Brothers of the Sea by D R Sherman

Author:D R Sherman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 75257
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 1967-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

A LIGHT rain fell steadily throughout the night, and then a little while before dawn the skies cleared suddenly. Though the boy had not witnessed it, he knew it must have been so. He limped down the side of the mountain, and he felt the dampness of the earth under his bare feet and in between his toes. He glanced away to the southeast, searching the blue horizon for a sign of the dark clouds which usually swept in with the monsoon wind. But the sky was clear, and he thought that the sun might shine for him all day.

The rain had cleared the air, and he breathed in deeply. He liked the smell of it, especially after it had rained, because each time he breathed in he could taste the wet richness of the earth and the sweet green strength of the trees.

In his right hand he carried the speargun and his mask, in his left hand the heavy killing harpoon. He had not wanted to bring it, but his father had told him to take it just in case the need for it arose. He knew it could serve no useful purpose, not the way he was fishing: there was another reason for it, and though the man had said nothing, he could guess what had been in his mind.

In the right-hand pocket of his shorts there was a brown paper bag with four large pieces of candy inside it, and as he walked he was conscious of the bulge against his thigh. But he drew no comfort from it, and this morning as he made his way down the side of the mountain there was a heaviness in his heart which neither the bright freshness of the new day nor the sight of the calm blue sea which stretched away below him to the far horizon could dispel.

He had spoken to his father yesterday. He had told him about the big fish, and how it had come in answer to his call, and then he told him of how he had ridden on its back and turned it in the water. He told him about the girl with the beautiful long hair that was a little darker than the color of the sand. He left her behind, and he rode his big fish out to sea where the pirogue was anchored in the channel. She called out to him before he had gone very far though, and she asked him to take her fishing the next day. He knew it was the marsouin, really, that made her want to come with him. But it was his fish, and if she liked the fish she might get to like him also. He was shy about telling it, but it was important to him, and he wanted his father to understand and share the happiness that was in his heart.

The man had laughed about the girl, but the boy saw that he was also pleased. The fish had been a different matter.

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