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海明威生活过的古巴小渔村，距离哈瓦那约30 分钟车程。,which was about six miles from where the fish first sounded2sound 鲸鱼等向深海潜入。. I was tired but my hands and feet were in good shape3in good shape〈习语〉健康状况良好。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.

我们有一小时二十分没再看见它。水流湍急，将我们带到远离科希马尔的方向，这里距离鱼初次潜入水底的地方约六英里。我累了，但手脚还都好使。我正在不断地收紧钓线, 小心翼翼，避免突拉猛拽。我这会儿能拉动它了，虽不够轻松，但还是可能办到，只需确保钓线不至于扯断就行。

2“He’s going to come up,” Carlos said. “Sometimes the great ones do that and you can gaff4gaff 用挽钩钩鱼。them while they are still innocent5innocent 天真无邪，对不好的事无察觉。.”

“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 对（鱼等）开膛处理（用作食物）。,” Carlos said.

“Keep your mouth off of him,” Mr.Josie said. “You don’t want to work7work 逐渐移动位置。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 胸鳍。like two long purple scythe9scythe 长柄大镰刀。blades. Then he saw the boat and the line started to race off the reel10reel 线轴。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“它就要游上来了。”卡洛斯说，“大家伙有时就这样，趁它们还懵懵懂懂，就能用挽钩把它们拉上来。”

“它为何要这会儿游上来呢？”我问道。

“它是闹不清，”卡洛斯说，“而且你正用线牵着它，它不知道是咋回事儿。”

“别让它回过神儿来。”我说。

3“这条鱼能出九百多磅肉。”卡洛斯说。

“别张口鱼闭口鱼的了。”乔西说，“你不想换种遛法吗，船长？”

“不想。”

4看见鱼的时候，我们才真的知道它有多大；虽不能说大得吓人，但确实大得让人吃惊。我们看见它慢悠悠地安静游着，在水中几乎一动不动，巨大的胸鳍像两柄长长的紫色大镰刀。接着它发现了船，钓线开始从线轴上飞速扯出，我们就像钩住了一辆汽车一样。它开始沿着西北方向跃出水面，每跳一次都掀起水浪。

5I had to go into the bow11bow 船头，艏。again and we chased him until he sounded. This time he went down almost opposite the Morro12莫罗城堡，过去由西班牙修建的军事要塞，在古巴哈瓦那港入口处，是古巴著名的文化遗存。. 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”，因为长时间弯腰拉线钓鱼导致背部酸痛，灵活翻译成“再让我的背完好如新”。,” 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 鱼竿。.”

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头的位置。我们追着它跑，直到它钻到水下。它这次几乎是逆着莫罗城堡的方向下潜逃跑的。之后我慢慢挪步回到船尾。

“要喝一杯吗，船长？”乔西问。

“不用。”我说，“让卡洛斯给钓线轴上点儿油，不要搞洒了。再在我身上淋点儿海水。”

6“真不能帮你做点儿啥吗，船长？”

“给一双手，再让我的背完好如新。”我说，“这个狗娘养的，精神头儿还像刚开始那么好。”

7我们再次见到它是一个半小时之后，船已远离科希马尔。它跳出水面，再次飞奔起来，紧紧追赶中我也只好移步到船头的位置。

8我回到船尾，能再次坐下来的时候，乔西说：“什么情况，船长？”

“从始至终它一直没啥变化，但是钓竿就快要没弹性了。”

“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（鱼的）气囊，鳔。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”，这里是指消失得无影无踪。we’d never get him up.”

9钓竿弯得像一张拉满的弓，我现在提起来的时候，本该变直的竿并未回直。

“还是有点儿弹劲儿的。”乔西说，“你可以跟鱼一直摽着，船长。还要给你头上淋点儿水吗？”

“先别了。”我说，“我不放心钓竿，鱼太重已经把竿掰得没弹劲儿了。”

10一个小时后，鱼一点一点地顺利靠近，它正兜着大圈儿，游得很慢。

“它累啦。”卡洛斯说，“它会很容易地贴过来。跳的时候它鳔里面灌满了空气，就没法钻到深水里啦。”

“钓竿完蛋了，”我说，“现在一点儿也直不起来了。”

11是真的，竿头现在垂到水面上，提竿拉鱼和卷钓线的时候，竿毫无反应。现在它不是一根钓竿了，而像是突出来的一截钓线；虽然每次提竿还能拉起几英寸长的线，但仅此而已。

12鱼正一圈圈地慢慢游着，游出去的时候它从线轴上拉出钓线，游进来的时候我再把线拉回来。因为钓竿没了弹劲儿，我就没法让它难受，也就一点儿控制不了它。

“这糟透了，船长。”我对乔西说——我们互称对方船长，“如果它现在要下潜并就此消失不见的话，我们再也没法把它弄上来。”

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 鼓轮，鼓式卷线器。一种钓鱼装置，里面有线轴，有摇把可以收缩钓线。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 马具，这里指钓竿等钓具。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“卡洛斯说它要上来的，说它跳的时候吸进去那么多空气，就沉不下去、没法溜掉了。他说大鱼跳多了，到最后都是这个下场。我数过它跳了三十六次，可能还漏数了。”

这是我听过乔西说的最长的话之一，给我留下了深刻的印象。就在这时，大鱼开始不停地下潜，下潜，再下潜。我用双手刹住卷线鼓轮，弄得钓线都快要绷断了。我手指紧紧摁住鼓轮的金属把手，感觉到它在一扽一扽地缓慢转动着。

14“都有多久了？”我问乔西。

“你跟它拉扯三小时五十分钟了。”

“我想你说过它没法钻到水下跑掉的。”我对卡洛斯说。

15“海明威，它会上来的。我知道它一定会上来的。”

“那你跟它说吧。”我说。

“给他来点儿水，卡洛斯。”乔西说，“别说话了，船长。”

16水冰冰凉凉，感觉很舒坦，我还把水喷到手腕上，告诉卡洛斯将杯中剩下的水浇到我的后脖子上。我肩膀上被钓具蹭秃噜皮的地方被汗液蛰得生疼，太阳炙烤着，丝毫感觉不到身上在流血。这是七月的一天，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 柔软的。as a weeping willow.

18When the fish was about a fathom23fathom 英寻，约1.8 米。under the surface, so that we could see him looking like a long purple-striped canoe24canoe 独木舟。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 松开；放弃。这里指钓竿坏了。. It did not break sharply or suddenly. It just collapsed27collapse 坍塌；倒下。.

19“Cut thirty fathoms of line off the big rig28rig 装置，设备。这里指钓线卷轴。,” 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.”

“给他头上再多淋点儿海水，”乔西说，“用海绵。”

17就在这当口儿，鱼停止拖线了。有一阵子它就那样待着不动，我感觉像是钩住了水泥墩那般沉重，紧接着它开始慢慢游了上来。钓竿没了弹性，柔软得像一枝垂柳，我仅用一只手腕摇着鼓轮，拢回钓线。

18鱼离水面大约一英寻的时候，我们能看清它是那么长，像一只有紫色条纹的长独木舟，伸展着两只巨大的胸鳍，开始慢慢游着圈儿。我铆足劲儿拉紧它，努力缩小它游的圈儿。我尽力死死地拉紧钓线，就要把线给挣断了，这时候钓竿废掉了，它不是猛地一下子折断，只是耷拉下来没用了。

19“从粗线卷上剪下三十英寻的钓线。”我对卡洛斯说，“它转圈的时候我拉住，待它游近的时候我们就够得着将钓线接到粗线上，我准备换竿儿。”

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〉筋疲力尽的。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 钓竿上串钓线的导环。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 活线，活绳。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鱼竿撅折了，那就甭再琢磨钓上这条大鱼破世界纪录或其他什么纪录了。但这鱼现在被遛累了，我们换用结实的钓具应该能逮住它。只有一个问题，就是大号钓竿配用15 号钓线太硬了；这是我的问题，我必须想办法解决。

21卡洛斯正从大号的哈迪牌线轴上扯下36 号的白色钓线，他将线从竿上的导线环里拉出，伸开双臂丈量长度，然后丢到甲板上。我用那根废竿尽全力拉住鱼，看到卡洛斯在剪白色钓线，并将一长段线从导线环中拉出。

22“好了，船长。”我对乔西说，“现在你拉住这根线，等它转上来的时候就收线，待线长到够卡洛斯把两条线接上，要尽量缓着劲儿拉。”

鱼转着圈儿一点点靠近，乔西一段段地拢回钓线并递给卡洛斯，卡洛斯将其打结到白色钓线上。

23“他把线系好啦。”乔西说。他还富余出一码左右长的15号绿线，鱼游到最内圈的时候他手里攥着线的活头儿。我双手松开小号钓竿，将它放下，然后接住卡洛斯递给我的大号竿。

“Cut away when you are ready,” I said to Carlos. To Mr. Josie I said, “Let your slack32slack 绳索的松弛部分。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.

“准备好了你就剪线吧。”我对卡洛斯说。我对乔西说：“你松线的时候要轻点儿，船长，我会拉得很轻很轻，直到我们感觉到鱼为止。”

24卡洛斯剪线的时候我正盯着那根绿线和那条大鱼，紧接着我听到一声尖叫——这尖叫绝无可能从一个正常人嘴里喊出，像是将所有的绝望提炼后迸发出来的声音。我看到绿线从乔西的手里慢慢滑脱，一点一点地向下，直至消失不见。卡洛斯剪错了线圈，将他刚刚打结的线剪断了。鱼从我们视线中消失了。