's agony(662) and the fish came over onto his side and swam gently on his side, his bill almost touching the planking of the skiff and started to pass the boat, long,deep, wide, silver and barred(663) with purple and interminable(664) in the water.

The old man dropped the line and put his foot on it and lifted the harpoon as high as he could and drove it down with all his strength, and more strength he had just summoned(665) , into the fish's side just behind the great chest fin that rose high in the air to the altitude of the man's chest. He felt the iron go in and he leaned on it and drove it further and then pushed all his weight after it.

Then the fish came alive, with his death in him, and rose high out of the water showing all his great length and width and all his power and his beauty(666) . He seemed to hang in the air above the old man in the skiff. Then he fell into the water with a crash that sent spray over the old man and over all of the skiff.

The old man felt faint and sick and he could not see well. But he cleared the harpoon line and let it run slowly through his raw(667) hands and, when he could see, he saw the fish was on his back with his silver belly up. The shaft of the harpoon was projecting at an angle(668) from the fish's shoulder and the sea was discolouring(669) with the red of the blood from his heart. First it was dark as a shoal(670) in the blue water that was more than a mile deep. Then it spread like a cloud. The fish was silvery and still and floated with the waves.

The old man looked carefully in the glimpse(671) of vision(672) that he had. Then he took two turns of the harpoon line around the bitt in the bow and hid his head on his hands.

"Keep my head dear," he said against the wood of the bow. "I am a tired old man. But I have killed this fish which is my brother and now I must do the slave(673) work."

Now I must prepare the nooses(674) and the rope to lash him alongside, he thought. Even if we were two and swamped(675) her to load him and bailed her out, this skiff would never hold him. I must prepare everything, then bring him in and lash him well and step(676) the mast and set sail for home.

He started to pull the fish in to have him alongside so that he could pass a line through his gills and out his mouth and make his head fast alongside the bow. I want to see him, he thought, and to touch(677) and to feel him. He is my fortune(678) , he thought. But that is not why I wish to feel him. I think I felt his heart, he thought. When I pushed on the harpoon shaft the second time. Bring him in now and make him fast and get the noose around his tail and another around his middle to bind him to the skiff.

"Get to work, old man," he said. He took a very small drink of the water. "There is very much slave work to be done now that the fight(679) is over."

He looked up at the sky and then out to his fish. He looked at the sun carefully. It is not much more than noon, he thought. And the trade wind is rising. The lines all mean nothing now. The boy and I will splice them when we are home.

"Come on, fish," he said. But the fish did not come.

Instead he lay there wallowing(680) now in the seas and the old man pulled the skiff upon to him.

When he was even with him and had the fish's head against the bow he could not believe his size. But he untied(681) the harpoon rope from the bitt, passed it through the fish's gills and out his jaws, made a turn around his sword then passed the rope through the other gill, made another turn around the bill and knotted the double rope and made it fast to the bitt in the bow. He cut the rope then and went astern(682) to noose the tail. The fish had turned silver from his original(683) purple and silver, and the stripes showed the same pale violet(684) colour as his tail. They were wider than a man's hand with his fingers spread and the fish's eye looked as detached(685) as the mirrors in a periscope(686) or asa saint in a procession.

"It was the only way to kill him," the old man said. He was feeling better since the water and he knew he would not go away and his head was clear. He's over fifteen hundred pounds the way he is, he thought. Maybe much more. If he dresses out two-thirds of that at thirty cents a pound?

"I need a pencil(687) for that," he said. "My head is not that clear. But I think the great DiMaggio would be proud of(688) me today. I had no bone spurs. But the hands and the back hurt truly." I wonder what a bone spur is, he thought. Maybe we have them without knowing of it.

He made the fish fast to bow and stern and to the middle thwart(689) . He was so big it was like lashing a much bigger skiff alongside. He cut a piece of line and tied the fish's lower jaw against his bill so his mouth would not open and they would sail as cleanly as possible. Then he stepped the mast and, with the stick that was his gaff and with his boom(690) rigged, the patched(691) sail drew, the boat began to move, and half lying in the stern he sailed southwest.

He did not need a compass(692) to tell him where southwest was. He only needed the feel of the trade wind and the drawing of the sail. I better put a small line out with a spoon(693) on it and try and get something to eat and drink for the moisture(694) . But he could not find a spoon and his sardines were rotten. So he hooked a patch of yellow Gulf weed with the gaff as they passed and shook it so that the small shrimps that were in it fell onto the planking of the skiff. There were more than a dozen(695) of them and they jumped and kicked(696) like sand fleas(697) . The old man pinched their heads off with his thumb and forefinger and ate them chewing up the shells and the tails. They were very tiny but he knew they were nourishing(698) and they tasted good.

The old man still had two drinks of water in the bottle and he used half of one after he had eaten the shrimps. The skiff was sailing well considering the handicaps(699) and he steered with the tiller under his arm. He could see the fish and he had only to look at his hands and feel his back against the stern to know that this had truly happened and was not a dream. At one time when he was feeling so badly toward the end, he had thought perhaps it was a dream. Then when he had seen the fish come out of the water and hang motionless(700) in the sky before he fell, he was sure there was some great strangeness(701) and he could not believe it. Then he could not see well, although now he saw as well as ever. Now he knew there was the fish and his hands and back were no dream. The hands cure quickly, he thought. I bled them clean and the salt water will heal(702) them. The dark water of the true gulf is the greatest healer that there is. All I must do is keep the head clear. The hands have done their work and we sail well. With his mouth shut and his tail straight up and down we sail like brothers. Then his head started to become a little unclear and he thought, is he bringing me in or am I bringing him in? If I were towing him behind there would be no question. Nor if the fish were in the skiff, with all dignity gone, there would be no question either. But they were sailing together lashed side by side(703) and the old man thought, let him bring me in if it pleases him. I am only better than him through trickery(704) and he meant meno harm.

They sailed well and the old man soaked his hands in the salt water and tried to keep his head clear. There were high cumulus(705) clouds and enough cirrus(706) above them so that the old man knew the breeze would last all night. The old man looked at the fish constantly(707) to make sure it was true. It was an hour before the first shark hit him.

The shark was not an accident. He had come up from deep down in the water as the dark cloud of blood had settled and dispersed(708) in the mile deep sea. He had come up so fast and absolutely(709) without caution(710) that he broke the surface of the blue water and was in the sun. Then he fell back into the sea and picked up the scent and started swimming on the course the skiff and the fish had taken.

Sometimes he lost the scent. But he would pick it up again, or have just a trace of it, and he swam fast and hard on the course. He was a very big Make shark built to swim as fast as the fastest fish in the sea and everything about him was beautiful except his jaws(711) . His back was as blue as a sword fish's and his belly was silver and his hide(712) was smooth and handsome(713) . He was built as a sword fish except for his huge jaws which were tight shut now as he swam fast, just under the surface with his high dorsal fin knifing(714) through the water without wavering. Inside the closed double lip of his jaws all of his eight rows of teeth were slanted(715) inwards. They were not the ordinary pyramid-shaped(716) teeth of most sharks. They were shaped like a man's fingers when they are crisped(717) like claws. They were nearly as long as the fingers of the old man and they had razor-sharp(718) cutting edges on both sides. This was a fish built to feed on all the fishes in the sea, that were so fast and strong and well armed that they had no other enemy. Now he speeded up as he smelled the fresher scent and his blue dorsal fin cut the water.

When the old man saw him coming he knew that this was a shark that had no fear at all and would do exactly what he wished. He prepared the harpoon and made the rope fast while he watched the shark come on. The rope was short as it lacked what he had cut(719) away to lash the fish.

The old man's head was clear and good now and he was full of resolution but he had little hope. It was too good to last, he thought. He took one look at the great fish as he watched(720) the shark close in(721) . It might as well have been a dream, he thought. I cannot keep him from hitting me but maybe I can get him. Dentuso, he thought. Bad luck to your mother.

The shark closed fast astern and when he hit the fish the old man saw his mouth open and his strange eyes and the clicking chop(722) of the teeth as he drove forward in the meat just above the tail. The shark's head was out of water and his back was coming out and the old man could hear the noise of skin and flesh ripping(723) on the big fish when he rammed(724) the harpoon down onto the shark's head at a spot where the line between his eyes intersected(725) with the line that ran straight back from his nose. There were no such lines. There was only the heavy sharp blue head and the big eyes and the clicking(726) , thrusting(727) all-swallowing(728) jaws. But that was the location(729) of the brain and the old man hit it. He hit it with his blood mushed hands driving a good harpoon with all his strength. He hit it without hope but with resolution and complete malignancy(730) .

The shark swung over and the old man sawhis eye was not alive and then he swung overonce again, wrapping himself in two loops(731) of the rope. The old man knew that he was dead but the shark would not accept it. Then,on his back, with his tail lashing and his jaws clicking, the shark plowed(732) over the water as a speedboat(733) does. The water was white where his tail beat it and three-quarters of his body was clear above the water when the rope came taut, shivered, and then snapped(734) . The shark lay quietly for a little while on the surface and the old man watched him. Then he went down very slowly.

"He took about forty pounds," the old man said aloud. He took my harpoon too and all the rope, he thought, and now my fish bleeds again and there will be others.

He did not like to look at the fish anymore since he had been mutilated(735) . When the fishhad been hit it was as though he himself were hit.

But I killed the shark that hit my fish, he thought. And he was the biggest dentuso that I have ever seen. And God knows that I have seen big ones.

It was too good to last, he thought. I wish it had been a dream(736) now and that I had never hooked the fish and was alone in bed on the newspapers.

"But man is not made for defeat(737) ," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." I am sorry that I killed the fish though, he thought. Now the bad time is coming and I do not even have the harpoon. The dentuso is cruel(738) and able and strong and intelligent. But I was more intelligent than he was. Perhaps not, he thought. Perhaps I was only better armed.

"Don't think, old man," he said aloud. "Sail on this course and take it when it comes."

But I must think, he thought. Because it is all I have left. That and baseball. I wonder how the great DiMaggio would have liked the way I hit him in the brain? It was no great thing, he thought. Any man could do it. But do you think my hands were as great a handicap(739) as the bone spurs? I cannot know. I never had anything wrong with my heel(740) except the time the sting(741) ray(742) stung it when I stepped on(743) him when swimming and paralyzed the lower leg and made the unbearable(744) pain.

"Think about something cheerful(745) , old man," he said. "Every minute now you are closer to home. You sail lighter for the loss of forty pounds."

He knew quite well the pattern(746) of what could happen when he reached the inner part of the current. But there was nothing to be done now.

"Yes there is," he said aloud. "I can lash my knife to the butt of one of the oars."

So he did that with the tiller(747) under his arm and the sheet of the sail under his foot.

"Now," he said. "I am still an old man. But I am not unarmed(748) ."

The breeze was fresh now and he sailed on well. He watched only the forward part of the fish and some of his hope returned.

It is silly not to hope, he thought. Besides I believe it is a sin(749) . Do not think about sin, he thought. There are enough problems now without sin. Also I have no understanding of it.

I have no understanding of it and I am not sure that I believe in it. Perhaps it was a sin to kill the fish. I suppose(750) it was even though I did it to keep me alive and feed many people. But then everything is a sin. Do not think about sin. It is much too late for that and there are people who are paid to do(751) it. Let them think about it. You were born to be a fisherman as the fish was born to be a fish. San Pedro was a fisherman as was the father of the great DiMaggio.

But he liked to think about all things that he was involved(752) in and since there was nothing to read and he did not have a radio, he thought much and he kept on thinking about sin. You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman(753) . You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?

"You think too much, old man," he said aloud(754) .

But you enjoyed killing the dentuso, he thought. He lives on the live fish as you do. He is not a scavenger(755) nor just a moving appetite(756) as some sharks are. He is beautiful and noble and knows no fear of anything.

"I killed him in self-defense(757) ," the old man said aloud. "And I killed him well."

Besides, he thought, everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I must not deceive(758) myself too much.

He leaned over the side and pulled loose a piece of the meat of the fish where the shark had cut him. He chewed it and noted its quality and its good taste. It was firm(759) and juicy, like meat, but it was not red. There was no stringiness(760) in it and he knew that it would bring the highest price In the market. But there was no way to keep its scent out of the water and the old man knew that a very had time was coming.

The breeze was steady. It had backed a little further into the north-east and he knew that meant that it would not fall off. The old man looked ahead of him but he could see no sails nor could he see the hull(761) nor the smoke of any ship. There were only the flying fish that went up from his bow sailing away to either side and the yellow patches of Gulf weed. He could not even see a bird.

He had sailed for two hours, resting in the stern and sometimes chewing a bit of the meat from the marlin, trying to rest and to be strong, when he saw the first(762) of the two sharks.

"Ay," he said aloud. There is no translation(763) for this word and perhaps it is just a noise such as a man might make, involuntarily(764) , feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood.

"Galanos," he said aloud. He had seen the second fin now coming up behind the first and had identified(765) them as shovel-nosed(766) sharks by the brown, triangular(767) fin and the sweeping movements of the tail. They had the scent and were excited and in the stupidity(768) of their great hunger they were losing and finding the scent in their excitement. But they were closing all the time.

The old man made the sheet fast and jammed the tiller. Then he took up the oar with the knife lashed to it. He lifted it as lightly as he could because his hands rebelled(769) at the pain. Then he opened and closed them on it lightly to loosen them. He closed them firmly so they would take the pain now and would not flinch(770) and watched the sharks come. He could see their wide, flattened, shovel-pointed heads now and their white tipped wide pectoral fins. They were hateful(771) sharks, bad smelling, scavengers as well as killers, and when they were hungry they would bite at an oar or the rudder(772) of a boat. It was these sharks that would cut the turtles' legs and flippers(773) off when the turtles were asleep on the surface, and they would hit a man in the water, if they were hungry, even if the man had no smell of fish blood nor of fish slime(774) on him.

"Ay," the old man said. "Galanos. Come ongalanos."

They came. But they did not come as the Mako had come. One turned and went out of sight under the skiff and the old man could feel the skiff shake as he jerked and pulled on the fish. The other watched the old man with his slitted yellow eyes and then came in fast with his half circle of jaws wide to hit the fish where he had already been bitten. The line showed clearly on the top of his brown head and back where the brain joined the spinal cord and the old man drove the knife on the oar into the juncture(775) , withdrew(776) it, and drove it in again into the shark's yellow cat-like(777) eyes. The shark let go of the fish and slid down, swallowing what he had taken as he died.

The skiff was still shaking with the destruction(778) the other shark was doing to the fish and the old man let go the sheet so that the skiff would swing broadside(779) and bring the shark out from under. When he saw the shark he leaned over the side and punched(780) at him. He hit only meat and the hide was set hard and he barely(781) got the knife in. The blow hurt not only his hands but his shoulder too. But the shark came up fast with his head out and the old man hit him squarely(782) in the center of his flattopped head as his nose came out of water and lay against the fish. The old man withdrew the blade and punched the shark exactly in the same spot again. He still hung to the fish with his jaws hooked and the old man stabbed(783) him in his left eye. The shark still hung there.

"No?" the old man said and he drove the blade between the vertebrae(784) and the brain. It was an easy shot now and he felt the cartilage(785) sever(786) . The old man reversed the oar and put the blade between the shark's jaws to open them. He twisted(787) the blade and as the shark slid loose he said, "Go on, galano. Slide down a mile deep. Go see your friend, or maybe it's your mother."

The old man wiped the blade of his knife and laid down the oar. Then he found the sheet and the sail filled and he brought the skiff onto her course.

"They must have taken a quarter of him and of the best meat," he said aloud. "I wish it were a dream and that I had never hooked him. I'm sorry about it, fish. It makes everything wrong." He stopped and he did not want to look at the fish now. Drained(788) of blood and awash(789) he looked the colour of the silver backing of a minor(790) and his stripes still showed.

"I shouldn't have gone out so far, fish," he said. "Neither for you nor for me. I'm sorry, fish."

Now, he said to himself. Look to the lashing on the knife and see if it has been cut. Then get your hand in order because there still is more to come.

"I wish I had a stone for the knife," the old man said after he had checked(791) the lashing on the oar butt. "I should have(792) brought a stone." You should have brought many things, he thought. But you did not bring them, old man. Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.

"You give me much good counsel(793) ," he said aloud. "I'm tired of(794) it."

He held the tiller under his arm and soaked both his hands in the water as the skiff drove forward.

"God knows how much that last one took," he said.

"But she's much lighter now." He did not want to think of the mutilated(795) under-side(796) of the fish. He knew that each of the jerking bumps of the shark had been meat torn away and that the fish now made a trail for all sharks as wide as a highway(797) through the sea.

He was a fish to keep a man all winter, he thought Don't think of that. Just rest and try to get your hands in shape(798) to defend what is left of him. The blood smell from my hands means nothing now with all that scent in the water. Besides they do not bleed much. There is nothing cut that means anything. The bleeding may keep the left from cramping.

What can I think of now? he thought. Nothing. I must think of nothing and wait for the next ones. I wish it had really been a dream, he thought. But who knows? It might have turned out well.

The next shark that came was a single shovelnose(799) . He came like a pig to the trough(800) if a pig had a mouth so wide that you could put your head in it. The old man let him hit the fish and then drove the knife on the oar don into his brain. But the shark jerked backwards as he rolled and the knife blade snapped.

The old man settled himself to steer. He did not even watch the big shark sinking slowly in the water, showing first life-size(801) , then small, then tiny(802) . That always fascinated(803) the old man. But he did not even watch it now.

"I have the gaff now," he said. "But it will do no good(804) . I have the two oars and the tiller and the short club(805) ."

Now they have beaten me, he thought. I am too old to club sharks to death. But I will try it as long as I have the oars and the short club and the tiller.

He put his hands in the water again to soak them. It was getting late in the afternoon and he saw nothing but the sea and the sky. There was more wind in the sky than there had been, and soon he hoped that he would see land.

"You're tired, old man," he said. "You're tired inside."

The sharks did not hit him again until just before sunset.

The old man saw the brown(806) fins(807) coming along the wide trail the fish must make in the water. They were not even quartering(808) on the scent. They were headed straight for the skiff swimming side by side.

He jammed the tiller, made the sheet fast and reached under the stem for the club. It was an oar handle from a broken(809) oar sawed off to about two and a half feet in length(810) . He could only use it effectively with one hand because of the grip(811) of the handle and he took good hold of it with his right hand, flexing(812) his hand on it, as he watched the sharks come. They were both galanos.

I must let the first one get a good hold and hit him on the point of the nose or straight across the top of the head, he thought.

The two sharks closed together and as he sawt he one nearest him open his jaws and sink them into the silver side of the fish, he raised the club high and brought it down heavy and slamming(813) onto the top of the shark's broad head. He felt the rubbery(814) solidity(815) as the club came down. But he felt the rigidity(816) of bone too and he struck the shark once more hard across the point of the nose as he slid down from the fish.

The other shark had been in and out and now came in again with his jaws wide. The old man could see pieces of the meat of the fish spilling(817) white from the corner of his jaws as he bumped the fish and closed his jaws. He swung at him and hit only the head and the shark looked at him and wrenched(818) the meat loose. The old man swung the club down on him again as he slipped away to swallow and hit only the heavy solid rubberiness.

"Come on, galano," the old man said. "Come in again."

The shark came in a rush(819) and the old man hit him as he shut his jaws. He hit him solidly and from as high up as he could raise(820) the club. This time he felt the bone at the base of the brain and he hit him again in the same place while the shark tore the meat loose sluggishly(821) and slid down from the fish.

The old man watched for him to come again but neither shark showed. Then he saw one on the surface swimming in circles. He did not see the fin of the other.

I could not expect to kill them, he thought. I could have in my time. But I have hurt them both badly and neither one can feel very good. If I could have used a bat(822) with two hands I could have killed the first one surely(823) . Even now, he thought.

He did not want to look at the fish. He knew that half of him had been destroyed. The sun had gone down while he had been in the fight with the sharks.

"It will be dark soon," he said. "Then I should see the glow(824) of Havana.. If I am too far to the eastward I will see the lights of one of the new beaches."

I cannot be too far out now, he thought. I hope no one has been too worried(825) . There is only the boy to worry, of course. But I am sure he would have confidence(826) . Many of the older fishermen(827) will worry. Many others too, he thought. I live in a good town(828) .

He could not talk to the fish anymore because the fish had been ruined(829) too badly. Then something came into his head.

"Half fish," he said. "Fish that you were. I am sorry that I went too far out. I ruined us both. But we have killed many sharks, you and I, and ruined many others. How many did you ever kill, old fish? You do not have that spear(830) on your head for nothing."

He liked to think of the fish and what he could do to a shark if he were swimming free. I should have chopped the bill off to fight them with, he thought. But there was no hatchet(831) and then there was no knife.

But if I had, and could have lashed it to an oar butt, what a weapon(832) . Then we might have fought them together. What will you do now if they come in the night? What can you do?

"Fight them," he said. "I'll fight them until I die."

But in the dark now and no glow(833) showing and no lights and only the wind and the steady pull of the sail he felt that perhaps he was already dead. He put his two hands together and felt the palms. They were not dead and he could bring the pain of life by simply opening and closing them. He leaned his back against the stern and knew he was not dead. His shoulders told him.

I have all those prayers(834) I promised if I caught the fish, he thought. But I am too tired to say them now. I better get the sack and put it over my shoulders.

He lay in the stern and steered and watched for the glow to come in the sky. I have half of him, he thought. Maybe I'll have the luck(835) to bring the forward half in. I should have some luck. No, he said. You violated(836) your luck when you went too far outside.

"Don't be silly(837) ," he said aloud. "And keep awake(838) and steer. You may have much luck yet.

"I'd like to buy some if there's any place they sell it," he said.

What could I buy it with? he asked himself. Could I buy it with a lost(839) harpoon and a broken knife and two bad hands?

"You might," he said. "You tried to buy it with eighty-four days at sea. They nearly(840) sold it to you too.

I must not think nonsense, he thought. Luck is a thing that comes in many forms(841) and who can recognize(842) her? I would take some though in any form and pay(843) what they asked. I wish I could see the glow from the lights, he thought. I wish too many things. But that is the thing I wish for now. He tried to settle(844) more comfortably(845) to steer and from his pain he knew he was not dead.

He saw the reflected glare of the lights of the city at what must have been around ten o'clock at night. They were only perceptible(846) at first as the light is in the sky before the moonrises. Then they were steady to see across the ocean which was rough now with the increasing breeze. He steered inside of the glow and he thought that now, soon, he must hit the edge of the stream.

Now it is over, he thought. They will probably(847) hit me again. But what can a man do against them in the dark without a weapon?

He was stiff and sore now and his wounds and all of the strained(848) parts of his body hurt with the cold of the night. I hope I do not have to fight again, he thought. I hope so much I do not have to fight again.

But by midnight he fought and this time he knew the fight was useless. They came in a pack and he could only see the lines in the water that their fins made and their phosphorescence as they threw themselves on the fish. He clubbed at heads and heard the jaws chop and the shaking of the skiff as they took hold(849) below. He clubbed desperately at what he could only feel and hear and he felt something seize(850) the club and it was gone.

He jerked the tiller free from the rudder and beat and chopped with it, holding it in both hands and driving(851) it down again and again. But they were up to the bow now and driving in one after the other and together, tearing off the pieces of meat that showed glowing below the sea as they turned to come once more.

One came, finally(852) , against the head itself and he knew that it was over. He swung the tiller across the shark's head where the jaws were caught in the heaviness of the fish's head which would not tear. He swung it once and twice and again. He heard the tiller break and he lunged(853) at the shark with the splintered(854) butt. He felt it go in and knowing it was sharp he drove it in again. The shark let go and rolled away. That was the last shark of the pack that came. There was nothing more for them to eat.

The old man could hardly breathe(855) now and he felt a strange taste in his mouth. It was coppery(856) and sweet and he was afraid of(857) it for a moment. But there was not much of it.

He spat into the ocean and said, "Eat that,galanos. And make a dream you've killed a man."

He knew he was beaten now finally and without remedy(858) and he went back to the stern and found the jagged end of the tiller would fit in the slot(859) of the rudder well enough for him to steer. He settled the sack around his shoulders and put the skiff on her course. He sailed lightly(860) now and he had no thoughts nor any feelings of any kind. He was past everything now and he sailed the skiff to make his home port as well and as intelligently as he could. In the night sharks hit the carcass as someone might pick up crumbs(861) from the table. The old man paid no attention to them and did not pay any attention to anything except steering. He only noticed how lightly and how well the skiff sailed now there was no great weight beside her.

She's good, he thought. She is sound and not harmed in any way except for the tiller. That is easily replaced(862) .

He could feel he was inside the current now and he could see the lights of the beach colonies along the shore. He knew where he was now and it was nothing to get home.

The wind is our friend, anyway, he thought. Then he added(863) , sometimes. And the great sea with our friends and our enemies. And bed, he thought. Bed is my friend. Just bed, he thought. Bed will be a great thing. It is easy(864) when you are beaten, he thought. I never knew how easy it was. And what beat you, he thought.

"Nothing," he said aloud. "I went out too far."

When he sailed into the little harbour the lights of the Terrace were out and he knewe veryone was in bed(865) . The breeze had risen steadily and was blowing strongly now. It was quiet in the harbour though and he sailed up onto the little patch of shingle(866) below the rocks(867) . There was no one to help him so he pulled the boat up as far as he could. Then he stepped out and made her fast to a rock.

He unstepped(868) the mast and furled the sail and tied it. Then he shouldered the mast and started to climb. It was then he knew the depth of his tiredness. He stopped for a moment and looked back and saw in the reflection(869) from the street light the great tail of the fish standing up well behind the skiff's stern. He saw the white naked line of his backbone and the dark mass of the head with the projecting bill(870) and all the nakedness(871) between.

He started to climb again and at the top he fell and lay for some time with the mast across his shoulder. He tried to get up. But it was too difficult and he sat there with the mast on his shoulder and looked at the road. A cat passed on the far side going about its business(872) and the old man watched it. Then he just watched the road.

Finally he put the mast down and stood up. He picked the mast up and put it on his shoulder and started up the road. He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.

Inside the shack he leaned the mast against the wall. In the dark he found a water bottle and took a drink(873) . Then he lay down on the bed. He pulled the blanket over his shoulders and then over his back and legs and he slept face down(874) on the newspapers with his arms out straight and the palms(875) of his hands up.

He was asleep when the boy looked in the door in the morning. It was blowing so hard that the drifting-boats(876) would not be going out and the boy had slept late and then come to the old man's shack as he had come each morning. The boy saw that the old man was breathing and then he saw the old man's hands and he started to cry. He went out very quietly to go to bring some coffee and all the way down the road he was crying.

Many fishermen were around the skiff looking at what was lashed beside it and one was in the water, his trousers(877) rolled up, measuring the skeleton with a length of(878) line.

The boy did not go down(879) . He had been there before and one of the fishermen was looking after the skiff for bun.

"How is he?" one of the fishermen shouted.

"Sleeping," the boy called. He did not care that they saw him crying. "Let no one disturb him(880) ."

"He was eighteen feet from nose to tail," the fisherman who was measuring him called.

"I believe it," the boy said.

He went into the Terrace and asked for a can of coffee.

"Hot and with plenty of milk and sugar(881) in It.

"Anything more?"

"No. Afterwards I will see what he can eat."

"What a fish it was," the proprietor(882) said. "There has never been such a fish. Those were two fine fish you took yesterday too."

"Damn(883) my fish," the boy said and he started to cry again.

"Do you want a drink of any kind?" the proprietor asked.

"No," the boy said. "Tell them not to bother(884) Santiago. I'll be back."

"Tell him how sorry(885) I am."

"Thanks," the boy said.

The boy carried the hot can of coffee up to the old man's shack and sat by(886) him until he woke. Once it looked as though he were waking. But he had gone back into(887) heavy sleep and the boy had gone across the road to borrow some wood to heat the coffee.

Finally the old man woke.

"Don't sit up(888) ," the boy said. "Drink this." He poured(889) some of the coffee in a glass.

The old man took it and drank it.

"They beat me, Manolin," he said. "They truly beat me.

"He didn't beat you. Not the fish."

"No. Truly. It was afterwards."

"Pedrico is looking after the skiff and the gear. What do you want done with the head?"

"Let Pedrico chop it up to use in fish traps(890) ."

"And the spear(891) ?"

"You keep it if you want it."

"I want it," the boy said. "Now we must make our plans about the other things."

"Did they search(892) for me?"

"Of course. With coast guard(893) and with planes."

"The ocean is very big and a skiff is small and hard to see," the old man said. He noticed(894) how pleasant it was to have someone to talk to instead of speaking only to himself and to the sea. "I missed you," he said. "What did you catch?"

"One the first day. One the second and two the third."

"Very good."

"Now we fish together again."

"No. I am not lucky. I am not lucky anymore."

"The hell with luck(895) ," the boy said. "I'll bring the luck with me."

"What will your family say?"

"I do not care. I caught two yesterday. But we will fish together now for I still have much to learn."

"We must get a good killing lance(896) and always have it on board. You can make the blade from a spring leaf(897) from an old Ford. We can grind(898) it in Guanabacoa. It should be sharp(899) and not tempered so it will break. My knife broke."

"I'll get another knife and have the spring ground."

"How many days of heavy brisa have we?"

"Maybe(900) three. Maybe more."

"I will have everything in order(901) ," the boy said. "You get your hands well old man."

"I know how to care for them. In the night I spat something strange(902) and felt something in my chest(903) was broken."

"Get that well(904) too," the boy said. "Lie down, old man, and I will bring you your clean shirt. And something to eat."

"Bring any of the papers of the time that I was gone," the old man said.

"You must get well fast for there is much that I can learn and you can teach me everything. How much did you suffer?"

"Plenty," the old man said.

"I'll bring the food and the papers," the boy said. "Rest well, old man. I will bring stuff from the drugstore(905) for your hands."

"Don't forget to tell Pedrico the head is his."

"No. I will remember."

As the boy went out the door and down the worn coral(906) rock road he was crying again.

That afternoon there was a party of tourists at the Terrace and looking down in the water among the empty beer cans and dead barracudas a woman saw a great long white spine(907) with a huge tail at the end that lifted and swung with the tide while the east wind blew a heavy steady sea outside the entrance to the harbour.

"What's that?" she asked a waiter and pointed to the long backbone of the great fish that was now just garbage waiting to go out with the tide.

"Tiburon," the waiter said. "Eshark." He was meaning to explain what had happened.

"I didn't know sharks had such handsome, beautifully formed tails."

"I didn't either," her male companion(908) said.

Up the road, in his shack, the old man was sleeping again. He was still sleeping on his face and the boy was sitting by him watching him. The old man was dreaming about(909) the lions.

（The End）

(1) skiff：轻舟，小船

(2) take a fish：捕鱼

(3) salao：西班牙语，意为咸的，苦的，转义为倒霉的

(4) coiled：卷起的

(5) gaff：鱼钩

(6) harpoon：（鲸的）鱼叉

(7) furl：卷收，收下

(8) mast：桅杆，船桅

(9) patch：修补，补缀

(10) blotch：红疤，伤疤

(11) benevolent：仁慈的，乐善好施的，此处指（肿瘤）良性的

(12) tropic：热带的

(13) deep-creased：褶皱深的

(14) cord：绳索，细绳

(15) erosion：侵蚀，腐烂

(16) fishless desert：无鱼可打的沙漠，比喻特别干燥

(17) haul up：拖上来

(18) It was papa made me leave：此句为强调句式。

(19) obey：服从，听从

(20) faith：信心

(21) Terrace：露台餐厅

(22) drift：使漂流

(23) butcher：屠宰

(24) marlin：大马林鱼

(25) plank：厚板

(26) stagger：摇摇晃晃

(27) hoist：向上推，升起

(28) tackle：滑车

(29) salt：动词，腌制

(30) faint：微弱的，模糊的

(31) sardine：沙丁鱼

(32) serve：帮忙

(33) the fish in too green：鱼特别的活碰乱跳

(34) tore the boat to pieces：撞成碎片

(35) thwart：划船者的座板

(36) club：用棍子打

(37) shiver：发抖

(38) chop：砍，削

(39) sunburned：饱经日晒的

(40) gamble：冒险，孤注一掷

(41) bait：鱼饵

(42) confidence：信心，把握

(43) breeze：微风

(44) I would：要是那样就好啦

(45) attain：获得

(46) humility：谦卑，谦恭

(47) disgraceful：可耻的，不光彩的

(48) current：水流

(49) come to your aid：去帮你

(50) went turtle-ing：捕海龟

(51) Mosquito Coast：莫斯基托海岸

(52) trick：窍门

(53) gear：一系列工具

(54) hard-braided：织得很密的

(55) shaft：手柄

(56) stern：船尾

(57) subdue：征服，控制

(58) shack：简陋的小屋

(59) budshields：苞壳

(60) Guano：西班牙语，棕榈，王棕

(61) flattened：平扁的

(62) overlapping：重叠的，重复的

(63) sturdy：结实的

(64) tinted：带色彩的

(65) make the fire：生火

(66) cast net：渔网

(67) went through this fiction：把故事演一遍

(68) dressed out：去掉内脏等部分

(69) go for sardine：捕沙丁鱼

(70) Perico：西班牙语，佩里科（人名）

(71) bodega：小杂货铺

(72) fear：担心，害怕

(73) have faith in：相信

(74) Yankees：美国人，美国佬

(75) or you will fear：别连…都要害怕

(76) terminal：终点的，末端的

(77) lottery：彩票，博彩

(78) with an eighty-fi ve：尾号是85

(79) First you borrow. Then you beg.：今天借钱，明天就得讨饭。

(80) keep warm：别着凉

(81) Anyone can be a fisherman in May：谁在五月都能打到鱼，说明五月是打鱼的大好时节。

(82) army blanket：军用毛毯

(83) patch：缝补，打补丁

(84) sail：船帆

(85) faded：褪色的，凋谢的

(86) breeze：微风

(87) barefooted：赤脚

(88) You can't fish and not eat：你不能只捕鱼而不吃饭。

(89) I have：省略了done it.我以前就这样过。

(90) keep the blanket around you：把毯子披在肩上吧。

(91) stew：炖的食物

(92) two-decker：两层装的

(93) container：容器，这里指饭盒。

(94) set：餐具的单位，套

(95) napkin：餐巾

(96) wrap：包，裹

(97) belly meat：鱼肚肉

(98) thoughtful：无微不至的，周到的

(99) can：罐

(100) Hatuey ：哈图伊斯牌，一种啤酒品牌

(101) gently：轻轻地，温柔地

(102) I must have waterhere for him.：我本来应该给他打点水过来的。

(103) thoughtless：大意的

(104) some sort of：任何一种

(105) That means nothing：没什么

(106) The great DiMaggio is himself again：伟大的迪马吉奥又重振雄风了。

(107) They have other men on the team：他们队里还有厉害的人呢。

(108) naturally：那当然咯

(109) make the difference：扭转乾坤

(110) drive：抽，打，击出的距离

(111) timid：怯懦的，胆小的

(112) when he was my age：他跟我和么大岁数的时候

(113) rigged：船具齐备的

(114) He said Jota for J：他把J字母念成了"何塔"

(115) rough：粗鲁

(116) harsh-spoken：说话难听的

(117) difficult：难相处的

(118) His mind was onhorses：他满脑子想着的就是赛马

(119) But there is only you：但你是举世无双的。

(120) come along：出现

(121) tricks：戏法，把戏

(122) resolution：决心，坚毅

(123) fresh：精神饱满，生机勃勃

(124) wake：唤醒，叫醒

(125) hard：这里的意思是小孩子觉多，起床困难。

(126) him：指船主人

(127) roll：蜷起来

(128) spring：弹簧

(129) cape：海角

(130) tar：沥青

(131) oakum：麻絮，用于填船缝

(132) peak：山峰，有尖顶的高山

(133) harbour：海港，港口

(134) occurrence：事件，事情

(135) contests of strength：力量的比拼

(136) unroll：展开，铺开

(137) urinate：排尿，撒尿

(138) shiver：颤动，发抖

(139) cot：帆布床

(140) dying moon：暗淡的月光

(141) Qua Va：西班牙语，意思是没什么。

(142) It is what a man should do：这是一个男子汉应该做到的事。

(143) furl：（把帆、扇等）折起，收好。

(144) gear：工具，装备

(145) condensed：浓缩的

(146) How did you sleep：你睡得怎么样。

(147) leave his sleep：摆脱困意

(148) confident：有自信的

(149) credit：赊账

(150) walk off：离开

(151) eating had bored him：他不想吃饭，厌食。

(152) carry a lunch：吃中饭

(153) trail：小路，小道

(154) pebbled：铺满鹅卵石的

(155) oar：橹，桨

(156) thole：桨架，桨栓

(157) thrust：推挤

(158) dip：（在海、湖里）浸一下，泡一下

(159) mouth of theharbour：出港处，港口

(160) phosphorescene：微弱的光，磷光

(161) weed：杂草

(162) congregate：使聚集，聚合

(163) swirl：（水的）漩涡

(164) shrimp：小虾

(165) hissing：发嘶嘶声

(166) principal：主要的

(167) delicate：娇弱的

(168) tern：燕鸥

(169) hunting：寻找

(170) buoy：浮标，浮筒

(171) el mar：西班牙语，“海郎”

(172) masculine：刚性的，有男子气概的

(173) feminine：阴性的，有女性气质的

(174) wicked：阴险的，缺德的

(175) swirl：漩涡

(176) bonito：鲣鱼，一种生长在大西洋的鱼。

(177) albacore：青花鱼科的海产鱼

(178) fathoms：英寻（等于6英尺)

(179) shank：物体直而狭长的部分，通常是柄身。

(180) sew：缝合

(181) curve：弯曲，曲线

(182) half-garland：半圆的花圈等物体

(183) tunas：金枪鱼

(184) albacore：长鳍金枪鱼

(185) plummet：锤线

(186) jack：狗鱼

(187) scent：（动物的）气味

(188) loop：用绳缠紧

(189) coil：一卷绳子

(190) The sun rose thinly：太阳初升，光线很弱。

(191) glare：刺目的强光

(192) keep them with precision：保持一个准确的位置

(193) look into the east：向东边看去

(194) in sight：被看到

(195) inshore：（海洋）近海岸地，向海岸地

(196) getting the blackness：眼睛因为强光直射而视线发黑

(197) make a quick drop：文中指军舰鸟急速的俯冲下来

(198) black-swept wings：全黑的翅膀

(199) keep his lines straight up and down：（老人）让渔线直上直下的呆在那。

(200) motionless：不动的，静止的

(201) spurt：冒出，涌出

(202) desperately绝望地

(203) dolphin：这里不指海豚，而是鯕鳅。鯕鳅科，鬼头刀属两种鱼类的统称。

(204) ship his oars：把双桨收起来

(205) wire leader：钓鱼用的接钩绳

(206) ineffectually：效果不佳的，不起作用的。

(207) bulge：突起，膨胀

(208) diving at speed：以极快的速度潜进水里

(209) school：群，伙

(210) burst out：突然（哭，笑等）

(211) stray：走失的动物

(212) sifting：sift的进行时态，用作形容词，不断纷落的。

(213) plankton：（海里的）浮游生物

(214) sun-bleached：因阳光强烈照射而发白的

(215) formalized：一板一眼的，形状分明的

(216) iridescent：闪光的，现晕光的

(217) gelatinous：如胶的，胶状的

(218) blader：囊袋

(219) bubble：气泡，水泡

(220) whore：妓女

(221) filament：灯丝，细线，这里指鱼的触须。

(222) immune to：对…有免疫力

(223) whiplash：鞭打，震荡

(224) carapace：（龟等）缩进壳里

(225) horny：坚硬的，粗糙的

(226) hawk-bills：玳瑁（海龟的一种）

(227) loggerheads：红海龟

(228) armour-planting：作为防护的龟壳

(229) mysticism：玄想

(230) are heartless about：对…很冷漠，无情

(231) strength：力气，力量

(232) shark liver oil：鲨鱼肝油，直接从鲨鱼体内提炼的一种油。

(233) drum：鼓，鼓状容器

(234) grippe：流行性感冒

(235) scattering：scatter的进行时态，四下散开

(236) tuna：金枪鱼，用来捕更大的鱼。

(237) churning: churn的现在分词，搅动

(238) panic：恐慌，慌张

(239) tile：瓦片，扁平的小棋子

(240) compact：紧实的

(241) bullet shaped：像子弹形状的

(242) unintelligent：笨笨的，愚蠢的

(243) thumped his life out：筋疲力尽而死

(244) steering: steer的现在分词，驾船，掌舵

(245) smack：捕鱼用的小帆船，渔舟

(246) storm-bound：由于风暴被困

(247) annoy：使恼怒，使烦恼

(248) radio：收音机，半导体

(249) straggler：落后者，脱离主队的人

(250) albacore，长鳍金枪鱼

(251) surface，表面

(252) snow-capped：被雪覆盖的

(253) prism：三棱镜

(254) myraid：许多的、无数的

(255) fleck：斑点

(256) annul：无效

(257) species种类，物种

(258) trickle down：（尤指汗液）滴落

(259) fish the day：打一天的鱼，fish这里作动词，捕鱼。

(260) bump：冲撞，撞倒

(261) reached out for：伸手去够

(262) strain：压力，重负

(263) tentative：尝试的，试探性的

(264) hand-forged：手工制作而成

(265) delicately：精致的，精巧的

(266) unleashed：把（感情，力量等）释放出来。发泄

(267) tension：紧绷的状态

(268) far out：省略了from the shore，指鱼在离海岸很远的深海生长

(269) make another turn：再次转身

(270) He will take it：这里的take指咬饵.

(271) make a turn：转弯

(272) unbelievably：站不住脚的，难以置信的

(273) reserve coils：后备卷线

(274) imperceptible：感觉不到的

(275) sideways：斜向一边的，这里指用嘴角咬。

(276) swallow：吞，咽

(277) If you said a good thing it might not happen：好事说出来，就不会实现了。

(278) moving away：游走，游开

(279) crosswise：交叉的

(280) gave more line：放出了更多的线

(281) tighten：收紧，扯紧，使变紧

(282) free end：可松开的扣

(283) at table：吃饭，用餐

(284) alternatively：轮番的，交替的

(285) pivoted：以……为轴心的

(286) taut（指肌肉或神经）绷紧的

(287) bead：水珠，（液体）小滴

(288) brace：使自己站稳，振作

(289) lean：倚着，靠着

(290) I wish I had the boy：省略了with me。要是那孩子跟在我身边就好啦

(291) tow：拖，拉，曳

(292) solidly：稳固地，牢靠地

(293) got down on his knees：跪下来

(294) jerk：猛拉

(295) un-stepped：没人踩过的

(296) endure：（长时间的）忍耐，忍

(297) visible：看得见的，有形的

(298) cramp痛性痉挛,抽筋

(299) sweat：汗，汗水

(300) sack：麻袋，包

(301) cautiously：小心谨慎地

(302) cushion：（用垫子）使柔和，松软

(303) intolerable：不可忍受的，无法容忍的

(304) keeps this up：继续进行，继续维持

(305) urinate：小便

(306) streak：条纹

(307) came out：出名次，得结果

(308) grand league：（体育）大型联赛

(309) unavoidable：不能避免的，不可废除的

(310) spoil：腐败，变质

(311) little：讨厌的，可憎的

(312) porpoise：（动）鼠海豚

(313) sigh：叹气，叹息

(314) female雌性的

(315) act：表现

(316) panic-stricken：被恐慌笼罩的

(317) despairing：无望的，感到绝望的

(318) scythe：（长柄）大镰刀

(319) rapier：轻剑，长剑

(320) sandpaper：砂纸

(321) dub：戳，刺，击

(322) lavender：淡紫色

(323) pectoral：胸鳍

(324) fin：鱼鳍

(325) stripe：（与底色不同的）条纹

(326) butcher：屠宰，滥杀

(327) treachery：欺诈行为，这里指的是钓鱼的饵

(328) snare陷阱，圈套

(329) trap：罗网，埋伏

(330) beyond all people文中指：没人去过的地方

(331) was born for：为…而生

(332) gunwale：船舷上缘

(333) sheath（刀，剑等工具尖锐部分的）鞘，套

(334) skillfully：巧妙地，精巧地

(335) knot：打结，缠紧

(336) sever：切断，隔绝

(337) reserve备用

(338) broadbill：剑鱼

(339) get rid of：摆脱，挣脱

(340) surge浪涛般汹涌奔腾

(341) cut：伤口，划口

(342) coagulate：凝固，使结块

(343) chin：颏，下巴

(344) anchored：抛锚

(345) lurch：蹒跚而行，颠簸

(346) clear away：收拾，清除

(347) all that a man can ask：没有别的要求

(348) push against：（用身体）抵住木头

(349) as long as：只要

(350) extend out：伸长，拉长

(351) head north 往北去

(352) tiring：累人的，令人疲倦的

(353) favorable sign：讨人喜欢的讯号

(354) handle：处理，应付，对待

(355) backbone：脊柱，中坚力量

(356) breaking point：转折点，爆发点，极限

(357) harshness：硬的，粗糙的事物

(358) jerk急动，猛拉

(359) weed：杂草，水草

(360) make an added drag：增加更多拉力，阻力

(361) respect：尊重，敬佩

(362) warbler：鸣鸟，刺嘴莺

(363) teeter：摇晃，踉跄，摇摆

(364) grip：紧握

(365) steady：稳定的，可靠的

(366) hawk：鹰

(367) take your chance：碰碰运气

(368) stiffen：使变硬，使强硬

(369) hoist升起，升高

(370) sudden：突然的

(371) lurch：蹒跚而行，颠簸着前进

(372) overboard：船头，船舷

(373) bleed：流血

(374) it：这里指疼痛

(375) for company：陪伴，在一起

(376) rougher：粗糙的；未经加工的

(377) make the shore：上岸，着陆

(378) pay attention to：注意，留意

(379) have a failure of strength：没有力气

(380) kneel：这里用作动词，跪着

(381) submerge使潜入水中，使淹没

(382) flesh：肉，肉体

(383) in comfort：舒服的，舒坦的

(384) stem：物体的底部

(385) longitudinally：纵向的，经度的

(386) wedge-shaped：楔形的

(387) belly：肚子，腹部

(388) carcass：动物的尸体

(389) in disgust：恶心地，厌恶地

(390) claw：爪

(391) bonito：鲣，松鱼

(392) chew：咀嚼，咬

(393) juice：肉汁

(394) lime：酸橙

(395) rigor mortise：尸体的僵硬

(396) spat: spin 的过去式，吐

(397) full-blooded纯血统的，红润的，精神旺盛的

(398) no sense：做…没有意义

(399) patient：有耐心的

(400) conscientiously：本着良心的，谨慎的

(401) wipe：擦，抹，拭

(402) nonsense：愚蠢的行为

(403) improvise：临时凑成

(404) rub：擦，摸

(405) digest：消化

(406) accord：一致，符合

(407) abuse：滥用，辱骂，虐待

(408) untie：松开，解开

(409) undulation：波动

(410) the trade wind：信风

(411) etch：铭刻，映衬

(412) blur：变模糊，难以区分

(413) hurricane：飓风

(414) cumulus：积云

(415) brisa：西班牙语，意思是轻风，微风

(416) unknot：解开…的结子

(417) diarrhoea：腹泻

(418) ptomaine：肉体腐烂产生的细菌

(419) vomit：呕吐，作呕

(420) calambre：西班牙语，意思是抽搐，抽筋

(421) humiliate：使蒙羞，使丢脸

(422) slanting：倾斜

(423) unendingly：无止境地，重复地

(424) lavender：薰衣草，淡紫色

(425) taper：使一端渐细，渐尖

(426) reenter：再次进入

(427) smoothly：顺畅地，光滑地

(428) diver：潜水员，跳水员

(429) scythe-blade：大镰刀刀片

(430) commence：开始，着手

(431) panick：也做panic，恐慌

(432) convince：使信服

(433) intelligent：聪明的，智能的

(434) gripped：紧抓的，紧握的

(435) uncramp：复原，恢复

(436) unworthy：不足道的，无价值的

(437) pace：步调

(438) man：形容词，有男子气概的

(439) settle…against：安置

(440) admit：承认

(441) religious：宗教的，虔诚的

(442) Fathers：《天主经》

(443) Hail Marys：《圣母经》

(444) pilgrimage：觐见，朝圣，朝拜

(445) mechanically：机械地，习惯性地

(446) automatically：自动地

(447) sinner：（宗教）有罪的人

(448) mechanically：机械地，呆板地，无意识地

(449) re-bait：再上饵

(450) bad：这里指味道不好

(451) attract：吸引，引诱

(452) save my strength：省点力气

(453) unjust：不公平的，不平等的

(454) endure：坚持，忍耐

(455) prove：向…证明，证实

(456) gently：轻轻地，温柔地

(457) easterly：从东方来的

(458) east of north：东北

(459) picture：在脑海里勾画

(460) wing：翼，翅膀

(461) slice：冲破，划破

(462) eye：眼睛

(463) shrug：耸肩

(464) juego：西班牙语，意思是大型联赛

(465) heel：脚踝

(466) bone spur：骨刺

(467) fighting cock：斗鸡，一种娱乐活动

(468) beside：不如，比不上

(469) beast：禽畜

(470) pity：怜悯，可怜

(471) bone spur：骨刺

(472) tavern：酒馆，客栈

(473) negro：黑人，带有贬义

(474) elbow：胳臂肘

(475) chalk line：粉笔画的线

(476) kerosene：等同于paraffin，石蜡油，石蜡

(477) referee裁判员，仲裁人，鉴定人，证明人

(478) fingernail：指甲

(479) forearm：小臂

(480) bettor：打赌的人

(481) odd：形势

(482) rum：朗姆酒

(483) tremendous：惊人的，巨大的

(484) raise his hand up todead：反赢

(485) draw：平局，和局

(486) unleash his effort：憋足力气

(487) bettor：打赌者

(488) load：把…装上船，车

(489) broken the confidence：打击了自信心

(490) practice match：练习赛，非正式比赛

(491) traitor：卖国贼，叛徒，背信弃义的人

(492) bake：晒，烤

(493) overhead：头顶的，架空的

(494) scar：使留下伤痕，使精神受到创伤

(495) preceded：先前的，之前的

(496) cross-tree：（船）桅顶横杆

(497) mast-head：桅杆顶部

(498) spot：斑点，污点

(499) heave：起伏

(500) bend：使弯曲，使屈身

(501) falp：拍打，拍

(502) acrobatics：杂技，杂技表演

(503) crouch：屈膝，蹲伏

(504) plung：塞，插

(505) desperation：绝望，不顾一切

(506) burnish：擦亮，磨光

(507) convulsively：痉挛性的

(508) pound：连续重击

(509) unhook：从钩子上取下

(510) toss：扔，抛，掷

(511) perceptibly 可知觉的程度，看得见的程度

(512) make a drag：加点阻力

(513) disturb：打扰，妨碍，干扰

(514) sunset：日落，晚霞

(515) ease：容易，安适

(516) dorado：剑鱼，旗鱼

(517) dullness：顿度，迟钝

(518) mistrust：不信任

(519) cramp抽筋，痉挛

(520) sustenance：食物，营养，养料

(521) worn wood：朽木

(522) imagine：设想，想象

(523) sorrow：遗憾，悲痛

(524) manner：方式，方法

(525) behaviour：行为，举止

(526) dignity：庄严，尊严

(527) peril：极大的危险

(528) merit：长处，好处

(529) prolong：延长，拉长

(530) employ：使用，利用

(531) gut：取出…的内脏

(532) punishment：惩罚，处罚

(533) comprehend

(534) comparatively：对比地，相对地

(535) bear：担负

(536) gunwale：船舷上缘

(537) confide：信赖，依靠

(538) resistance：抵抗力

(539) devise：想出，设计，发明

(540) unclear：不清楚的，含混的

(541) devise：设计，发明

(542) rig：船桅或船帆的设置

(543) asleep：瞌睡的

(544) sheath：鞘

(545) slit：割开，撕裂

(546) vent：孔，口

(547) scoop：舀，掏

(548) maw：动物的胃

(549) gut：内脏

(550) gill：鳃

(551) leprous：麻风病的

(552) skin：剥皮

(553) descent：下降，降落

(554) fillet：无骨的鱼片

(555) sheath：鞘，套

(556) gunwale船缘

(557) phosphorescent：发磷光的，磷性的

(558) phosphorus：磷

(559) float：漂浮

(560) miserable：痛苦的，极差的

(561) If I have brains：如果我够聪明

(562) splash：溅

(563) nauseated：恶心的，令人呕吐的

(564) cloud：像乌云一样覆盖

(565) canyon：峡谷

(566) thigh：大腿，股

(567) punishment：惩罚，惩戒

(568) porpoise：海豚

(569) mate：（尤指动物）交配

(570) leap：跳，蹦

(571) norther：北风

(572) pillow：枕头

(573) chin：（人）下巴

(574) lion：狮子

(575) tunnel：地道，隧道

(576) brake：刹车，突然停住

(577) feed：哺育，喂养

(578) burst：迸发

(579) fall：坠落

(580) race out：冲出去

(581) slice薄片，部分

(582) callous：起茧，结硬块的

(583) palm：手掌

(584) head up：昂起头

(585) crush：挤压

(586) slow：动词，放慢速度

(587) cede：割让

(588) friction：摩擦，冲突

(589) hunger：饥饿

(590) frighten：受惊吓

(591) fearless：无畏的，勇敢的

(592) circle：打转

(593) flesh：肉

(594) nauseate作呕，产生恶感

(595) vomit：作呕，呕吐

(596) judge：判断

(597) take hold of：抓住，握住

(598) worthless：无价值的，没有用处的

(599) properly：恰当地，正确地

(600) clear-headed：头脑清醒的

(601) light-headed：头晕的

(602) nausea：恶心，反胃,作呕

(603) emergency：紧急的事

(604) nourishment：养分，养料

(605) faint：无力的，模糊的

(606) slacken：使松懈，使减弱

(607) tighten：勒紧

(608) motion：动作，移动

(609) swing：来回挥动

(610) drop：水珠，水滴

(611) grudgingly：勉强地，吝啬地

(612) shorten：缩短

(613) convince：说服，使屈服

(614) tired deep into hisbones：累到骨头都酸了

(615) salt：这里是动词，意思是加盐

(616) tension：张力，绷紧度

(617) dizzy：眩晕的

(618) endure：忍耐，持久，持续

(619) bang：重击

(620) jerk：急动，猛拉

(621) take air：呼气

(622) widen：加宽

(623) hook：钩子

(624) shook: shake的过去式，摇晃

(625) drive him mad：把他弄疯

(626) last：坚持，挺住

(627) temptation：诱惑

(628) recover：这里指收回线

(629) rose to his feet：起身

(630) weave：编织成的

(631) need that badly：非常需要

(632) turn：回合

(633) fair-weather breeze：好天气的微风

(634) length：长度

(635) surface：表面

(636) pale：（颜色）淡的

(637) bulk：体积大

(638) band：加带于…之上

(639) dorsal：（尤指动物）背部的

(640) spread：伸开，摊开

(641) swain：乳鱼

(642) lash鞭打，抨击

(643) placid：平静的，宁静的，温和的

(644) higher：更高

(645) alongside：靠着，沿

(646) basket：筐

(647) be made fast：快速做某事

(648) tail：尾巴，尾部

(649) straighten：挺直

(650) strength：力气，力量

(651) anyway：不管怎么说，无论如何

(652) accomplish：完成，实现

(653) right：扭转

(654) noble：尊贵的

(655) confused：迷惑不解的

(656) suffer：承受，忍受

(657) clear up：使清醒

(658) weave：编织，组合，编排

(659) promise：允诺，承诺

(660) mushy：浓稠的，糊状的

(661) pride：傲慢

(662) agony：精神或身体上的极大痛苦

(663) bar：饰以条纹

(664) interminable：似乎无止境的

(665) summon：召唤，传唤

(666) beauty：美丽

(667) raw：皮开肉绽的

(668) angle：角度

(669) discolor：使变色

(670) shoal：浅滩，浅水处

(671) glimpse：一瞥

(672) vision：视野

(673) slave：像奴役般的干活

(674) noose：活绳结，绳套

(675) swamp：使覆没

(676) step：踩

(677) touch：触碰

(678) fortune：财富，财产

(679) fight：斗争

(680) wallow：动物在水中打浪

(681) untied：解开

(682) astern：（指船）向后

(683) original：原先的，原始的

(684) violet：紫色的

(685) detach：分离，分开

(686) periscope：潜水镜

(687) pencil：铅笔

(688) be proud of ：为…感到自豪，骄傲

(689) thwart：座板

(690) boom：帆的下桁

(691) patched：打满补丁的

(692) compass：罗盘，指南针

(693) spoon：勺，匙

(694) moisture：水分

(695) dozen：一打

(696) kick：敲，击

(697) flea：跳蚤

(698) nourish：滋养，培育

(699) handicap：障碍

(700) motionless：不动的，静止的

(701) strangeness：奇怪

(702) heal：治疗

(703) side by side：并肩，并列

(704) trickery：欺骗，欺诈

(705) cumulus：积云

(706) cirrus：卷云

(707) constantly：频繁地

(708) disperse：使弄散

(709) absolutely：决定地

(710) caution警告，慎重

(711) jaw：颚

(712) hide：兽皮

(713) handsome：英俊的

(714) knife：以小刀刺

(715) slant：倾斜

(716) pyramid-shaped：金字塔形的

(717) crisp：使变脆

(718) razor-sharp：剃须刀一样锋利的

(719) cut：划破

(720) watch：注视

(721) close in：靠近

(722) chop：砍

(723) rip：撕裂

(724) ram：插入，塞进

(725) intersect：相交，横断

(726) click：发出短促的声音

(727) thrusting：突出的

(728) all-swallowing：吞掉一切的

(729) location：位置

(730) malignancy：恶性

(731) loop：环，圈

(732) plow 破浪前行

(733) speedboat：高速游艇

(734) snap：猛地咬住

(735) mutilate：切断，使残废

(736) dream：梦，梦想

(737) defeat：击败，战胜

(738) cruel：残忍的，残酷的

(739) handicap：障碍

(740) heel：足部，足跟

(741) sting：叮伤

(742) ray：光线，光束

(743) step on：踩到

(744) unbearable：经受不住的

(745) cheerful：令人愉快的，高兴的

(746) pattern：方式，形式

(747) tiller：（小船的）舵柄

(748) unarmed：没有武装起来的

(749) sin：罪恶，罪孽

(750) suppose：猜想，料到

(751) be paid to do：拿了报酬做某事

(752) involve：包含，需要

(753) fisherman：渔夫

(754) aloud：出声地，大声地

(755) scavenger食腐动物

(756) appetite：胃口，食欲

(757) self-defence：自我防卫

(758) deceive：欺骗，蒙骗

(759) firm：结实的，牢固的

(760) stringiness：粘性

(761) hull：船体，船身

(762) first：第一（个人或事物）

(763) translation：译文

(764) involuntarily：不由自主的

(765) identify：认出，鉴别

(766) shovel-nosed：扁鼻子的

(767) triangular：三角形的

(768) stupidity：愚蠢，愚笨

(769) rebel：反抗，叛逆

(770) flinch：畏缩，畏惧

(771) hateful：可恶的，可恨的

(772) rudder：舵

(773) flipper：鳍状肢

(774) slime：黏质物

(775) juncture：接合点

(776) withdrew：withdraw的过去式，收回，撤回

(777) cat-like：猫一样的

(778) destruction：摧毁，毁坏

(779) broadside：舷侧

(780) punch：按（键），以拳重击

(781) barely：刚好，不超过

(782) squarely：处于正中央位置

(783) stab：刺，戳

(784) vertebrae：椎骨

(785) cartilage：软骨结构

(786) sever：断，裂

(787) twist：扭，搓

(788) drain：流干，排空

(789) awash：与水面齐平的,被浪冲打的

(790) minor：较小的，次要的

(791) check：检查，核对

(792) should have：本应该

(793) counsel：忠告，建议

(794) tied of：厌倦

(795) mutilated：残缺不全的

(796) under-side：下侧，底部

(797) highway：公路，交通要道

(798) get… in shape：把…修整好

(799) shovelnose：铲鲨

(800) trough：食槽，水槽

(801) life-size：与实物一样大的

(802) tiny：极小的，微笑的

(803) fascinate：使着迷

(804) do no good：没有好处

(805) club：短棍

(806) brown：褐色的，咖色的

(807) fin：鳍，鱼翅

(808) quartering：指鲸鳍的侧浪

(809) broken：破裂的

(810) in length：长度

(811) grip：发夹，把手

(812) flex：为准备大干而摩拳擦掌

(813) slam：猛烈抨击

(814) rubbery：橡胶似的

(815) solidity：可靠性

(816) rigidity：坚强，刚直，死板

(817) spill：跌落，摔下

(818) wrench：扭，扳

(819) in a rush：以很快的速度

(820) raise：扬起，举起

(821) sluggishly：行动迟缓的

(822) bat：球棒

(823) surely：无疑地

(824) glow：暗淡的光

(825) worried：焦虑的

(826) confidence：信心，把握

(827) fisherman：渔夫

(828) town：市镇

(829) ruin：毁坏，毁掉

(830) spear：矛，枪，鱼叉

(831) hatchet：短柄小斧

(832) weapon：武器，兵器

(833) glow：光辉，热情

(834) prayer：祈祷，祈祷文

(835) luck：好运，幸运

(836) violate：违反，违背

(837) silly：蠢的，傻的

(838) awake：醒着的

(839) lost：丢失的

(840) nearly：大概

(841) form：形状，样子，形式

(842) recognize：认出

(843) pay：付给，付款

(844) settle：安排，安放

(845) comfortably：舒服地，安逸地

(846) perceptible：可感觉的

(847) probably：或许，可能

(848) strain：拉紧，劳累，过分使用

(849) took hold：抓住，握住（took是take的过去式）

(850) seize：抓住

(851) drive：敲，击

(852) finally：最终

(853) lunge：突然刺入

(854) splinter：尖的

(855) breathe：呼吸

(856) coppery：含铜的

(857) be afraid of：害怕，恐惧

(858) remedy：补救办法，补偿措施

(859) slot：窄缝，扁口

(860) lightly：轻巧地

(861) crumb：尤指面包和糕饼碎屑

(862) replace：代替

(863) add：补充，增加

(864) easy：轻易

(865) was in bed：睡觉

(866) shingle：布满海边的小圆石

(867) rock：岩石

(868) unstep：由桅座移去

(869) reflection：倒影

(870) bill：鱼的嘴

(871) nakedness：赤裸，空无一物

(872) business：需要处理和讨论的重要事务

(873) took a drink：喝一口

(874) slept face down：面朝下睡（slept是sleep的过去式）

(875) palm：手掌

(876) drifting-boat：漂网渔船

(877) trousers：裤子

(878) a length of：一段，一截

(879) go down：走下去

(880) Let no one disturb him：谁也别打搅他

(881) sugar：一茶匙糖

(882) proprietor：所有人，业主

(883) damn：该死的

(884) bother：打扰，烦扰

(885) sorry：感到难过的，惋惜的

(886) sat by：靠着坐下（sat是sit的过去式）

(887) gone back into：重新回到某种状态

(888) sit up：坐起来

(889) pour：倾，倒

(890) trap：夹子，罗网，陷阱

(891) spear：矛，标枪

(892) search：搜索，搜寻

(893) guard：警戒，保护

(894) notice：关注，注意

(895) The hell with luck：让好运见鬼去吧

(896) lance：鱼叉

(897) leaf：页

(898) grind：磨，压迫，碾碎

(899) sharp：锋利的，尖锐的

(900) maybe：可能

(901) have everything in order：把一切都弄好

(902) strange：奇怪的

(903) chest：胸部，胸腔

(904) get well：身体好起来

(905) drugstore：杂货店

(906) coral：珊瑚

(907) spine：脊柱，脊椎

(908) companion：同伴，伙伴

(909) dream about：梦见

Table of Contents

译者序

中文版

英文版

Table of Contents

译者序

中文版

英文版