第4部分(第3/7 頁)

d　over

at　the　eye…patch　man；　hoping　he　hadn？t　heard　Chips？s　little　outburst。　He？d　probably　be　kind　of

offended。　Who　knew　what　these　old　sailor　guys　were　like　when　they　got　angry？　？Well；　uh　。　。　。　yeah。

I　mean；　my　dad？s　pretty　pissed　at　me　right　now　and　everything。　I　thought　he？d　send　me　to

someone　who　knew　how　to　。　。　。　hunt。？　Chips　chuckled　and　drained　his　glass　in　one　even　swallow。

He　signaled　the　waiter　for　a　refill。　The　waiter　appeared　at　his　side　almost　instantaneously；　picking

up　the　empty　glass　and　whisking　it　quietly　away。　Nate　couldn？t　help　but　notice　that　for　a　place

called　the　Grill　Room；　they　didn？t　seem　to　be　serving　much　of　anything　grilled？or　really　anything

to　eat；　period。　Just　booze。

Who？s　plaining？

Chips　turned　back　to　him　and　began　again。　？Well；　Nate；　let　me　tell　you？thatwas　me？a　long；long

time　ago。　Back　when　I　was　your　dad？s　captain；　I　was　the　strictest；　most　serious　sonofabitch

you？ve　ever　laid　eyes　on。　But　it？s　been　a　lot　of　years　since　then；　and　I？ve　learned　quite　a　few

things。？　Chips　leaned　back　in　his　chair；　his　blue　eyes　twinkling。　？There？s　a　certain　kind　of　clarity

that　es　with　old　age。You　really　learn　to　put　everything　into　perspective。　Youhave　to。？　The

waiter　appeared　and　set　a　fresh　drink　down　in　front　of　him；　ice　cubes　rattling。　Chips　drummed　his

fingers　on　the　snow　white　tablecloth。　His　eyes　scanned　the　room；　and　he　lifted　a　hand　and　gave　a

small　wave　to　an　old　man　in　full　white　military　dress　who　looked　about　a　hundred　and　fifty　years

old。　？What　are　your　priorities；　Nate？　What　doyou　want　from　life？？　Nate　was　silent　for　a　moment

and　Chips　continued。　？For　me；　it？s　the　open　sea？the　sun　on　my　face；　the　sound　of　w