19. 綴海流, 表示伊無氣力

19. Tòe hái-lâu, piáu-sī i bô khùi-la̍t

M̄-koh gín-á bô tī chia, i siūⁿ. Lí kan-ta ka-tī niā-niā, lí siōng-hó taⁿ tō khì chhòng thōng bóe tiâu soh-á, m̄-koán thiⁿ sī-m̄-sī iáu àm, kā chhiat-tn̄g, kā nn̄g khún pī-iōng ê soh-á chiap--kòe.

I án-ne chò ah. O͘-àm tiong bô-hó chò, hit bóe hî hiông-hiông chhoah--chi̍t-ē, hāi i poa̍h-tó, bīn khok tio̍h, ba̍k-chiu ē-bīn chhè chi̍t khang. Hoeh lâu kàu chhùi-phé, m̄-koh bōe kàu ē-hâi tō kian-ta ah, i pê-tńg chûn-thâu, phak tī chhâ-pang hioh-khùn. I tiâu-chéng pò͘-tē, hó-lé-á sóa soh-á kàu keng-thâu ê sin só͘-chāi, iōng keng-thâu keng soh-á, chù-ì kám-kak hî-á khiú ê la̍t-thâu, koh iōng chhiú bong chúi, kám-kak chûn kiâⁿ ê sok-tō͘.

M̄-chai án-chóaⁿ tú-chiah i chhoah chi̍t-ē, i siūⁿ. Thih-sòaⁿ it-tēng liu-kàu i ê kha-chiah-niā. Tong-jiân i ê kha-chiah-phiaⁿ bē chhiūⁿ góa ê hiah thiàⁿ. M̄-koh, m̄-koán gōa lī-hāi, i bô khó-lêng it-ti̍t thoa chit chiah chûn. Taⁿ ē kòa-gāi ê lóng chheng-lí hó ah, soh-á chhun ū-kàu chē, sū-sū chiâu chê-pī lah.

"Hî ah," i chhut-siaⁿ jiû-jiû-á kóng, "góa ē pôe-phōaⁿ lí kàu góa sí."

Góa siong-sìn, i mā ē pôe-phōaⁿ góa, lāu lâng án-ne siūⁿ, i teh tán thiⁿ-kng. Chit ê sî, thiⁿ-kng chêng iáu chheⁿ-léng, i tah-óa chûn-pang khah bē kôaⁿ. I tòng gōa kú, góa tō tòng gōa kú, i siūⁿ. Thiⁿ chi̍t kng, i khòaⁿ tio̍h soh-á khan-chhut chûn gōa, tīm-lo̍h chúi ni̍h. Chûn ún-tēng teh kiâⁿ, ji̍t-thâu phû-chhut hái, chiò tī i ê chiàⁿ-pêng keng-thâu.

"I í-keng hiòng pak," lāu lâng kóng. Hái-lâu ē kā lán sak hiòng tang, i siūⁿ. Góa hi-bōng i tòe hái-lâu kiâⁿ. Án-ne piáu-sī i bô khùi-la̍t ah.

Ji̍t-thâu koh-khah phû ê sî, lāu lâng chai, hî bô thiám. Chí ū chi̍t ê hó sìn-hō. Soh-á ê siâ-tō͘ piáu-sī i iû khah chhián ah. He bô tāi-piáu i ē thiàu. M̄-koh ū khó-lêng.

"Thiⁿ-kong-peh--á, hō͘ thiàu lah," lāu lâng kóng. "Góa soh-á ū kàu tùi-hù i."

"Hoān-sè góa keng khah ân leh, i nā thiàⁿ tō ē thiàu, i siūⁿ. Í-keng thiⁿ-kng ah, hō͘ thiàu, i ē kā iân kha-chiah-kut ê khì-lông té tīⁿ khong-khì, án-ne i tō bē-tàng lo̍h chhim khì sí.

I chhì-māi kā keng khah ân, m̄-koh soh-á chū kau-tioh hî tō keng-kah boeh tn̄g ah, i tò-àⁿ khiú, kám-kak ngē-táu, chai-iáⁿ soh-á bô hoat-tō͘ khah ân ah. Góa bē-sái chhoah i, i siūⁿ. Mui kái chhoah, tiò-kau chō-sêng ê khang-chhùi tō li̍h khah khui, i nā thiàu, ū khó-lêng ē thoat-khui. Chóng-sī ji̍t-thâu í-keng chhut ah, góa kám-kak khah sóng-sîn ah, chit-chūn góa m̄-bián khòaⁿ i.

Soh-á ū n̂g-sek ê hái-chháu, lāu lâng chai, che hō͘ hî cheng-ka hū-tam, só͘-í i hoaⁿ-hí. Che tō-sī àm-sî hoat lîn-kng ê n̂g-sek ê bé-bóe-chó.

"Hî ah," i kóng, "góa ài lí, mā chiok chun-kèng lí. M̄-koh, kin-á-ji̍t thiⁿ-àm í-chêng, góa ē kā lí thâi--sí."

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19. 綴海流, 表示伊無氣力

毋過囡仔無 tī 遮, 伊想. 你干焦家己 niā-niā, 你上好今 tō 去創 thōng 尾條索仔, 毋管天是毋是猶暗, kā 切斷, kā 兩捆備用 ê 索仔接過.

伊 án-ne 做 ah. 烏暗中無好做, 彼尾魚雄雄掣一下, 害伊跋倒, 面 khok 著, 目睭下面 chhè 一空. 血流到喙䫌, 毋過未到下頦 tō kian 焦 ah, 伊爬轉船頭, 仆 tī 柴枋歇睏. 伊調整布袋, 好禮仔徙索仔到肩頭 ê 新所在, 用肩頭弓索仔, 注意感覺魚仔搝 ê 力頭, koh 用手摸水, 感覺船行 ê 速度.

毋知按怎拄才伊掣一下, 伊想. 鐵線一定溜到伊 ê 尻脊陵. 當然伊 ê 尻脊骿袂像我 ê hiah 疼. 毋過, 毋管偌厲害, 伊無可能一直拖這隻船. 今會掛礙 ê 攏清理好 ah, 索仔賰有夠濟, 事事 chiâu 齊備 lah.

"魚 ah," 伊出聲柔柔仔講, "我會陪伴你到我死."

我相信, 伊 mā 會陪伴我, 老人 án-ne 想, 伊 teh 等天光. 這 ê 時, 天光前猶生冷, 伊搭倚船枋較袂寒. 伊擋偌久, 我 tō 擋偌久, 伊想. 天一光, 伊看著索仔牽出船外, 沉落水 ni̍h. 船穩定 teh 行, 日頭浮出海, 照 tī 伊 ê 正爿肩頭.

"伊已經向北," 老人講. 海流會 kā 咱捒向東, 伊想. 我希望伊綴海流行. Án-ne 表示伊無氣力 ah.

日頭閣較浮 ê 時, 老人知, 魚無 thiám. 只有一个好信號. 索仔 ê 斜度表示伊游較淺 ah. 彼無代表伊會跳. 毋過有可能.

"天公伯仔, 予跳 lah," 老人講. "我索仔有夠對付伊."

"凡勢我弓較絚 leh, 伊若疼 tō 會跳, 伊想. 已經天光 ah, 予跳, 伊會 kā 沿尻脊骨 ê 氣囊 té tīⁿ 空氣, án-ne 伊 tō 袂當落深去死.

伊試覓 kā 弓較絚, 毋過索仔自勾著魚 tō 弓甲欲斷 ah, 伊倒 àⁿ 搝, 感覺硬篤, 知影索仔無法度較絚 ah. 我袂使掣伊, 伊想. 每改掣, 釣鉤造成 ê 空喙 tō 裂較開, 伊若跳, 有可能會脫開. 總是日頭已經出 ah, 我感覺較爽神 ah, 這陣我毋免看伊.

索仔有黃色 ê 海草, 老人知, 這予魚增加負擔, 所以伊歡喜. 這就是暗時發磷光 ê 黃色 ê 馬尾藻.

"魚 ah," 伊講, "我愛你, mā 足尊敬你. 毋過, 今仔日天暗以前, 我會 kā 你刣死."

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19.

But you haven’t got the boy, he thought. You have only yourself and you had better work back to the last line now, in the dark or not in the dark, and cut it away and hook up the two reserve coils.

So he did it. It was difficult in the dark and once the fish made a surge that pulled him down on his face and made a cut below his eye. The blood ran down his cheek a little way. But it coagulated and dried before it reached his chin and he worked his way back to the bow and rested against the wood. He adjusted the sack and carefully worked the line so that it came across a new part of his shoulders and, holding it anchored with his shoulders, he carefully felt the pull of the fish and then felt with his hand the progress of the skiff through the water.

I wonder what he made that lurch for, he thought. The wire must have slipped on the great hill of his back. Certainly his back cannot feel as badly as mine does. But he cannot pull this skiff forever, no matter how great he is. Now everything is cleared away that might make trouble and I have a big reserve of line; all that a man can ask.

“Fish,” he said softly, aloud, “I’ll stay with you until I am dead.”

He’ll stay with me too, I suppose, the old man thought and he waited for it to be light. It was cold now in the time before daylight and he pushed against the wood to be warm. I can do it as long as he can, he thought. And in the first light the line extended out and down into the water. The boat moved steadily and when the first edge of the sun rose it was on the old man’s right shoulder.

“He’s headed north,” the old man said. The current will have set us far to the eastward, he thought. I wish he would turn with the current. That would show that he was tiring.

When the sun had risen further the old man realized that the fish was not tiring. There was only one favorable sign. The slant of the line showed he was swimming at a lesser depth. That did not necessarily mean that he would jump. But he might.

“God let him jump,” the old man said. “I have enough line to handle him.”

Maybe if I can increase the tension just a little it will hurt him and he will jump, he thought. Now that it is daylight let him jump so that he’ll fill the sacks along his backbone with air and then he cannot go deep to die.

He tried to increase the tension, but the line had been taut up to the very edge of the breaking point since he had hooked the fish and he felt the harshness as he leaned back to pull and knew he could put no more strain on it. I must not jerk it ever, he thought. Each jerk widens the cut the hook makes and then when he does jump he might throw it. Anyway I feel better with the sun and for once I do not have to look into it.

There was yellow weed on the line but the old man knew that only made an added drag and he was pleased. It was the yellow Gulf weed that had made so much phosphorescence in the night.

“Fish,” he said, “I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.”

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