Giving up his surface tactics, he went down again to stay. Dee tried to pull him out. The stout pole cracked and then broke. But the line was tied below the break; so King Solomon was still fast. I didn't believe he could be landed from where we were. But Dee had an idea.
水面上的招術不靈,他又一次潛了下去。迪試圖把他拉出水面,結實的魚竿咔嚓一聲,折斷了。但是線系在斷頭下面的部分,所羅門王仍然被牢牢地拉著。我覺得從我們所在的巖脊上,不可能把他拖上岸。但迪想出了個主意。
You just hold this pole for a while, he said.
“你先拿一下魚竿,”他說。
Slipping off his overalls, he dived in. He was gone a long time, so long that I caught myself holding my breath; then he popped up. He was paddling with his right hand and holding onto the line with his left. I knew by the way his left arm was darting about that he still had King Solomon.
他脫下工裝褲,鉆到水下。他下去了好長時間,我擔心得屏住了呼吸;接著,他突然露出了水面,右手劃著水,左手抓著魚線。從他左臂快速擺動的動作我知道他仍拉著所羅門王。
Just drop the pole in, he spluttered. "I'm going to swim across with him."
“把魚竿丟下來他急促地說,“我要拉著他一起游到對岸去。”
Dubiously, I obeyed. The boy swam on his side with a strong scissors kick. Occasionally I could see a flash of white beside him. That was King Solomon showing his belly—all tired out.
我半信半疑地照做了。男孩側身游著,雙腳用力地蹬著水。我不時地看見他身旁閃著個白色的東西,那是所羅門王露出的魚腹——他已經精疲力竭了。
I watched Dee scramble up the shallow bank, with his fingers through King Solomon's gill-flap, and go to the spring, where he deposited his catch and threw himself down for a well-earned rest. I picked up my rod and Dee's clothes and crossed over to him.
我看見迪用手指勾著所羅門王的魚鰓,爬上不高的堤岸,走到泉邊,放下獵物,就躺下去休息。我撿起魚竿和迪的衣服,朝他走了過去。
He was lying on his side with his head propped up on one hand, while he stared in the spring pool. There was King Solomon, also lying on his side and breathing hard. He was beaten so far as the score was concerned, but not by any means in spirit. He glared at us out of one amber-rimmed defiant eye.
他側身躺著,一只手撐著頭,雙眼盯著泉水池。所羅門王就在那兒,他也側身躺著,艱難地呼吸著。就結果來說,他被打敗了,但精神上絕對沒有。他用一只長著琥珀色眼圈的眼睛挑釁地瞪著我們。
Well, I remarked inanely, "you caught him."
“好了,”我干巴巴地說,“你終于抓住他了。”
I reckon I did, Dee said, "but I wouldn't have if you hadn't made him hungry with that pretty thing of yours."
“我想是的,”迪說,“但如果不是你用你那可愛的玩意兒勾起他的食欲,我也不可能成功。”