第4部分(第2/7 頁)

say；？　Chips　declared；　？that　all　it　takes　to　cure　life？s　woes　is　a　bottle　of　good　scotch　and

the　open　sea。？　He　chuckled　and　slapped　the　tabletop　with　one　hand　as　if　to　punctuate　his　speech。

Nate　nodded　lamely　as　he　leaned　back　in　his　chair；　trying　to　get　fortable。　He　glanced　around

the　room。　He　was　the　youngest　person　there　by　at　least　forty　years？clusters　of　wizened　old　men

were　gathered　at　every　single　oak　table；　each　man　gruffer　and　stonier　than　the　next。　One　of　them

had　an　actual　eye　patch。　The　old　cyclops　squinted　in　Nate？s　direction　with　his　one　good　eye。

Before　Nate　could　start　to　muse　on　what　terrible　sailing　accident　had　caused　him　to　lose　his

eyeball；　the　white…jacketed　waiter　returned　and　placed　a　glass　of　scotch　in　front　of　him。

？Thank　you；？　he　mumbled。

？Cheers；　my　boy。？　Chips　lifted　his　tumbler　and　then　took　a　huge　swig。　Nate　quickly　followed　suit；

gagging　on　the　fiery　amber　liquid。　The　scotch　was　freaking　strong？stronger　than　anything　he？d

ever　had？and　Chips　was　drinking　it　like　lemonade。Whowas　this　guy？

？You？re　nothing　like　what　I　thought；？　Nate　blurted　out；　turning　red　and　taking　another　small；

tentative　nip。　From　everything　his　dad　had　told　him　about　Chips；　Nate　had　thought　he　would　be　a

total　hard…ass　who？d　give　him　lecture　on　getting　his　shit　together　the　second　he　sat　down。　But　so

far　Chips　couldn？t　have　beenless　like　Nate？s　father。　He　seemed　almostmellow。

？Ha！？　Chips　laughed；　slapping　his　stiff…looking　extended　leg。　？You　though　you　were　going　to　be

meeting　Captain　White；　didn？t　you？　Some　cantankerous；　salt…waterlogged　old　geezer　who　would

read　you　the　riot　act？　Maybe　a　hook　for　an　arm？　That　it？？　Nate　nodded；　blushing。　He　looke