老人与海

ot be going out and the boy had slept te and then come to the old man's shack as he had come each 摸rning.The boy saw that the old man was breathing and then he saw the old man's hands and he started to cry.He went out very quietly to go to bring some coffee and all the way down the road he was crying.

    Many fishermen were around the skiff looking at what was shed beside it and one was in the water,his trousers rolled up,measuring the skeleton with a length of line.

    The boy did not go down.He had been there before and one of the fishermen was looking after the skiff for him.

    “How is he?”one of the fishermen shouted.

    “Sleeping,”the boy called.He did not care that they saw him crying.“ Let no one disturb him.”

    “He was eighteen feet from nose to tail,”the fisherman who was measuring him called.

    “I believe it,”the boy said.

    He went into the Terrace and asked for a can of coffee.

    “Hot and with plenty of milk and sugar in it.”

    “Anything 摸re?”

    “No.Afterwards I will see what he can eat.”

    “What a fish it was,”the proprietor said.“There has never been such a fish.Those were two fine fish you took yesterday too.”

    “Damn my fish,”the boy said and he started to cry again.

    “Do you want a drink of any kind?”the proprietor asked.

    “No,”the boy said.“Tell them not to bother Santiago. I'll be back.”

    “Tell him how sorry I am.”

    “Thanks,”the boy said.

    The boy carried the hot can of coffee up to the old man's shack and sat by him until he woke.Once it looked as though he were waking.But he had gone back into heavy sleep and the boy had gone across the road to borrow some wood to heat the coffee.

    Finally the old man woke.

    “Don't sit up.”the boy said.“Drink this.”He poured some of the coffee in a gss.

    The old man took it and drank it.

    “They beat me, Manolin,”he said.“They truly beat me.”

    “He didn't beat you.Not the fish.”

    “No.Truly.It was afterwards.”

    “Pedrico is looking after the skiff and the gear.What do you want done with the head?”

    “Let Pedrico chop it up to use in fish traps.”

    “And the spear?”

    “You keep it if you want it.”

    “I want it,”the boy said.“ Now we must make our pns about the other things.”

    “Did they search for me?”

    “Of course.With coast guard and with pnes.”

    “The ocean is very big and a skiff is small and hard to see,”the old m