On the third day, the fish began to circle the boat and showed signs of being tired. Santiago used all the strength he has left in him to pull the fish close to the boat. With a harpoon, he killed the marlin. In this way, the struggle between the old man and the fish ended. Santiago tied the marlin to the side of his boat and headed home. He was thinking about the high price the fish will bring him at the market. While Santiago was sailing back to the shore, sharks were attracted to the blood left by the marlin in the water. The sharks began attacking and eating the dead fish. Santiago tried to protect his catch, but the sharks kept coming. When the old man finally reached the shore, he had only a skeleton of the big fish: its head, backbone, and tail. The sharks had eaten the rest. An exhausted Santiago made his way to his shack and sank onto his bed. The next day a group of fisherman gathered around his boat to admire the fish's huge skeleton. It measured 5.5 meter from nose to tail. Manolin ran to the shack in tears when hr learned the old man was safe. When Santiago woke up, the two promised to fish together once again.