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Chapter 3
The Battle Begins He looked behind him
and saw that no land was visible
That makes no difference
he thought
I can always come in on the glow from Havana
Maybe he will come up before sunset or with the moon
I have no cramps and I feel strong
It is he that has the hook in his mouth
But what
fish to pull like that
I wish I could see him only once
to know what I have against me
The fish never changed his course
It was cold after the sun went down
he tied the sack that covered the bait box around his neck
so that it hung down over his back
he cautiously worked it down under the line
that was across his shoulders now
I can do nothing with him
and he can do nothing with me
he thought
Once he stood up and urinated over the side of the skiff and looked at the stars and checked his course
They were moving more slowly now
and the glow of Havana was not so strong
so he knew the current
must be carrying them eastward
I wonder how the baseball came out in the grand leagues today
Ephod
It would be wonderful to do this with a radio
Think of what you are doing
you must do nothing stupid
Then he said aloud
I wish I had the boy
To help me and to see this'
No one should be alone in their old age
he thought
But it is unavoidable
I must remember to eat the tuna before he spoils in order to keep strong
remember
you must eat him in the morning
he said to himself
During the night
two porpoise came around the boat
and he could hear them rolling and blowing
They are good
he said
They play and make jokes and love one another
They are our brothers like the flying fish
Then he began to pity the great fish that he had hooked
He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is
he thought
Never have I had such a strong fish nor one who acted so strangely
Perhaps he is too wise to jump
He could ruin me by jumping
But what a great fish he
and what he will bring in the market if the flesh is good
he took the bait like a male and he pulls like a male
and his fight has no panic in it
I wonder if he has any plans or if he is just as desperate as I am
I wish the boy were here
he said aloud
and settled himself against the bow
and felt the strength of the great fish through the line he held across his shoulders
My choice was to go out to find him beyond all people in the world
Now we are joined together
and no one to help either one of us
The fish made a surge that pulled him down on his face and made a cut below his eye
The blood ran down his cheek a little way
But it coagulated and dried before it reached his chin
and he worked his way back to the bow and rested against the wood
I wonder why he made that surge
he thought
The wire must have slipped on the great hill of his back
back Certainly his back cannot feel as bad as mine does
But he cannot pull this skiff forever no matter how great he is
fish
he said softly aloud
I'll stay with you until I am dead
When the sun had risen further
the old man realized that the fish was not getting tired
There was only one favorable sign
The slam of the line showed he was swimming at a lesser depth
That did not mean that he would jump
But he might
God
nothing
the old man said
I have enough line to handle him
fish
he said
I love you
and respect you very much
I will kill you dead
before this day ends
A small bird came toward the skiff from the north
He was a warbler and the old man could see he was very tired
He flew around the old man's head and rested on the line
How old are you
the old man asked the bird
Is this your first trip
The bird was very tired and he teetered on the line as his delicate feet gripped
Take a good rest small bird
he said
Then go and take your chance like any man or bird
Blowfish
Just then the fish gave a sudden lurch that pulled the old man down to the bow
and would have pulled him overboard
if he had not braced himself and given some line
The bird flew away and he felt the line carefully with his right hand
and noticed his hand was bleeding
Shifting the weight of the line to his left shoulder
line carefully
he washed his hand in the ocean
The cut was in the working part of his hand
He knew he would need his hands before this was over
and he did not like to be cut before it started
Nao
he said
I must eat the small tuna
he knelt down and found the tuna under the stem He put one knee on the fish and cut strips of
dark red meat from the back of the head to the tail
I don't think I can eat an entire one
he said
He could feel the steady hard pull of the line and his left hand was cramped
What kind of a hand is that
he said
Cramp then if you want
Make yourself into a claw
It will do you no good
He picked up a piece of tuna and put it in his mouth
and chewed it slowly
It was not unpleasant
How do you feel hand
he asked the cramped hand that was almost as stiff as rigor mortis
I'll eat some more for you
I wish I could feed the fish
he thought
He is my brother
But I must kill him and keep strong to do it
Slowly he ate all the strips of fish
God help me to have the cramp go
he said
Because I do not know what the fish is going to do
What is his plan
he thought
And what is mine
His left hand was still cramped
but he was unknotting it slowly
I hate cramps he thought It is a treachery of one's own body
Then with his right hand he felt the difference in the pull of the line
He's coming up he said Come on hand Please come on
The line rose slowly and steadily
and then the surface of the ocean bulged ahead of the boat and the fish came out
He came out unendingly and water poured from his sides
He was bright in the sun and his head and his sides were wide and colored a light lavender
His sword was as long as a baseball bat
and tapered like a rapier and
and he rose his full length from the water and then re-entered it smoothly like
like a diver
and the old man saw the great scythe-blade of his tail go under and
and the line started to race out
He is two feet longer than the skiff
the old man said
He was trying with both hands to keep the line just inside of breaking strength
He knew that if he could not slow the fish with a steady pressure
the fish could take out all the line and break it
He is a great fish
but I must convince him that he is no match for me
he thought
I must never let him learn his strength nor what he could do if he made his run
The old man had seen many great fish
He had seen many that weighed more than a thousand pounds
and he had caught two of that size in his life
but never alone
alone Now alone and out of sight of land
he was tied fast to the biggest fish that he had ever seen
and bigger than he had ever heard of
and his left hand was still cramped
I wonder why he jumped
the old man thought
He jumped almost as though to show me how big he was
I wish I could show him what sort of man I am
But then he would see the cramped hand
At noon the old man's left hand was uncramped He
He was comfortable but suffering
although he did not admit the suffering at all
I am not religious
he said
But I will say ten Our Fathers and ten Hail Marys
so that I can catch this fish
and I promise to make a pilgrimage to the *** de Cobre
if I catch him
too green
know he was so big
I'll kill him though
he said
In all his greatness
Although it is unjust he thought
But I will show him what a man can do
and what a man endures
I told the boy I was a strange old man
he said
Now is when I must prove
The thousand times that he had proved it meant nothing
Now he was proving it again
if you are still strong as
he said aloud
you must be very strange
He felt very tired now
and he tried to think of other things
He thought of the Big Leagues
and he knew the Yankees of New York were playing the Tigers of Detroit
This is the second day that I do not know the result of the juegos he thought But
But I must have confidence
and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio
who does all things perfectly
Do you believe the great DiMaggio would stay with a fish as long as I will stay with this one
he thought
I am sure he would and more since he is young and strong
Also
his father was a fisherman