15. 魚 ah, 緊食 lah

15. Hî ah, kín chia̍h lah

Lāu lâng sè-jī khin-khin kā soh-á tēⁿ leh, iōng tò-chhiú kā ùi tiò-koaiⁿ tháu lo̍h. Án-ne i ē-sái hō͘ soh-á tī chéng-thâu-á tiong-kan liu--chhut-khì, hî-á bē kám-kak peⁿ-ân.

Chiah-nī chhut-lâi, koh tī chit kó goe̍h, i it-tēng sī chin tōa bóe, i siūⁿ. Kín chia̍h, hî ah, kín chia̍h. Hó-hó chia̍h. In chiâⁿ chhiⁿ ah, lí tī la̍k-pah chhioh ē-bīn ê o͘-àm léng-chúi ni̍h, tī o͘-àm tiong tńg chi̍t-ē sin tńg-lâi koh chia̍h lah.

I kám-kak ū khin-khin sè-la̍t teh khiú, koh chi̍t ê khah tōa-la̍t ê, tiāⁿ-tio̍h sī un-á thâu pháiⁿ ùi tiò-kau khiú tn̄g. Koh lâi bô-siau bô-sit.

"Lâi lah," lāu lâng chhut-siaⁿ kóng. "Koh chia̍h lah. Phīⁿ khòaⁿ māi. Bē bái hoⁿh? Un-á seng chia̍h-liáu, iáu ū chhǹg-á. Kiat-si̍t, peng-liâng, koh hó-chia̍h. Bián sè-jī, hî ah. Kín chia̍h lah."

I iōng tōa-pû-ong kap chéng-thâu-á tēⁿ soh-á, tán leh, ba̍k-chiu tâng-chê khòaⁿ kî-thaⁿ ê soh-á, khióng-kiaⁿ he hî ē siû koân koh siû kē. Hit-sî, koh ū kāng-khoán ê khin-la̍t khiú chi̍t-ē, kha̍p chi̍t-ē.

"I ē chia̍h jī," lāu lâng chhut-siaⁿ kóng. "Thiⁿ-kong-peh, pó-pì i kín chia̍h."

M̄-koh i bô chia̍h. Cháu--khì ah, lāu lâng kám-kak bô tōng-chēng ah.

"I bô khó-lêng cháu ah," i kóng. "Omitohut, i bô khó-lêng cháu--khì. I hioh-khùn leh. Khó-lêng i bat tio̍h-tiàu, iáu ē-kì-tit."

Hit sî, i koh kám-kak soh-á khin-khin kha̍p, sim-lāi hoaⁿ-hí.

"I koh tńg-lâi ah," i kóng, "I ē chia̍h."

I hoaⁿ-hí ē-bīn ū khin-khin teh khiú, koh-lâi i kám-kak tio̍h tōa-ē koh chhut-la̍t, m̄-káⁿ siong-sìn. He sī hî-á ê tāng-liōng, i pàng soh-á lo̍h, lo̍h, lo̍h, nn̄g khún khiú-oân tē-it khún ah. Soh-á tī i ê chéng-thâu-á tiong-kan liu chhut-khì, i iáu kám-kak ē tio̍h he tāng-liōng chin tōa, sui-jiân i lóng bô chhut-la̍t tēⁿ soh-á.

"Che hî chán," i kóng. "Taⁿ i kā jī iōng chhùi kā thán-hoâiⁿ, siūⁿ boeh kā-leh siû-cháu."

Koh-lâi i ē oa̍t-sin tō kā thun-lo̍h, i siūⁿ. I bô kóng chhut-lâi, in-ūi i chai, hó-sū kóng-liáu bē èng-giām. I chai, chit bóe hî chin tōa, i teh siūⁿ, i chhùi-ni̍h thán-hoâiⁿ kā chhǹg-á tī o͘-àm tiong siû-khui ê khoán. Chit-sî hî bô tín-tāng, m̄-koh tāng-liōng iáu tī leh. Koh-lâi tāng-liōng cheng-ka, i pàng kóa soh-á. I sió chhut-la̍t iōng tōa-pû-ong kap chéng-thâu-á tēⁿ soh-á, tāng-liōng koh cheng-ka, ti̍t-ti̍t lo̍h-khì.

"I kā tio̍h tiò-kau lah," i kóng. "Taⁿ góa boeh hō͘ chia̍h-pá, chia̍h-móa."

I pàng soh-á liu-koè chéng-thâu-á, chhun tò-chhiú kā khian-chò nn̄g khún pī-iōng ê soh-á ê thâu, chiap khì iáu chi̍t tiâu soh-á ê pī-iōng nn̄g khún ê thâu-khoân. Án-ne i chún-pī thò-tòng. Tî-liáu tng teh iōng ê chit khún, I iáu ū saⁿ khún sì-cha̍p siâm ê soh-á.

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15. 魚 ah, 緊食 lah

老人細膩輕輕 kā 索仔捏 leh, 用倒手 kā ùi 釣杆 tháu 落. Án-ne 伊會使予索仔 tī 指頭仔中間溜出去, 魚仔袂感覺繃絚.

Chiah-nī 出來, koh tī 這個月, 伊一定是真大尾, 伊想. 緊食, 魚 ah, 緊食. 好好食. In 誠鮮 ah, 你 tī 六百尺下面 ê 烏暗冷水 ni̍h, tī 烏暗中轉一下身轉來 koh 食 lah.

伊感覺有輕輕細力 teh 搝, koh 一个較大力 ê, 定著是鰮仔頭歹 ùi 釣鉤搝斷. 閣來無消無息.

"來 lah," 老人出聲講. "Koh 食 lah. 鼻看覓. 袂䆀 hoⁿh? 鰮仔先食了, 猶有串仔. 結實, 冰涼, koh 好食. 免細膩, 魚 ah. 緊食 lah."

伊用大垺翁 kap 指頭仔捏索仔, 等 leh, 目睭同齊看其他 ê 索仔, 恐驚彼魚會泅懸 koh 泅低. 彼時, koh 有仝款 ê 輕力搝一下, 磕一下.

"伊會食餌," 老人出聲講. "天公伯, 保庇伊緊食."

毋過伊無食. 走去 ah, 老人感覺無動靜 ah.

"伊無可能走 ah," 伊講. "Omitohut, 伊無可能走去. 伊歇睏 leh. 可能伊 bat 著吊, 猶會記得."

彼時, 伊 koh 感覺索仔輕輕磕, 心內歡喜.

"伊 koh 轉來 ah," 伊講, "伊會食."

伊歡喜下面有輕輕 teh 搝, 閣來伊感覺著大下 koh 出力, 毋敢相信. 彼是魚仔 ê 重量, 伊放索仔落, 落, 落, 兩捆搝完第一捆 ah. 索仔 tī 伊 ê 指頭仔中間溜出去, 伊猶感覺會著彼重量真大, 雖然伊攏無出力捏索仔.

"這魚讚," 伊講. "今伊 kā 餌用喙咬坦橫, 想欲咬 leh 泅走."

閣來伊會越身 tō kā 吞落, 伊想. 伊無講出來, 因為伊知, 好事講了袂應驗. 伊知, 這尾魚真大, 伊 teh 想, 伊喙 ni̍h 坦橫咬串仔 tī 烏暗中泅開 ê 款. 這時魚無振動, 毋過重量猶 tī leh. 閣來重量增加, 伊放寡索仔. 伊小出力用大垺翁 kap 指頭仔捏索仔, 重量 koh 增加, 直直落去.

"伊咬著釣鉤 lah," 伊講. "今我欲 hō͘ 食飽, 食滿."

伊放索仔溜過指頭仔, 伸倒手 kā 圈做兩捆備用 ê 索仔 ê 頭, 接去猶一條索仔 ê 備用兩捆 ê 頭環. Án-ne 伊準備妥當. 除了當 teh 用 ê 這捆, 伊猶有三捆四十尋 ê 索仔.

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15.

The old man held the line delicately, and softly, with his left hand, unleashed it from the stick. Now he could let it run through his fingers without the fish feeling any tension.

This far out, he must be huge in this month, he thought. Eat them, fish. Eat them. Please eat them. How fresh they are and you down there six hundred feet in that cold water in the dark. Make another turn in the dark and come back and eat them.

He felt the light delicate pulling and then a harder pull when a sardine’s head must have been more difficult to break from the hook. Then there was nothing.

“Come on,” the old man said aloud. “Make another turn. Just smell them. Aren’t they lovely? Eat them good now and then there is the tuna. Hard and cold and lovely. Don’t be shy, fish. Eat them.”

He waited with the line between his thumb and his finger, watching it and the other lines at the same time for the fish might have swum up or down. Then came the same delicate pulling touch again.

“He’ll take it,” the old man said aloud. “God help him to take it.”

He did not take it though. He was gone and the old man felt nothing.

“He can’t have gone,” he said. “Christ knows he can’t have gone. He’s making a turn. Maybe he has been hooked before and he remembers something of it."

Then he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy.

“It was only his turn,” he said. “He’ll take it.”

He was happy feeling the gentle pulling and then he felt something hard and unbelievably heavy. It was the weight of the fish and he let the line slip down, down, down, unrolling off the first of the two reserve coils. As it went down, slipping lightly through the old man’s fingers, he still could feel the great weight, though the pressure of his thumb and finger were almost imperceptible.

“What a fish,” he said. “He has it sideways in his mouth now and he is moving off with it.”

Then he will turn and swallow it, he thought. He did not say that because he knew that if you said a good thing it might not happen. He knew what a huge fish this was and he thought of him moving away in the darkness with the tuna held crosswise in his mouth. At that moment he felt him stop moving but the weight was still there. Then the weight increased and he gave more line. He tightened the pressure of his thumb and finger for a moment and the weight increased and was going straight down.

“He’s taken it,” he said. “Now I’ll let him eat it well.”

He let the line slip through his fingers while he reached down with his left hand and made fast the free end of the two reserve coils to the loop of the two reserve coils of the next line. Now he was ready. He had three forty-fathom coils of line in reserve now, as well as the coil he was using.

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