《The Story of a Great Schoolmaster（老人与海） 》02

When the wind was in the east a smell came across the harbour from the shark factory; but today there was only the faint edge of the odour because the wind had backed into the north and then dropped off and it was pleasant and sunny on the Terrace.
　　刮东风的时候，鲨鱼加工厂隔着海湾送来一股气味；但今天只有淡淡的一丝，因为风转向了北方，后来逐渐平息了，饭店露台上可人心意、阳光明媚。
　　
　　“Santiago,“ the boy said.
　　“圣地亚哥，”孩子说。
　　
　　“Yes,“ the old man said. He was holding his glass and thinking of many years ago.
　　“哦，”老人说。他正握着酒杯，思量好多年前的事儿。
　　
　　“Can I go out to get sardines for you for tomorrow?“
　　“要我去弄点沙丁鱼来给你明天用吗？”
　　
　　“No. Go and play baseball. I can still row and Rogelio will throw the net.“
　　“不。打棒球去吧。我划船还行，罗赫略会给我撒网的。”
　　
　　“I would like to go. If I cannot fish with you, I would like to serve in some way.“
　　“我很想去。即使不能陪你钓鱼，我也很想给你多少做点事。”
　　
　　“You bought me a beer,“ the old man said. “You are already a man.“
　　“你请我喝了杯啤酒，”老人说。“你已经是个大人啦。”
　　
　　“How old was I when you first took me in a boat?“
　　“你头一回带我上船，我有多大？”
　　
　　“Five and you nearly were killed when I brought the fish in too green and he nearly tore the boat to pieces. Can you remember?“
　　“五岁，那天我把一条鲜龙活跳的鱼拖上船去，它差一点把船撞得粉碎，你也差一点给送了命。还记得吗？”
　　
　　“I can remember the tail slapping and banging and the thwart breaking and the noise of the clubbing. I can remember you throwing me into the bow where the wet coiled lines were and feeling the whole boat shiver and the noise of you clubbing him like chopping a tree down and the sweat blood smell all over me.“
　　“我记得鱼尾巴砰砰地拍打着，船上的座板给打断了，还有棍子打鱼的声音。我记得你把我朝船头猛推，那儿搁着湿漉漉的钓索卷儿，我感到整条船在颤抖，听到你啪啪地用棍子打鱼的声音，象有砍一棵树，还记得我浑身上下都是甜丝丝的血腥味儿。”
　　
　　“Can you really remember that or did I just tell it to you?“
　　“你当真记得那回事儿，还是我不久前刚跟你说过？”
　　
　　“I remember everything from when we first went together.“
　　“打从我们头一回一起出海时起，什么事儿我都记得清清楚楚。”
　　
　　The old man looked at him with his sun-burned, confident loving eyes.
　　老人用他那双常遭日晒而目光坚定的眼睛爱怜地望着他。
　　
　　“If you were my boy I’d take you out and gamble,“ he said. “But you are your father’s and your mother’s and you are in a lucky boat.“
　　“如果你是我自己的小子，我准会带你出去闯一下，”他说。“可你是你爸爸和你妈妈的小子，你搭的又是一条交上了好运的船。”
　　
　　“May I get the sardines? I know where I can get four baits too.“
　　“我去弄沙丁鱼来好吗？我还知道上哪儿去弄四条鱼饵来。”
　　
　　“I have mine left from today. I put them in salt in the box.“
　　“我今天还有自个儿剩下的。我把它们放在匣子里腌了。”
　　
　　“Let me get four fresh ones.“
　　“让我给你弄四条新鲜的来吧。”
　　
　　“One,“ the old man said. His hope and his confidence had never gone. But now they were freshening as when the breeze rises.
　　“一条，”老人说。他的希望和信心从没消失过。现在可又象微风初起时那么清新了。
　　
　　“Two,“ the boy said.
　　“两条，”孩子说。
　　
　　“Two,“ the old man agreed. “You didn’t steal them?“
　　“就两条吧，”老人同意了。“你不是去偷的吧？”
　　
　　“I would,“ the boy said. “But I bought these.“
　　“我愿意去偷，”孩子说。“不过这些是买来的。”
　　
　　“Thank you,“ the old man said. He was too simple to wonder when he had attained humility. But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride.
　　“谢谢你了，”老人说。他心地单纯，不去捉摸自己什么时候达到这样谦卑的地步。可是他知道这时正达到了这地步，知道这并不丢脸，所以也无损于真正的自尊心。
　　
　　“Tomorrow is going to be a good day with this current,“ he said.
　　“看这海流，明儿会是个好日子，”他说。
　　
　　“Where are you going?“ the boy asked.
　　“你打算上哪儿？”孩子问。
　　
　　“Far out to come in when the wind shifts. I want to be out before it is light.“
　　“驶到远方，等转了风才回来。我想天亮前就出发。”
　　
　　“I’ll try to get him to work far out,“ the boy said. “Then if you hook something truly big we can come to your aid.“
　　“我要想法叫船主人也驶到远方，”孩子说。“这样，如果你确实钓到了大鱼，我们可以赶去帮你的忙。”
　　
　　“He does not like to work too far out.“
　　“他可不会愿意驶到很远的地方。”
　　
　　“No,“ the boy said. “But I will see something that he cannot see such as a bird working and get him to come out after dolphin.“
　　“是啊，”孩子说。“不过我会看见一些他看不见的东西，比如说有只鸟儿在空中盘旋，我就会叫他赶去追鲯鳅的。”
　　
　　“Are his eyes that bad?“
　　“他眼睛这么不行吗？”
　　
　　“He is almost blind.“
　　“简直是个瞎子。”
　　
　　“It is strange,“ the old man said. “He never went turtle-ing. That is what kills the eyes.“
　　“这可怪了，”老人说。“他从没捕过海龟。这玩艺才伤眼睛哪。”
　　
　　“But you went turtle-ing for years off the Mosquito Coast and your eyes are good.“
　　“你可在莫斯基托海岸外捕了好多年海龟，你的眼力还是挺好的嘛。”
　　
　　“I am a strange old man.“
　　“我是个不同寻常的老头儿。”
　　
　　“But are you strong enough now for a truly big fish?“
　　“不过你现在还有力气对付一条真正大的鱼吗？”
　　
　　“I think so. And there are many tricks.“
　　“我想还有。再说有不少窍门可用呢。”
　　
　　“Let us take the stuff home,“ the boy said. “So I can get the cast net and go after the sardines.“
　　“我们把家什拿回家去吧，”孩子说。“这样我可以拿了鱼网去逮沙丁鱼。”
　　
　　They picked up the gear from the boat. The old man carried the mast on his shoulder and the boy carried the wooden box with the coiled, hard-braided brown lines, the gaff and the harpoon with its shaft. The box with the baits was under the stern of the skiff along with the club that was used to subdue the big fish when they were brought alongside. No one would steal from the old man but it was better to take the sail and the heavy lines home as the dew was bad for them and, though he was quite sure no local people would steal from him, the old man thought that a gaff and a harpoon were needless temptations to leave in a boat.
　　他们从船上拿起打鱼的家什。老人把桅杆扛上肩头，孩子拿着内放编得很紧密的褐色钓索卷儿的木箱、鱼钩和带杆子的鱼叉。盛鱼饵的匣子给藏在小船的船梢下面，那儿还有那根在大鱼被拖到船边时用来收服它们的棍子，谁也不会来偷老人的东西，不过还是把桅杆和那些粗钓索带回家去的好，因为露水对这些东西不利，再说，尽管老人深信当地不会有人来偷他的东西，但他认为，把一把鱼钩和一支鱼叉留在船上实在是不必要的引诱。
　　
　　They walked up the road together to the old man’s shack and went in through its open door. The old man leaned the mast with its wrapped sail against the wall and the boy put the box and the other gear beside it. The mast was nearly as long as the one room of the shack. The shack was made of the tough budshields of the royal palm which are called guano and in it there was a bed, a table, one chair, and a place on the dirt floor to cook with charcoal. On the brown walls of the flattened, overlapping leaves of the sturdy fibered guano there was a picture in color of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and another of the Virgin of Cobre. These were relics of his wife. Once there had been a tinted photograph of his wife on the wall but he had taken it down because it made him too lonely to see it and it was on the shelf in the corner under his clean shirt.
　　他们顺着大路一起走到老人的窝棚，从敞开的门走进去。老人把绕着帆的桅杆靠在墙上，孩子把木箱和其他家什搁在它的旁边。桅杆跟这窝棚内的单间屋子差不多一般长。窝棚用大椰子树的叫做“海鸟粪”的坚韧的苞壳做成，里面有一张床、一张桌子、一把椅子和泥地上一处用木炭烧饭的地方。在用纤维结实的“海鸟粪”展平了叠盖而成的褐色墙壁上，有一幅彩色的耶稣圣心图和另一幅科布莱圣母图。这是他妻子的遗物。墙上一度挂着幅他妻子的着色照，但他把它取下了，因为看了觉得自己太孤单了，它如今在屋角搁板上，在他的一件干净衬衫下面。