12. 海豬仔真大陣

12. Hái-ti-á chin tōa tīn

"I ū khòaⁿ-tio̍h siáⁿ," lāu lâng tōa siaⁿ kóng. "I m̄-nā teh chhōe."

I bān-bān kò ǹg chiáu teh se̍h hia khì. I bô chhóng-pōng, soh-á pó-chhî ti̍t-ti̍t. I chhòaⁿ-kòe hái-lâu, ûi-chhî chèng-khak ê tiò-hî hong-sek, kan-ta sió-khóa kò khah kín leh, siūⁿ boeh lī-iōng hit chiah chiáu.

Chiáu poe koân, koh teh se̍h, si̍t bô tín-tāng. Chiáu hut leh chhàng-lo̍h, lāu lâng khòaⁿ tio̍h poe-o͘ thiàu-chhut chúi, tī chúi-bīn piàⁿ-miā cháu.

"Hái-ti-á!" lāu lâng tōa siaⁿ kiò. "Tōa chiah hái-ti-á!"

I kā chiúⁿ khǹg chûn-téng, ùi chûn-thâu-ē the̍h chi̍t tiâu iù-soh. soh-á thâu pa̍k thih-sòaⁿ liâm tiong-hō tiò-kau, kā kau un-á chò jī. I kā soh-á ùi chûn-piⁿ pàng-lo̍h, koh pa̍k tī chûn-bóe ê lô͘-si-khian. I koh pa̍k hó pa̍t tiâu soh-á ê jī, kā khún khí-lâi, khǹg tī chûn-thâu bô pha̍k-ji̍t ê ūi. I koh kò-chûn, khòaⁿ he tn̂g-si̍t ê o͘-chiáu, taⁿ kē-kē tī chúi-bīn thó-chia̍h.

I khòaⁿ tio̍h he chiáu-á si̍t póe leh koh chhàng-lo̍h, koh-lâi piat-leh piat-leh teh jiok poe-o͘. Lāu lâng ē-tàng khòaⁿ tio̍h thâu-chêng chúi-bīn phòng khí-lâi, sī tōa chiah hái-ti-á teh jiok tô-miā ê hî-á. Poe-o͘ poe, hái-ti-á tī chúi-té ka-sok chhiat ti̍t-lō͘, tán poe-o͘ lo̍h-chúi. Hái-ti-á chin tōa tīn, i án-ne siūⁿ, sòaⁿ khui-khui, poe-o͘ bô ki-hōe tô-miā. Chiáu-á mā bô ki-hōe lia̍h tio̍h poe-o͘. Poe-o͘ tùi i siuⁿ tōa, koh siuⁿ kín.

I khòaⁿ tio̍h poe-o͘ chông-lâi chông-khì, kap chiáu-á phiat-leh phiat-leh bô hāu-lu̍t ê tōng-chok. Hit tīn cháu hn̄g khì ah, i siūⁿ. In cháu-liáu chiâⁿ kín, chiâⁿ hn̄g. Hoān-sè góa ē-sái khioh chi̍t bóe thoat-tūi ê, hoān-sè góa ê tōa hî tī in piⁿ-á. Góa ê tōa hî tiāⁿ tio̍h sī tī tó-ūi.

Lio̍k-tē tah ê hûn ná soaⁿ, hái-hōaⁿ chí sī chi̍t tiâu tn̂g-tn̂g ê chheⁿ-sek, āu-piah sī phú-nâ-sek ê kē-soaⁿ. Hái-chúi taⁿ sī àm-nâ-sek, àm-kah kiōng-boeh sī kiô-sek ê. Khòaⁿ ji̍p hái-chúi, i khòaⁿ tio̍h tī chhim-sek hái-chúi ni̍h âng-ho-ho ê hû-iû-seng-bu̍t (plankton) kap ji̍t-thâu chiò tio̍h ê kî-koài kng-chhái. I kiám-cha i ê soh-á, khòaⁿ in sī-m̄-sī ū ti̍t-ti̍t sûi-lo̍h, it-ti̍t kàu khòaⁿ bē tio̍h ê só͘-chāi. Chia ū hiah chē hû-iû-seng-bu̍t, i mā chin hoaⁿ-hí, in-ūi che tāi-piáu ū hî. Ji̍t-thâu seng-koân, chiò tī chúi ni̍h ê kî-koài sek-chhái tāi-piáu thiⁿ-khì hó, lio̍k-tē téng ê hûn ê hêng-chōng mā sī piáu-sī hó thiⁿ-khì. M̄-koh hit chiah chiáu-á í-keng bô khòaⁿ iáⁿ, chúi-bīn siáⁿ mā bô, kan-ta kúi chhok ji̍t-thâu pha̍k n̂g khì ê bé-bóe-chó hái-chháu (Sargasso weed), kap chi̍t chiah cheng-bō hái-thē (Portuguese man-of-war), phû tī chûn-piⁿ pûn-phòng i kiô-sek ê ū-bô͘-ū-iūⁿ ê chhit-chhái thàu-bêng khì-kui. I seng khi sin, jiân-āu tńg chiàⁿ, hoaⁿ-hoaⁿ-hí-hí ná chúi-pho phû leh, āu-piah thoa chi̍t-kōaⁿ kiô-sek ê ū-to̍k ê chhiu tī chúi ni̍h.

"Hái-thē" lāu lâng kóng. "Lí chit ê siáu cha-bó͘."

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12. 海豬仔真大陣

"伊有看著啥," 老人大聲講. "伊毋但 teh 揣."

伊慢慢划 ǹg 鳥 teh se̍h 遐去. 伊無衝碰, 索仔保持直直. 伊闖過海流, 維持正確 ê 釣魚方式, 干焦小可划較緊 leh, 想欲利用彼隻鳥.

鳥飛懸, koh teh se̍h, 翼無振動. 鳥忽 leh 藏落, 老人看著飛烏跳出水, tī 水面拚命走.

"海豬仔!" 老人大聲叫. "大隻海豬仔!"

伊 kā 槳囥船頂, ùi 船頭下提一條幼索. 索仔頭縛鐵線連中號釣鉤, kā 勾鰮仔做餌. 伊 kā 索仔 ùi 船邊放落, koh 縛 tī 船尾 ê 螺絲圈. 伊 koh 縛好別條索仔 ê 餌, kā 捆起來, 囥 tī 船頭無曝日 ê 位. 伊 koh 划船, 看彼長翼 ê 烏鳥, 今低低 tī 水面討食.

伊看著彼鳥仔翼 póe leh koh 藏落, 閣來撇 leh 撇 leh teh 逐飛烏. 老人會當看著頭前水面膨起來, 是大隻海豬仔 teh 逐逃命 ê 魚仔. 飛烏飛, 海豬仔 tī 水底加速切直路, 等飛烏落水. 海豬仔真大 tīn, 伊 án-ne 想, 散開開, 飛烏無機會逃命. 鳥仔 mā 無機會. 飛烏對伊 siuⁿ 大, koh siuⁿ 緊.

伊看著飛烏傱來傱去, kap 鳥仔撇 leh 撇 leh 無效率 ê 動作. 彼 tīn 走遠去 ah, 伊想. In 走了誠緊, 誠遠. 凡勢我會使抾一尾脫隊 ê, 凡勢我 ê 大魚 tī in 邊仔. 我 ê 大魚定著是 tī tó 位.

陸地搭 ê 雲 ná 山, 海岸只是一條長長 ê 青色, 後壁是殕藍色 ê 低山. 海水今是暗藍色, 暗甲強欲是茄色 ê. 看入海水, 伊看著 tī 深色海水 ni̍h 紅 ho-ho ê 浮游生物 (plankton) kap 日頭照著 ê 奇怪光彩. 伊檢查伊 ê 索仔, 看 in 是毋是有直直垂落, 一直到看袂著 ê 所在. 遮有 hiah 濟浮游生物, 伊 mā 真歡喜, 因為這代表有魚. 日頭升懸, 照 tī 水 ni̍h ê 奇怪色彩代表天氣好, 陸地頂 ê 雲 ê 形狀 mā 是表示好天氣. 毋過彼隻鳥仔已經無看影, 水面啥 mā 無, 干焦幾簇日頭曝黃去 ê 馬尾藻海草 (Sargasso weed), kap 一隻僧帽海䖳 (Portuguese man-of-war), 浮 tī 船邊歕膨伊茄色 ê 有模有樣 ê 七彩透明氣胿. 伊先 khi 身, 然後轉正, 歡歡喜喜 ná 水泡浮 leh, 後壁拖一 kōaⁿ 茄色 ê 有毒 ê 鬚 tī 水 ni̍h.

"海䖳" 老人講. "你這个痟查某."

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12.

“He’s got something,” the old man said aloud. “He’s not just looking.” He rowed slowly and steadily toward where the bird was circling. He did not hurry and he kept his lines straight up and down. But he crowded the current a little so that he was still fishing correctly though faster than he would have fished if he was not trying to use the bird.

The bird went higher in the air and circled again, his wings motionless. Then he dove suddenly and the old man saw flying fish spurt out of the water and sail desperately over the surface.

“Dolphin,” the old man said aloud. “Big dolphin.”

He shipped his oars and brought a small line from under the bow. It had a wire leader and a medium-sized hook and he baited it with one of the sardines. He let it go over the side and then made it fast to a ring bolt in the stern. Then he baited another line and left it coiled in the shade of the bow. He went back to rowing and to watching the long-winged black bird who was working, now, low over the water.  

As he watched the bird dipped again slanting his wings for the dive and then swinging them wildly and ineffectually as he followed the flying fish. The old man could see the slight bulge in the water that the big dolphin raised as they followed the escaping fish. The dolphin were cutting through the water below the flight of the fish and would be in the water, driving at speed, when the fish dropped. It is a big school of dolphin, he thought. They are widespread and the flying fish have little chance. The bird has no chance. The flying fish are too big for him and they go too fast.

He watched the flying fish burst out again and again and the ineffectual movements of the bird. That school has gotten away from me, he thought. They are moving out too fast and too far. But perhaps I will pick up a stray and perhaps my big fish is around them. My big fish must be somewhere.

The clouds over the land now rose like mountains and the coast was only a long green line with the gray blue hills behind it. The water was a dark blue now, so dark that it was almost purple. As he looked down into it he saw the red sifting of the plankton in the dark water and the strange light the sun made now. He watched his lines to see them go straight down out of sight into the water and he was happy to see so much plankton because it meant fish. The strange light the sun made in the water, now that the sun was higher, meant good weather and so did the shape of the clouds over the land. But the bird was almost out of sight now and nothing showed on the surface of the water but some patches of yellow, sun-bleached Sargasso weed and the purple, formalized, iridescent, gelatinous bladder of a Portuguese man-of-war floating close beside the boat. It turned on its side and then righted itself. It floated cheerfully as a bubble with its long deadly purple filaments trailing a yard behind it in the water.

“Agua mala,” the man said. “You whore.”

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