38. 鯊魚倚來

38. Soa-hî óa lâi

Lāu lâng khòaⁿ i óa--lâi, i chai che sī m̄-kiaⁿ-sí, mi-mi-boeh ê soa-hî. I chún-pī hî-chhiuⁿ, soh-á pa̍k-ân, chi̍t-bīn khòaⁿ i ti̍t-lâi. Soh-á bô-kàu tn̂g, in-ūi i chìn-chêng ū koah chi̍t chat khì pa̍k hî.

Lāu lâng ê thâu-khak chin chheng-chhéⁿ, bô pháiⁿ, ū koat-sim, m̄-koh i bô siáⁿ hi-bōng. Hó sū bô kú-tn̂g, i siūⁿ. Khòaⁿ soa-hî chiap-kīn, i koh lia̍h he tōa-hî khòaⁿ chi̍t-ē. Chē mā khó-lêng sī bîn-bāng, i siūⁿ. Góa bē-tàng tòng i mài kong-kek góa, m̄-koh hoān-sè góa ē-sái lia̍h i. Giàng-gê, sái-lín-niâ khah hó, i siūⁿ.

Soa-hî chhē-óa chûn-bóe kong tōa-hî, lāu lâng khòaⁿ tio̍h i chhùi peh-khui, ba̍k-chiu koài-kî, chhùi-khí khi̍h-kho̍k kiò, chi̍t-chhùi kā tī bóe-liu téng ê bah. Soa-hî ê thâu chhut chúi-bīn, āu-niā mā tī chúi-bīn, lāu lâng ē-tàng thiaⁿ tio̍h tōa-hî ê phôe kap bah liah-khui ê siaⁿ, chit-sî i iōng hî-chhiuⁿ tu̍h soa-hî ê thâu, tu̍h tī siang-ba̍k tiong-kan ê sòaⁿ kap phīⁿ-khang hiàng āu ê sòaⁿ ê kau-chhah-tiám. Sū-si̍t pēng bô chiah-ê sòaⁿ. Ū--ê chí-sī tāng koh chiam ê nâ-sek hî-thâu kap nn̄g lúi tōa ba̍k-chiu, kap khi̍h-kho̍k kiò koh iau-sâi ê chhùi-ham. M̄-koh hia sī náu ê só͘-chāi, lāu lâng tu̍h hia. I iōng lâu-hoeh ê siang-chhiú gia̍h chi̍t ki hó ê hî-chhiuⁿ, iōng choân-sin ê la̍t kā tu̍h. I m̄-káⁿ hi-bōng, m̄-koh chin kian-koat, chin o͘k-to̍k án-ne kā tu̍h.

Soa-hî péng-sin, lāu lâng khòaⁿ he ba̍k-chiu sí-sí, āu-lâi i koh péng--kòe-lâi, ka-tī sin-khu tîⁿ nn̄g-liàn soh-á. Lāu lâng chai, i sí ah, m̄-koh soa-hî m̄-goān sí. Sui-jiân péng-pak, i ê bóe phiat, chhùi-khí khi̍h-kho̍k kiò, sin-khu ná ke-khì chûn lê-chúi ti̍t-khì. I ê bóe-liu kā chúi phah-kah pe̍h-pho-pho, i ê sin-khu sì-hun-chi-saⁿ tī chúi-bīn, bān-bān soh-á keng-ân, chùn-tāng, chòe-āu piak-tn̄g. Soa-hî tī chúi-bīn thêng-khùn chi̍t-ē-á, lāu lâng khòaⁿ i. Koh-lâi i tō bān-bān-á tîm-lo̍h.

"I hàu-ko͘ sì-cha̍p pōng khì," lāu lâng tōa-siaⁿ kóng. Góa ê hî-chhiuⁿ kap só͘-ū ê soh-á mā khì hō͘ hut--khì, i siūⁿ, taⁿ góa ê hî koh teh lâu-hoeh ah, iáu ū soa-hî ē lâi.

Tōa-hî hông thiah-sin liáu, i m̄-ài koh khòaⁿ i. Tōa-hî hông kā, bē-su i ka-tī hông kā.

M̄-koh, góa ū thâi-sí kā góa ê hî ê soa-hî, i siūⁿ. He sī góa khòaⁿ-kòe siōng tōa ê ian-á-soa. Thiⁿ-kong chai góa khòaⁿ-kòe tōa ian-á-soa.

Hit-ê hó-sū siuⁿ hó, bô kú-tn̂g, i siūⁿ. Taⁿ góa hi-bōng he sī bîn-bāng, góa bô tiò-tio̍h hî, chí sī ka-tī tó tī pho͘ sin-bûn ê bîn-chhn̂g.

"M̄-koh lâm-chú-hàn bē-sái hông phah-pāi," i kóng. "Lâm-chú-hàn ē-sái hông siau-biat, bē-sái hông phah-pāi." M̄-koh thâi-sí hî, góa mā chin pháiⁿ-sè, i siūⁿ. Kan-lân ê sî-kan lâi ah, góa liân hî-chhiuⁿ mā bô. Ian-á-soa chin chân-jím, koh khiàng, koh ióng, koh khiáu. M̄-koh góa pí i khah khiáu. Hoān-sè bô, i siūⁿ. Hoān-sè chí-sī góa ê chong-pī khah hó.

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38. 鯊魚倚來

老人看伊倚來, 伊知這是毋驚死, 綿綿欲 ê 鯊魚. 伊準備魚槍, 索仔縛絚, 一面看伊直來. 索仔無夠長, 因為伊進前有割一節去縛魚.

老人 ê 頭殼真清醒, 無歹, 有決心, 毋過伊無啥希望. 好事無久長, 伊想. 看鯊魚接近, 伊 koh 掠 he 大魚看一下. 這 mā 可能是眠夢, 伊想. 我袂當擋伊莫攻擊我, 毋過凡勢我會使掠伊. Giàng 牙, 使恁娘較好, 伊想.

鯊魚 chhē 倚船尾攻大魚, 老人看著伊喙擘開, 目睭怪奇, 喙齒 khi̍h-kho̍k 叫, 一喙咬 tī 尾溜頂 ê 肉. 鯊魚 ê 頭出水面, 後陵 mā tī 水面, 老人會當聽著大魚 ê 皮 kap 肉裂開 ê 聲, 這時伊用魚槍 tu̍h 鯊魚 ê 頭, tu̍h tī 雙目中間 ê 線 kap 鼻空向後 ê 線 ê 交插點. 事實並無 chiah-ê 線. 有 ê 只是重 koh 尖 ê 藍色魚頭 kap 兩蕊大目睭, kap khi̍h-kho̍k 叫 koh iau-sâi ê 喙 ham. 毋過遐是腦 ê 所在, 老人 tu̍h 遐. 伊用流血 ê 雙手攑一支好 ê 魚槍, 用全身 ê 力 kā tu̍h. 伊毋敢希望, 毋過真堅決, 真惡毒 án-ne kā tu̍h.

鯊魚 péng 身, 老人看彼目睭死死, 後來伊 koh péng 過來, 家己身軀纏兩輾索仔. 老人知, 伊死 ah, 毋過鯊魚毋願死. 雖然 péng 腹, 伊 ê 尾 phiat, 喙齒 khi̍h-kho̍k 叫, 身軀 ná 機器船犁水直去. 伊 ê 尾溜 kā 水拍甲白波波, 伊 ê 身軀四分之三 tī 水面, 慢慢索仔弓絚, 顫動, 最後 piak 斷. 鯊魚 tī 水面停睏一下仔, 老人看伊. 閣來伊 tō 慢慢仔沉落.

"伊孝孤四十磅去," 老人大聲講. 我 ê 魚槍 kap 所有 ê 索仔 mā 去予 hut 去, 伊想, 今我 ê 魚 koh teh 流血 ah, 猶有鯊魚會來.

大魚 hông 拆身了, 伊毋愛 koh 看伊. 大魚 hông 咬, 袂輸伊家己 hông 咬.

毋過, 我有刣死咬我 ê 魚 ê 鯊魚, 伊想. 彼是我看過上大 ê 煙仔鯊. 天公知我看過大煙仔鯊.

彼个好事 siuⁿ 好, 無久長, 伊想. 今我希望彼是眠夢, 我無釣著魚, 只是家己倒 tī 鋪新聞 ê 眠床.

"毋過男子漢袂使 hông 拍敗," 伊講. "男子漢會使 hông 消滅, 袂使 hông 拍敗." 毋過刣死魚, 我 mā 真歹勢, 伊想. 艱難 ê 時間來 ah, 我連魚槍 mā 無. 煙仔鯊真殘忍, koh khiàng, koh 勇, koh 巧. 毋過我比伊較巧. 凡勢無, 伊想. 凡勢只是我 ê 裝備較好.

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38.

When the old man saw him coming he knew that this was a shark that had no fear at all and would do exactly what he wished. He prepared the harpoon and made the rope fast while he watched the shark come on. The rope was short as it lacked what he had cut away to lash the fish.

The old man’s head was clear and good now and he was full of resolution but he had little hope. It was too good to last, he thought. He took one look at the great fish as he watched the shark close in. It might as well have been a dream, he thought. I cannot keep him from hitting me but maybe I can get him. Dentuso, he thought. Bad luck to your mother.

The shark closed fast astern and when he hit the fish the old man saw his mouth open and his strange eyes and the clicking chop of the teeth as he drove forward in the meat just above the tail. The shark’s head was out of water and his back was coming out and the old man could hear the noise of skin and flesh ripping on the big fish when he rammed the harpoon down onto the shark’s head at a spot where the line between his eyes intersected with the line that ran straight back from his nose. There were no such lines. There was only the heavy sharp blue head and the big eyes and the clicking, thrusting all-swallowing jaws. But that was the location of the brain and the old man hit it. He hit it with his blood mushed hands driving a good harpoon with all his strength. He hit it without hope but with resolution and complete malignancy.

The shark swung over and the old man saw his eye was not alive and then he swung over once again, wrapping himself in two loops of the rope. The old man knew that he was dead but the shark would not accept it. Then, on his back, with his tail lashing and his jaws clicking, the shark plowed over the water as a speedboat does. The water was white where his tail beat it and three-quarters of his body was clear above the water when the rope came taut, shivered, and then snapped. The shark lay quietly for a little while on the surface and the old man watched him. Then he went down very slowly.

“He took about forty pounds,” the old man said aloud. He took my harpoon too and all the rope, he thought, and now my fish bleeds again and there will be others.

He did not like to look at the fish anymore since he had been mutilated. When the fish had been hit it was as though he himself were hit.

But I killed the shark that hit my fish, he thought. And he was the biggest dentuso that I have ever seen. And God knows that I have seen big ones.

It was too good to last, he thought. I wish it had been a dream now and that I had never hooked the fish and was alone in bed on the newspapers.

“But man is not made for defeat,” he said. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” I am sorry that I killed the fish though, he thought. Now the bad time is coming and I do not even have the harpoon. The dentuso is cruel and able and strong and intelligent. But I was more intelligent than he was. Perhaps not, he thought. Perhaps I was only better armed.

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