第7章 The Old Mans Victory[第1页/共16页]

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 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 smoothly.Just then the fish jumped making a great bursting of the ocean and then a heavy fall.Then he jumped again and again and the boat was going fast although line was still racing out 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 of dolphin and he could not move.

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.

The sea had risen considerably.But it was a fair-weather breeze and he had to have it to get home.

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 in the air.