“Ar hs ys that ad?”
“H s alost lnd.”
“It s strang,”th old an sad.“H nvr nt turtl-ng.That s hat klls th ys.”
“But you nt turtl-ng for yars off th Mosquto Coast and your ys ar good.
“I a a strang old an.”
“But ar you strong nough no for a truly g fsh?”
“I thnk so.And thr ar any trcks.”
“Lt us tak th stuff ho,”th oy sad.“ So I can gt th cast nt and go aftr th sardns.”
Thy pckd up th gar fro th oat.Th old an carrd th ast on hs shouldr and th oy carrd th oodn ox th th cold,hard-radd ron lns,th gaff and th harpoon th ts shaft.Th ox th th ats as undr th strn of th skff along th th clu that as usd to sudu th g fsh hn thy r rought alongsd.No on ould stal fro th old an ut t as ttr to tak th sal and th havy lns ho as th d as ad for th and,though h as qut sur no local popl ould stal fro h,th old an thought that a gaff and a harpoon r ndlss tptatons to lav n a oat.
Thy alkd up th road togthr to th old an's shack and nt n through ts opn door.Th old an land th ast th ts rappd sal aganst th all and th oy put th ox and th othr gar sd t.Th ast as narly as long as th on roo of th shack.Th shack as ad of th tough ud-shlds of th royal pal hch ar calld guano and n t thr as a d,a tal,on char,and a plac on th drt floor to cook th charcoal.On th ron alls of th flattnd,ovrlappng lavs of th sturdy frd guano thr as a pctur n color of th Sacrd Hart of Jsus and anothr of th Vrgn of Cor.Ths r rlcs of hs f. Onc thr had n a tntd photograph of hs f on th all ut h had takn t don caus t ad h too lonly to s t and t as on th shlf n th cornr undr hs clan shrt.
“What do you hav to at?”th oy askd.
“A pot of yllo rc th fsh.Do you ant so?”
“No,I ll at at ho.Do you ant to ak th fr?”
“No.I ll ak t latr on.Or I ay at th rc cold.”
“May I tak th cast nt?”
“Of cours.”
Thr as no cast nt and th oy rrd hn thy had sold t.But thy nt through ths fcton vry day. Thr as no pot of yllo rc and fsh and th oy kn ths too.
“Eghty-fv s a lucky nur,”th old an sad.“ Ho ould you lk to s rng on n that drssd out ovr a thousand pounds?”
“I'll gt th cast nt and go for sardns.Wll you st n th sun n th dooray?”
“Ys. I hav ystrday's papr and I ll rad th asall.”
Th oy dd not kno hthr ystrday's papr as a fcton too.But th old an rought t out fro undr th d.
“Prco gav t to at th odga,”h xpland.
“I'll ack hn I hav th sardns.I'll kp yours and n togthr on c and can shar th n th ornng. Whn I co ack you can tll aout th asall.”
“Th Yanks cannot los.”
“But I far th Indans of Clvland.”
“Hav fath n th Yanks y son.Thnk of th grat DMaggo.”
“I far oth th Tgrs of Dtrot and th Indans of Clvland.
“B carful or you ll far vn th Rds of Cncnnat and th Wht Sox of Chcago.”
“You study t and tll hn I co ack.”
“Do you thnk should uy a trnal of th lottry th an ghty-fv?Toorro s th ghty-ffth day.”
“W can do that,”th oy sad.“But hat aout th ghty-svn of your grat rcord?”
“It could not happn tc.Do you thnk you can fnd an ghty-fv?”
“I can ordr on.”
“On sht.That's to dollars and a half.Who can orro that fro?”
“That's asy. I can alays orro to dollars and a half.”
“I thnk prhaps I can too.But I try not to orro.Frst you orro.Thn you g.”
“Kp ar old an,”th oy sad.“ Rr ar n Sptr.”
“Th onth hn th grat fsh co,”th old an sad.“ Anyon can a fshran n May.”
“I go no for th sardns,”th oy sad.
Whn th oy ca ack th old an as aslp n th char and th sun as don.Th oy took th old ary lankt off th d and sprad t ovr th ack of th char and ovr th old an's shouldrs.Thy r strang shouldrs,stll porful although vry old,and th nck as stll strong too and th crass dd not sho so uch hn th old an as aslp and hs had falln forard.Hs shrt had n patchd so any ts that t as lk th sal and th patchs r fadd to any dffrnt shads y th sun.Th old an's had as vry old though and th hs ys closd thr as no lf n hs fac.Th nspapr lay across hs kns and th ght of hs ar hld t thr n th vnng rz. H as arfootd.
Th oy lft h thr and hn h ca ack th old an as stll aslp.