第5章 The Old Man and the Big Fish[第7页/共15页]

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

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 .

“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.”

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's coming up,”he said.“Come on hand.Please come on.”

“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.”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.”

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