He did not remember when he had first started to talk aloud when he was by himself. He had sung when he was by himself in the old days and he had sung at night sometimes when he was alone steering on his watch in the smacks or in the turtle boats. He had probably started to talk aloud, when alone, when the boy had left. But he did not remember. When he and the boy fished together they usually spoke only when it was necessary. They talked at night or when they were storm-bound by bad weather. It was considered a virtue not to talk unnecessarily at sea and the old man had always considered it so and respected it. But now he said his thoughts aloud many times since there was no one that they could annoy.

 

他记不起他是什么时候第一次开始在独自待着的当儿自言自语的了。往年他独自待着时曾唱歌来着，有时候在夜里唱，那是在小渔船或捕海龟的小艇上值班掌舵时的事。他大概是在那孩子离开了他、他独自待着时开始自言自语的。不过他记不清了。他跟孩子一块儿捕鱼时，他们一般只在有必要时才说话。他们在夜间说话来着，要不，碰到坏天气，被暴风雨困在海上的时候。没有必要不在海上说话，被认为是种好规矩，老人一向认为的确如此，始终遵守它。可是这会儿他把心里想说的话说出声来有好几次了，因为没有旁人会受到他说话的打扰。

 

"If the others heard me talking out loud they would think that I am crazy," he said aloud. "But since I am not crazy, I do not care. And the rich have radios to talk to them in their boats and to bring them the baseball."

 

“要是别人听到我在自言自语，会当我发疯了，”他说出声来。“不过既然我没有发疯，我就不管，还是要说。有钱人在船上有收音机对他们谈话，还把棒球赛的消息告诉他们。”

Now is no time to think baseball, he thought. Now is the time to think of only one thing. That which I was born for. There might be a big one around that school, he thought. I picked up only a straggler from the albacore that were feeding. But they are working far out and fast. Everything that shows on the surface today travels very fast and to the north-east. Can that be the time of day? Or is it some sign of weather that I do not know?

现在可不是思量棒球赛的时刻，他想。现在只应该思量一桩事。就是我生来要干的那桩事。那个鱼群周围很可能有一条大的，他想。我只逮住了正在吃小鱼的金枪鱼群中一条失散的。可是它们正游向远方，游得很快。今天凡是在海面上露面的都游得很快，向着东北方向。难道一天的这个时辰该如此吗？要不，这是什么我不懂得的天气征兆？