“Yes,”the old man said.He was holding his glass and thinking of many years ago.
“But are you strong enough now for a truly big fish?”
“We can do that,”the boy said.“But what about the eighty-seven of your great record?”
“How old was I when you first took me in a boat?”
“That's easy. I can always borrow two dollars and a half.”
“I think perhaps I can too.But I try not to borrow.First you borrow.Then you beg.”
“May I take the cast net?”
The old man looked at him with his sunburned, confident loving eyes.
The boy left him there and when he came back the old man was still asleep.
“Let me get four fresh ones.”