30. 這三四工欲變天 ah

30. Chit saⁿ-sì kang ē piàn-thiⁿ ah

"Hái-ti-bah nā chú--kòe lâi chia̍h gōa hó neh," i kóng. "Chheⁿ-chia̍h chin pháiⁿ-chia̍h. Āu-kái chhut-chûn ài chah iâm a̍h-sī lemón."

Góa nā ū náu-kin, ji̍t-sî tō ài tī chûn-thâu phoah-chúi hō͘ ta, án-ne tō ē ū iâm, i siūⁿ. M̄-koh góa sī ji̍t boeh lo̍h chiah tiò tio̍h hái-ti-á. Chóng-sī góa khiàm chún-pī. M̄-koh góa kā pō͘ chin nōa, bô kám-kak thâu-hîn.

Thiⁿ-téng o͘-hûn tui-kàu tang-pêng khì, i bat ê chheⁿ chi̍t-lia̍p chi̍t-lia̍p hoa-khì. Khòaⁿ--khí-lâi i ná teh kiâⁿ-ji̍p hûn-chhái ê soaⁿ-kiap, hong khah sè ah.

"Chit saⁿ-sì kang boeh piàn-thiⁿ ah," i kóng. "E-àm iáu bē, bîn-á-chài mā bē. Soh-á kò͘ hó, sió khùn leh, lāu--ê, thàn hî pêng-chēng koh ún-tēng."

I chiàⁿ-chhiú ân-ân tēⁿ soh-á, iōng chiàⁿ-pêng tōa-thúi ah-tiâu chiàⁿ-chhiú, kā sin-khu ê tāng-liōng khò tī chûn-thâu-pang. Koh-lâi, i kā keng-thâu ê soh-á sóa khah kē leh, koh kā tān tī tò-chhiú.

Soh-á ū tān-leh, góa ē-sái iōng chiàⁿ-chhiú hōaⁿ tioh, i siūⁿ. Khùn--khì chhiú nā pàng-khui, soh-á nā cháu--khì, góa ê tò-chhiú ē kă kiò chhíⁿ. Chiàⁿ-chhiú chin sin-khó͘, m̄-koh i chia̍h-khó͘ koàn-sì ah. Khùn jī-cha̍p hun a̍h-sī pòaⁿ tiám-cheng lóng hó. I phak-leh, sin-khu teh soh-á, kui-ê tāng-liōng ah tī chiàⁿ-chhiú, chū án-ne khùn--khì.

I bô bāng tio̍h sai-á, jî sī chi̍t tōa-tīn ê hái-chhí (porpoise), thòaⁿ kui phiàn ū peh a̍h-sī cha̍p mai, che sī kau-phòe ê sî-chūn, in thiàu chhut hái-bīn, koh lak-lo̍h thiàu-chhut kāng ūi ê chúi-khang.

Sòa lo̍h i bîn-bāng tio̍h i tī chng-kha, tī i ê bîn-chhn̂g téng, thàu pak-hong, i chin kôaⁿ, i ê chiàⁿ-chhiú lóng bâ--khì, in-ūi i iōng hit chhiú chò chím-thâu.

Án-ne liáu, i khai-sí bîn-bāng tn̂g-tn̂g ê n̂g-sek soa-po͘, i khòaⁿ tio̍h tē-it chiah sai-á tī àm-phú tiong lâi-kàu hia, āu-lâi kî-thaⁿ ê sai mā lâi ah, i ē-hâi khò tī chûn-thâu pang, chûn pha-tiāⁿ tī hia, àm-hong ùi hōaⁿ-téng chhoe--lâi, i teh tán khòaⁿ sī-m̄-sī iáu ū sai-á ē lâi, i chin hoaⁿ-hí.

Goe̍h-niû chá tō chhut--lâi, m̄-koh i iáu teh khùn, hî ún-ún-á thoa, chûn-á kiâⁿ-ji̍p hûn-chhái ê pōng-khang.

Chiàⁿ-chhiú kûn-thâu-bó khok tio̍h i ê bīn, i chhíⁿ--lâi, soh-á tī chiàⁿ-chhiú it-ti̍t liu--chhut-khì. I ê tò-chhiú bô kám-kak, i iōng chiàⁿ-chhiú chīn-la̍t chó͘-tòng, soh-á it-ti̍t chhut--khì. Āu-lâi, tò-chhiú mā chhōe-tioh soh-á ah, i tò-hiàⁿ keng soh-á, taⁿ kha-chiah-phiaⁿ kap tò-chhiú lóng sio-thiàⁿ, tò-chhiú sêng-siū it-chhè ê khiú-la̍t, chhiú-té bôa-kah chin thiàⁿ. I oa̍t-thâu khòaⁿ soh-á khún, soh-á sūn-sūn-á liu--chhut-khì. Hit-sî, hái-chúi po̍k-hoat, hî thiàu--chhut-lâi, koh tāng-tāng siàng-lo̍h. I thiàu koh thiàu, sui-bóng soh-á it-ti̍t liu, chûn kiâⁿ chin kín, lāu lâng khiu-kah soh-á kiông boeh tn̄g, koh it-ti̍t chhut-la̍t khiú liáu koh khiú. I khì hō͘ khiú tó tī chûn-thâu, bīn ah tī hái-ti-á ê bah-liau, kin-pún bô hoat-tō͘ tín-tāng.

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30. 這三四工會變天 ah

"海豬肉若煮過來食偌好 neh," 伊講. "生食真歹食. 後改出船愛扎鹽抑是 lemón."

我若有腦筋, 日時 tō 愛 tī 船頭潑水予焦, án-ne tō 會有鹽, 伊想. 毋過我是日欲落才釣著海豬仔. 總是我欠準備. 毋過我 kā 哺真爛, 無感覺頭眩.

天頂烏雲堆到東爿去, 伊 bat ê 星一粒一粒 hoa 去. 看起來伊 ná teh 行入雲彩 ê 山峽, 風較細 ah.

"這三四工欲變天 ah," 伊講. "下暗猶袂, 明仔載 mā 袂. 索仔顧好, 小睏 leh, 老 ê, 趁魚平靜 koh 穩定."

伊正手絚絚捏索仔, 用正爿大腿壓牢正手, kā 身軀 ê 重量靠 tī 船頭枋. 閣來, 伊 kā 肩頭 ê 索仔徙較低 leh, koh kā tān tī 倒手.

索仔有 tān leh, 我 ē-sái 用正手扞著, 伊想. 睏去手若放開, 索仔若走去, 我 ê 倒手會 kă 叫醒. 正手真辛苦, 毋過伊食苦慣勢 ah. 睏二十分抑是半點鐘攏好. 伊仆 leh, 身軀硩索仔, 規个重量壓 tī 正手, 自 án-ne 睏去.

伊無夢著獅仔, 而是一大陣 ê 海鼠 (porpoise), 湠規片有八抑是十 mai, 這是交配 ê 時陣, in 跳出海面, koh lak 落跳出仝位 ê 水空.

紲落伊眠夢著伊 tī 庄跤, tī 伊 ê 眠床頂, 透北風, 伊真寒, 伊 ê 正手攏麻去, 因為伊用彼手做枕頭.

Án-ne 了, 伊開始眠夢長長 ê 黃色沙埔, 伊看著第一隻獅仔 tī 暗殕中來到遐, 後來其他 ê 獅 mā 來 ah, 伊下頦靠 tī 船頭枋, 船拋碇 tī 遐, 暗風 ùi 岸頂吹來, 伊 teh 等看是毋是猶有獅仔會來, 伊真歡喜.

月娘早 tō 出來, 毋過伊猶 teh 睏, 魚穩穩仔拖, 船仔行入雲彩 ê 磅空.

正手拳頭母 khok 著伊 ê 面, 伊醒來, 索仔 tī 正手一直溜出去. 伊 ê 倒手無感覺, 伊用正手盡力阻擋, 索仔一直出去. 後來, 倒手 mā 揣著索仔 ah, 伊倒 hiàⁿ 弓索仔, 今尻脊骿 kap 倒手攏燒疼, 倒手承受一切 ê 搝力, 手底磨甲真疼. 伊越頭看索仔捆, 索仔順順仔溜出去. 彼時, 海水爆發, 魚跳出來, koh 重重 siàng 落. 伊跳 koh 跳, 雖罔索仔一直溜, 船行真緊, 老人搝甲索仔強欲斷, koh 一直出力搝了 koh 搝. 伊去予搝倒 tī 船頭, 面壓 tī 海豬仔 ê 肉 liau, 根本無法度振動.

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30.

“What an excellent fish dolphin is to eat cooked,” he said. “And what a miserable fish raw. I will never go in a boat again without salt or limes.”

If I had brains I would have splashed water on the bow all day and drying, it would have made salt, he thought. But then I did not hook the dolphin until almost sunset. Still it was a lack of preparation. But I have chewed it all well and I am not nauseated.

The sky was clouding over to the east and one after another the stars he knew were gone. It looked now as though he were moving into a great canyon of clouds and the wind had dropped.

“There will be bad weather in three or four days,” he said. “But not tonight and not tomorrow. Rig now to get some sleep, old man, while the fish is calm and steady.”

He held the line tight in his right hand and then pushed his thigh against his right hand as he leaned all his weight against the wood of the bow. Then he passed the line a little lower on his shoulders and braced his left hand on it.

My right hand can hold it as long as it is braced, he thought. If it relaxes in sleep my left hand will wake me as the line goes out. It is hard on the right hand. But he is used to punishment. Even if I sleep twenty minutes or a half an hour it is good. He lay forward cramping himself against the line with all of his body, putting all his weight onto his right band, and he was asleep.

He did not dream of the lions but instead of a vast school of porpoises that stretched for eight or ten miles and it was in the time of their mating and they would leap high into the air and return into the same hole they had made in the water when they leaped.

Then he dreamed that he was in the village on his bed and there was a norther and he was very cold and his right arm was asleep because his head had rested on it instead of a pillow.

After that he began to dream of the long yellow beach and he saw the first of the lions come down onto it in the early dark and then the other lions came and he rested his chin on the wood of the bows where the ship lay anchored with the evening off-shore breeze and he waited to see if there would be more lions and he was happy.

The moon had been up for a long time but he slept on and the fish pulled on steadily and the boat moved into the tunnel of clouds.

He woke with the jerk of his right fist coming up against his face and the line burning out through his right hand. He had no feeling of his left hand but he braked all he could with his right and the line rushed out. Finally his left hand found the line and he leaned back against the line and now it burned his back and his left hand, and his left hand was taking all the strain and cutting badly. He looked back at the coils of line and they were feeding smoothly. Just then the fish jumped making a great bursting of the ocean and then a heavy fall. Then he jumped again and again and the boat was going fast although line was still racing out and the old man was raising the strain to breaking point and raising it to breaking point again and again. He had been pulled down tight onto the bow and his face was in the cut slice of dolphin and he could not move.

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