第6章 Tired of the Old Man[第2頁/共18頁]

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.

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.He turned then and placed the two flying fish inside the two fillets of fish and putting his knife back in its sheath,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.

“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 a way so that you sleep a little if he is quiet and steady.If you do not sleep you might become unclear in the head.”