第27部分(第7/7 頁)

　he　loved。

Story　of　his　life。

Nate　leapt　onto　the　deck　and　strode　into　the　stern　of　theBelinda；　crashing　into　a　pile　of　life

preservers。　He　looked　at　his　watch　again。

？Nine　fifty…nine！？　he　called　out。　？I？m　early！？

Chips　appeared　from　the　cabin　with　a　grin。　？Glad　you　made　it。？　He　was　wearing　his　？traveling

clothes；？　a　pristine　pair　of　white　duck　cloth　sailor？s　pants　and　a　navy　blue　windbreaker。　His　white

hair　was　bed　back　from　his　deeply　lined　face；　and　his　blue　eyes　sparkled　as　he　moved　around

the　boat；　his　bad　leg　dragging　behind　him　but　an　excited　spring　in　his　step。　He　bent　at　the　waist；

untied　a　mass　of　rope　at　his　feet；　and　began　to　raise　the　anchor　with　the　hand　crank。　That？s　what

Nate　was　going　to　love　about　sailing　with　Chips。　No　puterized　anything。　Everything　was　done

the　old…fashioned　way；　with　maps　and　muscle。　？Belindaand　I　thought　we　might　have　to　leave

without　you。？　Nate　grinned；　extracting　himself　from　the　pile　of　life　preservers；　and　started　to　help

Chips　with　the　rope。　？I　just　wanted　to　make　you　sweat　a　little。？　His　phone　rang　a