Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 A miserable drizzle hung in the air as the camp assembled on the parade ground at dawn. Toto had filled her brothers and Catface in on the previous night's proceedings and suddenly the whole camp looked like a different place. Toto figured that only the truly unruly and aggressive animals were being recruited to the army. The rest would be here for a week then shipped back to their owners. It must be why Drummond had recruited

第七章黎明时分，营员们在阅兵场集合，空中飘着凄凉的毛毛雨。 托托把昨天晚上的情况告诉了她的哥哥们和猫脸，突然间，整个营地看起来就像一个不同的地方。 托托认为，只有真正不守规矩和好斗的动物才会被招募入伍。 其余的将在这里停留一个星期，然后运回给它们的主人。 这肯定是德拉蒙德招募的原因

the Meowsiders to try and get rid of Catface and her brothers. Luckily, no one knew her real identity. For now, she was safe. 'Remember, every other camp mate could be an enemy, so WE MUST TRUST NO ONE,' she whispered to her brothers as they stood in the cold rain listening to Gordon announce the next task. 'For your final task this week, we have an oldie but a goodie. In your teams again, you must flee into the local countryside. In thirty minutes my colleagues here will track you down. He gestured to the pack

喵星人试图赶走猫脸和她的兄弟们。 幸运的是，没人知道她的真实身份。 现在，她是安全的。“记住，营地里的每一个同伴都可能是敌人，所以我们不能相信任何人。”她对她的兄弟们低声说，他们站在冰冷的雨中，听戈登宣布下一个任务。 你们这周的最后一项任务，我们有一个老掉牙的好东西。 再次组队，你们必须逃到当地的乡村。 三十分钟后我的同事会找到你。 他向狼群做了个手势

of Border terriers, who looked on menacingly. 'Avoid them for three hours out there and you pass. Pass this test: you get to go home. Fail: you stay another week! On your marks: three... two... one... GO.' THE CAMP SCATTERED AND RAN FOR THE HILLS, ALL WITH GENUINE FEAR ON THEIR FACES. 'They look nervous, sis,' Silver said, looking around. 'With good reason,' added a weary Catface. 'Those terriers have a frightful reputation. I was talking to a mountain hare over breakfast; poor chap had his ear torn by one yesterday. Toto, my dear girl, we have to find somewhere to hide for three hours. I'm not sure I've got another long hike in me.' 'OK, let's get clear of the camp. I've got a place in mind.' She knew that Catface didn't have much left to give. The poor cat-rat was shattered (even his normally resplendent outfit looked a bit dog-eared) but she had to get as far away from the camp as possible before the

一群边境猎犬，它们威胁地看着我。 在外面避开他们三个小时，你就会通过。 通过这个测试，你就可以回家了。 不及格：你再待一个星期！各就各位：三…… 两个……一个……去。”营里的人四散奔逃，向山上跑去，脸上都流露出真正的恐惧。 “他们看起来很紧张，姐姐，”西尔弗说着环顾四周。 “有充分的理由，”猫脸疲倦地补充说。 “那些小猎犬名声很坏。 我在早餐时和一只山兔聊天；可怜的家伙昨天耳朵被人咬破了。 托托，我亲爱的姑娘，我们得找个地方躲上三个小时。 我不确定我还能不能再长途跋涉了。“好吧，让我们离开营地。” 我已经想到一个地方了。”她知道猫脸已经没有多少东西可以给了。 这只可怜的猫鼠被打得粉碎（就连它平时金碧辉煌的衣服看起来都有点破旧了），但它必须在太阳到来之前尽可能地离开营地

terriers were let loose. She drove the gang hard and, cutting through the bracken, the sound of the camp became muted and distant. After a time, she heard a dull whistle sound and the dogs barking as they gave chase. Pretty soon after that they started to hear the yelps of the unfortunate creatures who were being rounded up. If they didn't get to their hiding place soon, they'd be caught and goodness knows what else. Toto knew, too, that this task would be the perfect way for the Meowsiders to get rid of Socks, Silver and Catface. She needed to keep them all safe; perhaps the whole camp would be aware of their association with Larry by now, and if the Meowsiders tried to get them a third time, they might not be able to escape again. She finally found what she was looking for: AN OLD, ABANDONED BADGER SETT. She had smelt it on their first hike up to the summit of Ben Canis as her sense of smell was so acute and, well, badgers were so smelly.

小猎犬被放了出来。她使劲地赶着那群人，穿过蕨菜丛，营地的声音变得微弱而遥远。 过了一会儿，她听到了沉闷的口哨声和狗在追赶时的吠叫。 不久之后，他们开始听到那些被围捕的不幸动物的叫声。 如果他们不尽快找到藏身之处，他们就会被抓住，天知道还有什么。 托托也知道，这个任务是猫鼬队摆脱袜子、小银和猫脸的最好办法。 她需要保证他们所有人的安全；也许现在整个营地都知道他们和拉里的关系了，如果喵星人第三次想抓他们，他们可能再也逃不掉了。 她终于找到了她一直在寻找的东西：一套被遗弃的老獾套装。 她第一次登上本·卡尼斯山顶时就闻到了，因为她的嗅觉非常灵敏，而獾的味道太难闻了。

'You're not going to like this, but we all need to roll around in the earth, then get down the hole!' 'My dear girl, have you gone quite mad?' said Catface in horror. 'Yeah, sis, I'm not one to question you but it is a little pongy, said Silver with his nose upturned. 'Exactly! If they can't SMELL US, they can't FIND US.'

“你不会喜欢这样的，但我们都需要在地上打滚，然后钻进洞里！”“我亲爱的姑娘，你疯了吗？”猫脸惊恐地说。 “是啊，姐姐，我不是来问你问题的，不过它确实有点矮，”西尔弗翘着鼻子说。 “完全正确!如果他们闻不到我们，就找不到我们。”

The gang shrugged their shoulders in acceptance. Toto went first and the others grudgingly followed. Soon all four were covered in smelly dirt and safe, deep in the badger sett. While Catface got some rest, Toto stood guard. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours that her head was spinning and, even though she'd never say it out loud, she was unsure what to do next. She'd come up here for what seemed like a relatively straightforward fact-finding mission and now she found herself in the middle of an animal army attempting a coup. And what of Felis; where did he come into all of this? She couldn't worry about that for now, all she could do was look after her brothers and Catface, then somehow try and delay the Generals until Sandy could get word to Larry for back-up. Her thoughts were disturbed by rustling above and the familiar sound of a dog sniffing. Catface was fast

那伙人耸耸肩表示接受。 托托走在前面，其他的不情愿地跟在后面。 很快，四个人都被臭气熏天的泥土覆盖着，安全地躲进了獾窝的深处。 猫脸休息时，托托站岗。 在过去的二十四小时里发生了那么多的事情，使她头晕目眩，尽管她从来没有大声说出来，但她不确定下一步该怎么办。 她来到这里似乎是为了一个相对简单的事实调查任务，现在她发现自己置身于一群试图发动政变的动物军队之中。 费利斯呢？他是怎么卷入这一切的？ 她现在不能担心这个，她所能做的就是照顾她的兄弟和猫脸，然后设法拖延将军们的时间，直到桑迪通知拉里增援。 她的思绪被上面的沙沙声和熟悉的狗的嗅嗅声扰乱了。 猫脸很快