Pursuit as Happiness (Excerpt)

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We did not see him again for an hour and twenty minutes. The current was very strong and it had carried us down to opposite Cojímar1海明威生活過的古巴小漁村，距離哈瓦那約30 分鐘車程。,which was about six miles from where the fish first sounded2sound 鯨魚等向深海潛入。. I was tired but my hands and feet were in good shape3in good shape〈習(xí)語〉健康狀況良好。and I was getting line on him now quite steadily being careful never to pull harshly or to jerk. I could move him now. It wasn’t easy. But it was possible if you kept the line just this side of the breaking point.

我們有一小時(shí)二十分沒再看見它。水流湍急，將我們帶到遠(yuǎn)離科希馬爾的方向，這里距離魚初次潛入水底的地方約六英里。我累了，但手腳還都好使。我正在不斷地收緊釣線, 小心翼翼，避免突拉猛拽。我這會兒能拉動它了，雖不夠輕松，但還是可能辦到，只需確保釣線不至于扯斷就行。

2“He’s going to come up,” Carlos said. “Sometimes the great ones do that and you can gaff4gaff 用挽鉤鉤魚。them while they are still innocent5innocent 天真無邪，對不好的事無察覺。.”

“Why does he come up now?” I asked.

“He’s puzzled,” Carlos said. “And you’re leading him. He doesn’t know what it is about.”

“Don’t ever let him find out,” I said.

3“He’ll weigh over nine hundred dressed out6dress out 對（魚等）開膛處理（用作食物）。,” Carlos said.

“Keep your mouth off of him,” Mr.Josie said. “You don’t want to work7work 逐漸移動位置。him any different, Cap?”

“No.”

4When we saw him we knew how really big he was. You couldn’t say it was frightening. But it was awesome.We saw him slow and quiet and almost unmoving in the water with his great pectoral fins8pectoral fin 胸鰭。like two long purple scythe9scythe 長柄大鐮刀。blades. Then he saw the boat and the line started to race off the reel10reel 線軸。as though we were hooked to a motorcar, and he started jumping out to the northwest with the water pouring from him at each jump.

2“它就要游上來了?！笨逅拐f，“大家伙有時(shí)就這樣，趁它們還懵懵懂懂，就能用挽鉤把它們拉上來?！?/p>

“它為何要這會兒游上來呢？”我問道。

“它是鬧不清，”卡洛斯說，“而且你正用線牽著它，它不知道是咋回事兒?！?/p>

“別讓它回過神兒來?！蔽艺f。

3“這條魚能出九百多磅肉?！笨逅拐f。

“別張口魚閉口魚的了。”喬西說，“你不想換種遛法嗎，船長？”

“不想?！?/p>

4看見魚的時(shí)候，我們才真的知道它有多大；雖不能說大得嚇人，但確實(shí)大得讓人吃驚。我們看見它慢悠悠地安靜游著，在水中幾乎一動不動，巨大的胸鰭像兩柄長長的紫色大鐮刀。接著它發(fā)現(xiàn)了船，釣線開始從線軸上飛速扯出，我們就像鉤住了一輛汽車一樣。它開始沿著西北方向躍出水面，每跳一次都掀起水浪。

5I had to go into the bow11bow 船頭，艏。again and we chased him until he sounded. This time he went down almost opposite the Morro12莫羅城堡，過去由西班牙修建的軍事要塞，在古巴哈瓦那港入口處，是古巴著名的文化遺存。. Then I worked my way back to the stern13stern 船尾，艉。again.

“Do you want a drink, Cap?” Mr.Josie asked.

“No,” I said. “Get Carlos to put some oil in the reel and not spill it and put some more salt water on me.”

6“Can’t I get you anything really,Cap?”

“Two hands and a new back14new back 字面意思是“新的脊背”，因?yàn)殚L時(shí)間彎腰拉線釣魚導(dǎo)致背部酸痛，靈活翻譯成“再讓我的背完好如新”。,” I said. “The son of a bitch is as fresh as he was at the start.”

7The next time we saw him was an hour and a half later, well past Cojímar,and he jumped and ran again and I had to go into the bow while we chased him.

8When I got back to the stern and could sit down again, Mr. Josie said,“How is he, Cap?”

“He’s just the same as always. But the temper is starting to go out of the rod15rod 魚竿。.”

9The rod was bent like a full-drawn bow. But now, when I lifted, it did not straighten as it should.

5我不得不再次走到船頭的位置。我們追著它跑，直到它鉆到水下。它這次幾乎是逆著莫羅城堡的方向下潛逃跑的。之后我慢慢挪步回到船尾。

“要喝一杯嗎，船長？”喬西問。

“不用?！蔽艺f，“讓卡洛斯給釣線軸上點(diǎn)兒油，不要搞灑了。再在我身上淋點(diǎn)兒海水?！?/p>

6“真不能幫你做點(diǎn)兒啥嗎，船長？”

“給一雙手，再讓我的背完好如新?！蔽艺f，“這個(gè)狗娘養(yǎng)的，精神頭兒還像剛開始那么好。”

7我們再次見到它是一個(gè)半小時(shí)之后，船已遠(yuǎn)離科希馬爾。它跳出水面，再次飛奔起來，緊緊追趕中我也只好移步到船頭的位置。

8我回到船尾，能再次坐下來的時(shí)候，喬西說：“什么情況，船長？”

“從始至終它一直沒啥變化，但是釣竿就快要沒彈性了?！?/p>

“She’s still got some left,” Mr. Josie said. “You can stick with him forever,Cap. You want some more water on your head?”

“Not yet,” I said. “I’m worried about the rod. His weight has just taken the temper out.”

10An hour later the fish was coming in steadily and well and he was making big slow circles.

“He’s tired,” Carlos said. “He’s going to come in easy now. The jumping has filled up his air sacs16sac（魚的）氣囊，鰾。and he can’t go deep.”

“The rod’s gone,” I said. “She won’t straighten at all now.”

11It was true. The rod’s tip now touched the surface of the water and when you lifted to raise the fish and to reel to take up line the rod did not react.It was not a rod anymore. It was like a projection of the line. It was still possible to gain a few inches of line each time you lifted. But that was all.

12The fish was moving in slow circles and as he moved on the outgoing half of the circle he took line off the reel. On the incoming circle you gained it back.But with the temper gone out of the rod you could not punish him and you had no command over him at all.

“It’s bad, Cap,” I said to Mr. Josie.We called each other Cap interchangeably17interchangeably 相互地。. “If he decided to go down now to die18die 不是“死”，這里是指消失得無影無蹤。we’d never get him up.”

9釣竿彎得像一張拉滿的弓，我現(xiàn)在提起來的時(shí)候，本該變直的竿并未回直。

“還是有點(diǎn)兒彈勁兒的?！眴涛髡f，“你可以跟魚一直摽著，船長。還要給你頭上淋點(diǎn)兒水嗎？”

“先別了。”我說，“我不放心釣竿，魚太重已經(jīng)把竿掰得沒彈勁兒了?！?/p>

10一個(gè)小時(shí)后，魚一點(diǎn)一點(diǎn)地順利靠近，它正兜著大圈兒，游得很慢。

“它累啦?！笨逅拐f，“它會很容易地貼過來。跳的時(shí)候它鰾里面灌滿了空氣，就沒法鉆到深水里啦?！?/p>

“釣竿完蛋了，”我說，“現(xiàn)在一點(diǎn)兒也直不起來了?！?/p>

11是真的，竿頭現(xiàn)在垂到水面上，提竿拉魚和卷釣線的時(shí)候，竿毫無反應(yīng)?，F(xiàn)在它不是一根釣竿了，而像是突出來的一截釣線；雖然每次提竿還能拉起幾英寸長的線，但僅此而已。

12魚正一圈圈地慢慢游著，游出去的時(shí)候它從線軸上拉出釣線，游進(jìn)來的時(shí)候我再把線拉回來。因?yàn)獒灨蜎]了彈勁兒，我就沒法讓它難受，也就一點(diǎn)兒控制不了它。

“這糟透了，船長?！蔽覍涛髡f——我們互稱對方船長，“如果它現(xiàn)在要下潛并就此消失不見的話，我們再也沒法把它弄上來?！?/p>

13“Carlos says he’s coming up. He says he caught so much air jumping he can’t go deep and die. He says that this is the way the big ones always act at the end when they’ve jumped a lot.I counted him jumping thirty-six times and maybe I missed some.”

This was one of the longest speeches I had ever heard Mr. Josie make and I was impressed. Just then the big fish started down and down and down. I was braking with both hands on the drum19drum= reel drum 鼓輪，鼓式卷線器。一種釣魚裝置，里面有線軸，有搖把可以收縮釣線。of the reel and keeping the line almost at breaking point and feeling the metal of the reel drum revolve in slow jerks under my fingers.

14“How’s the time?” I asked Mr.Josie.

“You’ve been with him three hours and fifty minutes.”

“I thought you said he couldn’t go down and die,” I said to Carlos.

15“Hemingway, he has to come up. I know he has to come up.”

“Tell him so,” I said.

“Get him some water, Carlos,” Mr.Josie said. “Don’t talk, Cap.”

16The ice water felt good and I spat it out onto my wrists and told Carlos to pour the rest of the glass on the back of my neck. Sweat salted the places on my shoulders where the harness20harness 馬具，這里指釣竿等釣具。had rubbed them bare but it was so hot in the sun that there was no warm feeling from the blood. It was a July day and the sun was at noon.

13“卡洛斯說它要上來的，說它跳的時(shí)候吸進(jìn)去那么多空氣，就沉不下去、沒法溜掉了。他說大魚跳多了，到最后都是這個(gè)下場。我數(shù)過它跳了三十六次，可能還漏數(shù)了。”

這是我聽過喬西說的最長的話之一，給我留下了深刻的印象。就在這時(shí)，大魚開始不停地下潛，下潛，再下潛。我用雙手剎住卷線鼓輪，弄得釣線都快要繃斷了。我手指緊緊摁住鼓輪的金屬把手，感覺到它在一扽一扽地緩慢轉(zhuǎn)動著。

14“都有多久了？”我問喬西。

“你跟它拉扯三小時(shí)五十分鐘了?！?/p>

“我想你說過它沒法鉆到水下跑掉的?！蔽覍逅拐f。

15“海明威，它會上來的。我知道它一定會上來的?！?/p>

“那你跟它說吧?！蔽艺f。

“給他來點(diǎn)兒水，卡洛斯。”喬西說，“別說話了，船長。”

16水冰冰涼涼，感覺很舒坦，我還把水噴到手腕上，告訴卡洛斯將杯中剩下的水澆到我的后脖子上。我肩膀上被釣具蹭禿嚕皮的地方被汗液蟄得生疼，太陽炙烤著，絲毫感覺不到身上在流血。這是七月的一天，正值中午。

“Put some more salt water on his head,” Mr. Josie said. “With a sponge.”

17Just then the fish stopped taking out line. He hung steady for a time, feeling as solid as though I were hooked to a concrete pier21concrete pier 水泥墩。, and then slowly he started up. I recovered the line, reeling with the wrist alone, as there was no spring in the rod at all and it was as limp22limp 柔軟的。as a weeping willow.

18When the fish was about a fathom23fathom 英尋，約1.8 米。under the surface, so that we could see him looking like a long purple-striped canoe24canoe 獨(dú)木舟。with two great jutting25jutting 伸展的。wings,he started to circle slowly. I held all the tension I could on him, to try to shorten the circle. I was holding up to that absolute hardness that indicates the breaking strength of the line when the rod let go26let go 松開；放棄。這里指釣竿壞了。. It did not break sharply or suddenly. It just collapsed27collapse 坍塌；倒下。.

19“Cut thirty fathoms of line off the big rig28rig 裝置，設(shè)備。這里指釣線卷軸。,” I said to Carlos. “I’ll hold him on the circles and when he’s coming in we can get enough line to make this line fast to the big line and I’ll change rods.”

“給他頭上再多淋點(diǎn)兒海水，”喬西說，“用海綿?！?/p>

17就在這當(dāng)口兒，魚停止拖線了。有一陣子它就那樣待著不動，我感覺像是鉤住了水泥墩那般沉重，緊接著它開始慢慢游了上來。釣竿沒了彈性，柔軟得像一枝垂柳，我僅用一只手腕搖著鼓輪，攏回釣線。

18魚離水面大約一英尋的時(shí)候，我們能看清它是那么長，像一只有紫色條紋的長獨(dú)木舟，伸展著兩只巨大的胸鰭，開始慢慢游著圈兒。我鉚足勁兒拉緊它，努力縮小它游的圈兒。我盡力死死地拉緊釣線，就要把線給掙斷了，這時(shí)候釣竿廢掉了，它不是猛地一下子折斷，只是耷拉下來沒用了。

19“從粗線卷上剪下三十英尋的釣線?！蔽覍逅拐f，“它轉(zhuǎn)圈的時(shí)候我拉住，待它游近的時(shí)候我們就夠得著將釣線接到粗線上，我準(zhǔn)備換竿兒?！?/p>

20There was no question anymore of catching the fish as a world’s record or any other sort of record, since the rod was broken. But he was a whipped29whipped〈美俚〉筋疲力盡的。fish now and on the heavy gear we should get him. The only problem was that the big rod was too stiff for the fifteenthread line. That was my problem and I would have to work it out.

21Carlos was stripping white thirtysix-thread line off the big Hardy reel,measuring it with his arms extended as he pulled it out through the guides30guide 釣竿上串釣線的導(dǎo)環(huán)。of the rod and dropped it on the deck.I held the fish all that I could with the useless rod and saw Carlos cut the white line and pull a long length of it through the guides.

22“All right, Cap,” I said to Mr. Josie.“You take this line now when he comes in on his circle and take in enough so Carlos can make the two lines fast. Just take it in soft and easy.”

The fish came in steadily as he rounded on his circle and Mr. Josie brought the line in foot by foot and passed it to Carlos, who was knotting it to the white line.

23“He’s got them tied,” Mr. Josie said.He still had about a yard of the green fifteen-thread line to spare and was holding the live line31live line 活線，活繩。in his fingers as the fish came to the inside limit of his circle. I broke my hands loose from the small rod, laid it down, and took the big rod that Carlos handed me.

20魚竿撅折了，那就甭再琢磨釣上這條大魚破世界紀(jì)錄或其他什么紀(jì)錄了。但這魚現(xiàn)在被遛累了，我們換用結(jié)實(shí)的釣具應(yīng)該能逮住它。只有一個(gè)問題，就是大號釣竿配用15 號釣線太硬了；這是我的問題，我必須想辦法解決。

21卡洛斯正從大號的哈迪牌線軸上扯下36 號的白色釣線，他將線從竿上的導(dǎo)線環(huán)里拉出，伸開雙臂丈量長度，然后丟到甲板上。我用那根廢竿盡全力拉住魚，看到卡洛斯在剪白色釣線，并將一長段線從導(dǎo)線環(huán)中拉出。

22“好了，船長?！蔽覍涛髡f，“現(xiàn)在你拉住這根線，等它轉(zhuǎn)上來的時(shí)候就收線，待線長到夠卡洛斯把兩條線接上，要盡量緩著勁兒拉。”

魚轉(zhuǎn)著圈兒一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)靠近，喬西一段段地?cái)n回釣線并遞給卡洛斯，卡洛斯將其打結(jié)到白色釣線上。

23“他把線系好啦?！眴涛髡f。他還富余出一碼左右長的15號綠線，魚游到最內(nèi)圈的時(shí)候他手里攥著線的活頭兒。我雙手松開小號釣竿，將它放下，然后接住卡洛斯遞給我的大號竿。

“Cut away when you are ready,” I said to Carlos. To Mr. Josie I said, “Let your slack32slack 繩索的松弛部分。out soft and easy, Cap, and I’ll use a light, light drag until we get the feel of it.”

24I was watching the green line and the great fish when Carlos cut. Then I heard a cry such as I have never heard a sane human being make. It was as though you could distill all despair and make it into a sound. Then I saw the green line slowly going through Mr.Josie’s fingers and then watched it go on down, down, and out of sight. Carlos had cut the wrong loop of the knots he had made. The fish was out of sight.

“準(zhǔn)備好了你就剪線吧?！蔽覍逅拐f。我對喬西說：“你松線的時(shí)候要輕點(diǎn)兒，船長，我會拉得很輕很輕，直到我們感覺到魚為止?！?/p>

24卡洛斯剪線的時(shí)候我正盯著那根綠線和那條大魚，緊接著我聽到一聲尖叫——這尖叫絕無可能從一個(gè)正常人嘴里喊出，像是將所有的絕望提煉后迸發(fā)出來的聲音。我看到綠線從喬西的手里慢慢滑脫，一點(diǎn)一點(diǎn)地向下，直至消失不見。卡洛斯剪錯(cuò)了線圈，將他剛剛打結(jié)的線剪斷了。魚從我們視線中消失了。