“No.Truly.It as aftrards.”
“Pdrco s lookng aftr th skff and th gar.What do you ant don th th had?”
“Lt Pdrco chop t up to us n fsh traps.”
“And th spar?”
“You kp t f you ant t.”
“I ant t,”th oy sad.“ No ust ak our plans aout th othr thngs.”
“Dd thy sarch for ?”
“Of cours.Wth coast guard and th plans.”
“Th ocan s vry g and a skff s sall and hard to s,”th old an sad.H notcd ho plasant t as to hav soon to talk to nstad of spakng only to hslf and to th sa.“I ssd you,”h sad.“What dd you catch?”
“On on th frst day. On th scond and to th thrd.”
“Vry good.”
“No fsh togthr agan.”
“No.I a not lucky.I a not lucky anyor.”
“Th hll th luck,”th oy sad.“I'll rng th luck th .”
“What ll your faly say?”
“I do not car.I caught to ystrday.But ll fsh togthr no for I stll hav uch to larn.”
“W ust gt a good kllng lanc and alays hav t on oard.You can ak th lad fro a sprng laf fro an old Ford.W can grnd t n Guanaacoa.It should sharp and not tprd so t ll rak.My knf rok.”
“I'll gt anothr knf and hav th sprng ground.Ho any days of havy rsa hav ?”
“May thr.May or.”
“I ll hav vrythng n ordr,”th oy sad.“ You gt your hands ll old an.”
“I kno ho to car for th. In th nght I spat sothng strang and flt sothng n y chst as rokn.”
“Gt that ll too,”th oy sad.“L don,old an, and I ll rng you your clan shrt.And sothng to at.”“Brng any of th paprs of th t that I as gon,”th old an sad.
“You ust gt ll fast for thr s uch that I can larn and you can tach vrythng.Ho uch dd you suffr?”
“Plnty,”th old an sad.
“I'll rng th food and th paprs,”th oy sad.“Rst ll,old an.I ll rng stuff fro th drugstor for your hands.”
“Don't forgt to tll Pdrco th had s hs.”
“No.I ll rr.”
As th oy nt out th door and don th orn coral rock road h as cryng agan.
That aftrnoon thr as a party of toursts at th Trrac and lookng don n th atr aong th pty r cans and dad arracudas a oan sa a grat long ht spn th a hug tal at th nd that lftd and sung th th td hl th ast nd l a havy stady sa outsd th ntranc to th haror.
“What's that?”sh askd a atr and pontd to th long ackon of th grat fsh that as no just garag atng to go out th th td.
“Turon,”th atr sad,“Eshark.”H as anng to xplan hat had happnd.
“I ddn't kno sharks had such handso,autfully ford tals.”
“I ddn't thr,”hr al copanon sad.
Up th road, n hs shack, th old an as slpng agan.H as stll slpng on hs fac and th oy as sttng y h atchng h.Th old an as drang aout th lons.