16. 魚穩定拖船出海

16. Hî un-tēng thoa chûn chhut hái

"Koh chia̍h--kóa," i kóng. "Hó-hó chia̍h."

Chia̍h-lo̍h, hō͘ tiàu-kau chiam chha̍k-ji̍p lí ê sim-koaⁿ, hō͘ lí bô-miā, i siūⁿ. Bān-bān phû--khí-lâi, hō͘ góa iōng hî-chhiuⁿ chhiám-ji̍p lí. Tio̍h. Lí chún-pī hó bōe? Lí chia̍h-pá bōe?

"Lâi!" i tōa siaⁿ kiò, iōng nn̄g chhiú khiú, khiú chi̍t bí ê soh-á, koh khiú, koh chhoah, nn̄g chhiú lûn-liû piàⁿ-miā iōng chhiú-kó͘ la̍t kap thé-tāng khiú soh-á.

Bô hāu. Hî bān-bān kiâⁿ-khui, lāu lâng khiú i bē tāng. I ê soh-á chin ióng, m̄-kiaⁿ tōa hî, i kā keng tī kha-chiah-phiaⁿ, keng ân-ân, chùn-chhut chúi-chu. Soh-á tī chúi ni̍h hoat-chhut chùn-tāng ê s~s~ ê siaⁿ, i iáu peⁿ ân-ân, tú tī chē-pang, sin-khu tò-hiàⁿ tōa-la̍t khiú. Chûn-á khai-sí bān-bān-á sóa-ūi hiòng sai-pak khì.

Hî sūn-sūn-á sóa-tāng, in tī pêng-chēng ê chúi-bīn bān-bān-á phiau-tāng. Kî-thaⁿ ê hî-jī iáu tī chúi ni̍h, í-keng kò͘ in bē tio̍h lah.

"Gín-á nā tī chia tō hó ah," lāu lâng kóng chhut-siaⁿ. "Góa taⁿ hō͘ hî-á thoa, góa sī pa̍k soh-á ê thiāu-á. Góa ē-tàng kā soh-á pa̍k-sí, m̄-koh i ē kā piak-tn̄g. Góa ài khiú-tiâu tio̍h, i chhut-la̍t ê sî, góa ài pàng kóa soh-á hō͘ i. Ka-chài i sī teh kiâⁿ, bô tîm lo̍h-khì."

I nā nǹg-chhim lo̍h, góa ài án-chóaⁿ, góa mā m̄-chai. I nā tîm-té, sí khì, góa ài án-chóaⁿ, góa mā m̄-chai. Góa ài chún-pī, ū chin chē thang chò--ê.

I iōng kha-chiah-āu keng soh-á, khòaⁿ soh-á tī chúi ni̍h ê siâ-tō͘, sió-chûn chin ún-tēng kiâⁿ hiòng sai-pak khì.

Án-ne i ē sí, lāu lâng siūⁿ. I bô khó-lêng it-ti̍t thoa. M̄-koh kòe-liáu sì tiám-cheng, hî iáu sī ún-tēng thoa chûn chhut-hái, lāu lâng mā-sī iōng kha-chiah-phiaⁿ ân-ân keng soh-á.

"Tiò tio̍h ê sî sī tiong-tàu," i kóng. "Góa iáu bōe khòaⁿ tio̍h i."

Tiò tio̍h hî í-chêng i í-keng kā chháu-bō-á ah kē-kē, taⁿ hia̍h-thâu kám-kak siuⁿ ân. I mā chhùi-ta, só͘-í i kūi--lo̍h-lâi, sè-jī mài chhe̍k tio̍h soh-á, chi̍t chhiú chīn-liōng chhun khì chûn-thâu the̍h chúi-koàn, phah-khui koàn-á, sió-khóa lim leh. Koh-lâi i khò tī chûn-thâu hioh-khùn. I chē tī bô khiā-khí ê ûi-koaiⁿ kap chûn-phâng, siáⁿ lóng bô siūⁿ, chí chai it-tēng ài kian-chhî lo̍h.

Chi̍t khùn liáu, i khòaⁿ āu-piah, í-keng khòaⁿ bô lio̍k-tē. Che bô chha, i siūⁿ. Góa chóng ē-tàng khòaⁿ Havana ê teng-kng tńg--khì. Koh nn̄g tiám-cheng ji̍t-thâu chiah lo̍h-soaⁿ, i khó-lêng ē seng phû--khí-lâi. Nā-bô, khó-lêng goe̍h chhut i tō phû ah. Nā-bô, bîn-á-chài ji̍t chhut i tiāⁿ-tio̍h ē phû--chhut-lâi. Góa bô kiù-kin, kám-kak ū-la̍t-thâu. Tio̍h-tiàu--ê sī i. I chin bô-kán-tan, ū hoat-tō͘ án-ne khiú. I it-tēng kā tih-sòaⁿ kâm tī chhùi. Nā khòaⁿ ē tio̍h i tō hó ah. Hō͘ góa khòaⁿ chi̍t-ē, hō͘ góa chai-iáⁿ tùi-chhiú seⁿ-chò án-chóaⁿ.

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16. 魚穩定拖船出海

"Koh 食寡," 伊講. "好好食."

食落, 予釣鉤尖鑿入你 ê 心肝, 予你無命, 伊想. 慢慢浮起來, 予我用魚槍攕入你. 著. 你準備好未? 你食飽未?

"來!" 伊大聲叫, 用兩手搝, 搝一米 ê 索仔, koh 搝, koh 掣, 兩手輪流拚命用手股力 kap 體重搝索仔.

無效. 魚慢慢行開, 老人搝伊袂動. 伊 ê 索仔真勇, 毋驚大魚, 伊 kā 弓 tī 尻脊骿, 弓絚絚, 顫出水珠. 索仔 tī 水 ni̍h 發出顫動 ê s~s~ ê 聲, 伊猶繃絚絚, 拄 tī 坐枋, 身軀倒 hiàⁿ 大力搝. 船仔開始慢慢仔徙位向西北去.

魚順順仔徙動, in tī 平靜 ê 水面慢慢仔漂動. 其他 ê 魚餌猶 tī 水 ni̍h, 已經顧 in 袂著 lah.

"囡仔若 tī 遮 tō 好 ah," 老人講出聲. "我今予魚仔拖, 我是縛索仔 ê 柱仔. 我會當 kā 索仔縛死, 毋過伊會 kā 煏斷. 我愛搝牢著, 伊出力 ê 時, 我愛放寡索仔予伊. 佳哉伊是 teh 行, 無沉落去."

伊若 nǹg 深落, 我愛按怎, 我 mā 毋知. 伊若沉底, 死去, 我愛按怎, 我 mā 毋知. 我愛準備, 有真濟通做 ê.

伊用尻脊後弓索仔, 看索仔 tī 水 ni̍h ê 斜度, 小船真穩定行向西北去.

Án-ne 伊會死, 老人想. 伊無可能一直拖. 毋過過了四點鐘, 魚猶是穩定拖船出海, 老人 mā 是用尻脊骿絚絚弓索仔.

"釣著 ê 時是中晝," 伊講. "我猶未看著伊."

釣著魚以前伊已經 kā 草帽仔壓低低, 今額頭感覺 siuⁿ 絚. 伊 mā 喙焦, 所以伊跪落來, 細膩莫 chhe̍k 著索仔, 一手盡量伸去船頭提水罐, 拍開罐仔, 小可啉 leh. 閣來伊靠 tī 船頭歇睏. 伊坐 tī 無徛起 ê 桅杆 kap 船帆, 啥攏無想, 只知一定愛堅持落.

一睏了, 伊看後壁, 已經看無陸地. 這無差, 伊想. 我總會當看 Havana ê 燈光轉去. Koh 兩點鐘日頭才落山, 伊可能會先浮起來. 若無, 可能月出伊 tō 浮 ah. 若無, 明仔載日出伊定著會浮出來. 我無糾筋, 感覺有力頭. 著吊 ê 是伊. 伊真無簡單, 有法度 án-ne 搝. 伊一定 kā 鐵線含 tī 喙. 若看會著伊 tō 好 ah. 予我看一下, 予我知影對手生做按怎.

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16.

“Eat it a little more,” he said. “Eat it well.”

Eat it so that the point of the hook goes into your heart and kills you, he thought. Come up easy and let me put the harpoon into you. All right. Are you ready? Have you been long enough at table?

“Now!” he said aloud and struck hard with both hands, gained a yard of line and then struck again and again, swinging with each arm alternately on the cord with all the strength of his arms and the pivoted weight of his body.

Nothing happened. The fish just moved away slowly and the old man could not raise him an inch. His line was strong and made for heavy fish and he held it against his hack until it was so taut that beads of water were jumping from it. Then it began to make a slow hissing sound in the water and he still held it, bracing himself against the thwart and leaning back against the pull. The boat began to move slowly off toward the north-west.

The fish moved steadily and they travelled slowly on the calm water. The other baits were still in the water but there was nothing to be done.

“I wish I had the boy” the old man said aloud. “I’m being towed by a fish and I’m the towing bitt. I could make the line fast. But then he could break it. I must hold him all I can and give him line when he must have it. Thank God he is travelling and not going down.”

What I will do if he decides to go down, I don’t know. What I’ll do if he sounds and dies I don’t know. But I’ll do something. There are plenty of things I can do.

He held the line against his back and watched its slant in the water and the skiff moving steadily to the north-west.

This will kill him, the old man thought. He can’t do this forever. But four hours later the fish was still swimming steadily out to sea, towing the skiff, and the old man was still braced solidly with the line across his back.

“It was noon when I hooked him,” he said. “And I have never seen him.”

He had pushed his straw hat hard down on his head before he hooked the fish and it was cutting his forehead. He was thirsty too and he got down on his knees and, being careful not to jerk on the line, moved as far into the bow as he could get and reached the water bottle with one hand. He opened it and drank a little. Then he rested against the bow. He rested sitting on the un-stepped mast and sail and tried not to think but only to endure.

Then he looked behind him and saw that no land was visible. That makes no difference, he thought. I can always come in on the glow from Havana. There are two more hours before the sun sets and maybe he will come up before that. If he doesn’t maybe he will come up with the moon. If he does not do that maybe he will come up with the sunrise. I have no cramps and I feel strong. It is he that has the hook in his mouth. But what a fish to pull like that. He must have his mouth shut tight on the wire. I wish I could see him. I wish I could see him only once to know what I have against me.

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