第2章 Talking Before the Sea[第1页/共8页]

“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 and I have resolution.”

The door of the house where the boy lived was unlocked and he opened it and walked in quietly with his bare feet.The boy was asleep on a cot in the first room and the old man could see him clearly with the light that came in from the dying moon.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.

“Good night then.I will wake you in the morning.”

“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.”

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

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

“They have other men on the team.”

“I like the beer in cans best.”

“He used to come to the Terrace sometimes too in the older days.But he was rough and harsh-spoken and difficult when he was drinking.His mind was on horses 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.”