"I'll try to get him to work far out," the boy said.

“我想叫他也去得远远的，”孩子说。

"Then if you hook something truly big we can come to your aid."

“那么，你要是捉到一条真正的大鱼，我们就可以来帮助你了。”

"He does not like to work too far out."

“他不愿意把船开得很远。”

"No," the boy said.

“是的，”孩子说。

"But I will see something that he cannot see such as a bird working and get him to come out after dolphin."

“可是我会看见他看不见的东西，像觅食的鸟儿，我看到了就会叫他去追海豚。”

“他的眼睛那样不中用吗?”

"He is almost blind."

“他的眼睛差不多瞎啦。”

"It is strange," the old man said. "He never went turtle-ing. That is what kills the eyes."

“这倒也奇怪，”老人说。“他是从来不去捉海龟的。捉海龟才伤眼睛呢。”

"But you went turtle-ing for years off the Mosquito Coast and your eyes are good."

“你在摩斯基多海湾捉了好些年的海龟，你的眼睛还是好好的。”

"I am a strange old man."

“我是一个古怪的老头儿啊。”

"But are you strong enough now for a truly big fish?"

“可是，你现在的力气足够捉住一条真正的大鱼吗?”

"I think so. And there are many tricks."

“我想是可以的。何况还有许多诀窍呢。”

"Let us take the stuff home," the boy said. "So I can get the cast net and go after the sardines."

“我们把东西拿回家吧，”孩子说。“这样我才能够拿网去捉些沙丁鱼来。”

They picked up the gear from the boat.

他们把东西从船上捡起。

The old man carried the mast on his shoulder and the boy carried the wooden box with the coiled,

老人扛着桅杆，孩子抱着木头盒子，

hard-braided brown lines, the gaff and the harpoon with its shaft.

盒子里盛着盘在一起、编得很硬的褐色钓丝，还有鱼钩和带把子的鱼叉。

The box with the baits was under the stern of the skiff along with the club that was used to subdue the big fish when they were brought alongside.

盛鱼食的盒子连同一根棍子放在船梢下面，那根棍子是等把大鱼拖进船旁边的时候用来把它们打晕的。

No one would steal from the old man but it was better to take the sail and the heavy lines home as the dew was bad for them and,

没有人会偷老人的东西，不过还是把船帆和沉重的钩丝带回家去妥当些，因为那些东西沾了露水就不好了，

though he was quite sure no local people would steal from him,

同时，老人虽然深信当地不会有人偷他的东西，

the old man thought that a gaff and a harpoon were needless temptations to leave in a boat.

但他觉得把鱼叉和鱼钩丢在船上实在是不必要的诱惑。

They walked up the road together to the old man's shack and went in through its open door.

他俩打路上一道走到老头儿的茅棚前面，从敞开的门口走进去。

The old man leaned the mast with its wrapped sail against the wall and the boy put the box and the other gear beside it.

老头儿把桅杆连同卷起的帆靠在墙上，孩子把盒子和别的船具放在桅杆旁边。

The mast was nearly as long as the one room of the shack.

桅杆差不多有茅棚的一间屋子那么长。

The shack was made of the tough budshields of the royal palm which are called guano and in it there was a bed, a table, one chair, and a place on the dirt floor to cook with charcoal.

茅棚是用大椰子树坚硬的苞壳，叫做“海鸟粪”的东西做成的。屋子里有一张床，一张饭桌，一把椅子，泥地上还有一块用木炭烧饭的地方。

On the brown walls of the flattened, overlapping leaves of the sturdy fibered guano there was a picture in color of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and another of the Virgin of Cobre.

在用带有硬纤维质的“海鸟粪”的叶子按平了交叠着砌成的褐色的墙上，有一幅彩色的耶稣圣心图，还有一幅柯布雷圣母图。

These were relics of his wife.

这都是他妻子的遗物。