第7章 The Old Mans Victory[第5页/共16页]

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 off his face.He was afraid that it might nauseate him and he would vomit 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.

He held the line tight in his right hand and then pushed his thigh 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.

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.

The old man looked carefully in the glimpse of vision that he had. Then he took two turns of the harpoon line around the bitt in the bow and laid his head on his hands.

On the next turn,he nearly had him.But again the fish righted himself and swam slowly away.