Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 Firepaw reached the edge of the ravine and looked down at the camp. He was panting and his paws were slippery with dew. He sniffed the air. He was alone. There was still time to speak to Yellowfang before the others returned from the Gathering. Silently, he jumped down the rocky slope and slipped through the gorse tunnel unnoticed. The camp was still and quiet, apart from the muted snuffles of sleeping cats. Firepaw quickly crept around the edge of the clearing to Yellowfang's nest. The old medicine cat was curled on top of her mossy bedding. "Yellowfang," he hissed urgently. "Yellowfang! Wake up; it's important!" Two orange eyes opened and glinted in the moonlight. "I wasn't sleeping," meowed Yellowfang quietly. She sounded calm and alert. "You came straight from the Gathering to me? That must mean you've heard." She blinked slowly and looked away. "So Brokenstar kept his promise." "What promise?" Firepaw felt very confused.

第十三章火爪走到峡谷边，俯视着营地。 他气喘吁吁，爪子被露水弄得滑溜溜的。 他嗅了嗅空气。他独自一人。 在其他人从聚会回来之前，还有时间和黄牙说话。 他悄无声息地从岩石斜坡上跳下来，悄悄溜进了金雀花隧道。 除了睡着的猫发出的轻微的鼻塞声外，营地里静悄悄的。 火爪迅速爬过空地的边缘，来到黄牙的巢穴。 那只老猫蜷缩在长满青苔的被褥上。 “黄牙。”他急切地嘶嘶地说。 “Yellowfang !醒来;是很重要的!”两只橙色的眼睛睁开了，在月光下闪闪发光。 “我没睡。”黄牙轻声叫道。 她听起来平静而警觉。 “你直接从聚会回来找我？” 那你一定听说了。” 她慢慢地眨了眨眼睛，把目光移开。 “所以布罗肯斯塔遵守了他的诺言。” “什么承诺?”火爪感到很困惑。

Yellowfang seemed to know more than he did about what was going on. "ShadowClan's noble leader promised to drive me from every Clan territory," Yellowfang replied dryly. "What did he say about me?" "He warned us that our kits were in danger as long as we sheltered the ShadowClan rogue. He didn't say your name, but ThunderClan guessed who he was talking about. You must leave before the others get back. You are in danger!" "You mean they believed Brokenstar?" Yellowfang flattened her ears and swished her tail angrily. "Yes!" Firepaw meowed urgently. "Darkstripe says you're dangerous. The other cats are scared of what you might do. Tigerclaw is planning to come back and…I don't know…. I think you should go before they get here!" In the distance Firepaw could hear the yowls of angry cats. Yellowfang struggled stiffly to her paws. Firepaw gave her a nudge to help her up, his mind still spinning with questions. "What did Brokenstar mean when he warned us to keep a close eye on our kits?" he couldn't stop himself

对于发生的事情，黄牙似乎比他知道得更多。 “暗影氏族的高贵领袖承诺要把我赶出氏族的领地。”黄牙冷冷地回答。 “他说我什么了？”“他警告我们，只要我们庇护影族的盗贼，我们的装备就有危险。 他没有说你的名字，但ThunderClan猜到了他说的是谁。 你必须在其他人回来之前离开。 你有危险！”“你是说他们相信布罗肯斯塔？”黄牙竖起耳朵，生气地甩着尾巴。 “是的!”火爪急切地喵喵叫着。 “黑条纹说你很危险。 其他的猫害怕你可能做的事。 虎爪打算回来，我不知道.... 我想你应该在他们来之前离开！”火爪可以听到远处愤怒的猫在嚎叫。 黄牙僵硬地挣扎着抓她的爪子。 火爪推了她一把，扶她站起来，但他的脑子里仍然充满了疑问。 “布罗肯斯塔警告我们要密切注意我们的装备是什么意思？”他无法阻止自己

from asking. "Would you really do something like that?" "Would I what?" "Would you harm our kits?" Yellowfang flared her nostrils and looked steadily at him. "Do you think so?" Firepaw met her gaze without flinching. "No. I don't believe you would ever harm a kit. But why would Brokenstar say such a thing?" The noise of the cats was coming nearer, and with it, the scents of aggression and anger. Yellowfang looked wildly from side to side. "Go!" Firepaw urged. Her safety was more important than his curiosity. But Yellowfang remained where she was and stared at him. A calm look suddenly came into her wide eyes. "Firepaw, you believe I'm innocent, and I'm grateful for that. If you believe me, then others might. And I know Bluestar will give me a fair hearing. I can't run forever. I'm too old. I shall stay here and face whatever your Clan decides for me." She sighed and sank down onto her bony haunches. "But what about Tigerclaw? What if he—"

从问。“你真的会这么做吗？”“我会怎样？”“你会伤害我们的工具包吗？”黄牙张开鼻孔，坚定地看着他。 “你这么认为吗？”火爪毫不畏缩地迎着她的目光。 “没有。我不相信你会伤害一个工具包。 但是为什么布罗肯斯塔会说这样的话呢？”猫的叫声越来越近了，随之而来的是攻击性和愤怒的气味。 黄牙疯狂地左右张望。 “走吧!”Firepaw敦促。她的安全比他的好奇心更重要。 但黄牙仍然站在原地，盯着他。 她的大眼睛里突然闪现出平静的神情。 “火爪，你相信我是无辜的，对此我很感激。 如果你相信我，其他人也会相信。 我知道蓝星会给我一个公平的机会。 我不能永远跑下去。我太老了。 我将留在这里，面对你们氏族为我所做的任何决定。” 她叹了口气，瘦了下来。 “那虎爪呢？” 如果他——”

"He is headstrong, and he knows the power he has over the other Clan cats—they are in awe of him. But even he will obey Bluestar." Rustling in the undergrowth beyond the camp boundary told Firepaw that the cats were almost at the entrance. "Go away, Firepaw," hissed Yellowfang, baring her blackened teeth at him. "Don't make trouble for yourself by being seen with me now. There is nothing you can do for me. Have faith in your leader, and let her decide what happens to me." Firepaw realized Yellowfang had made up her mind. He touched his nose to her patchy fur, then crept silently away into the shadows to watch. Through the gorse came the cats—Bluestar first, accompanied by Lionheart. Frostfur and Willowpelt were right behind them. Frostfur raced away from the troop immediately and ran toward the nursery, the fur on her tail bristling in alarm. Tigerclaw and Darkstripe strode into the clearing, shoulder to shoulder, looking grim. The others followed behind, with Ravenpaw and Graypaw at the rear. As soon as he saw his friends, Firepaw trotted out to join them.

“他很任性，他知道自己比其他氏族的猫有多大的力量——他们都很敬畏他。 但他也会服从蓝星。” 营地边界外灌木丛里的沙沙声告诉火爪，猫已经快到入口处了。 “走开，火爪。”黄牙朝他露出黑牙，嘶嘶地说。 “现在别让人看见你跟我在一起，给自己找麻烦。 你帮不了我什么忙。 相信你们的领袖，让她来决定我的命运吧。” 火爪意识到黄牙已经下定决心了。 他用鼻子碰了碰她斑驳的皮毛，然后悄悄地溜进阴影里去观察。 猫们穿过了金雀花——蓝星走在前面，狮心跟着。 Frostfur和Willowpelt就在他们后面。 Frostfur立刻离开了狼群，跑向育儿室，尾巴上的毛惊慌地竖起来。 虎爪和黑条肩并肩大步走进空地，神情严峻。 其他人跟在后面，鸦爪和灰爪在后面。 火爪一看到他的朋友们，就快步跑出去加入他们。

"You went to warn Yellowfang, didn't you?" whispered Graypaw when Firepaw reached his side. "Yes, I did," Firepaw admitted. "But she won't leave. She trusts Bluestar to treat her fairly. Did anyone miss me?" "Only us," replied Ravenpaw. Around the camp, the cats who had stayed behind began to wake up. They must have scented the aggression and heard the tension in the voices of the returning cats, for they all came running into the clearing, their tails held high. "What has happened?" called a tabby warrior named Runningwind. "Brokenstar has demanded hunting rights for ShadowClan in our territory!" replied Longtail loudly enough for all the cats to hear. "And he warned us about a rogue cat who will harm our kits!" added Willowpelt. "It must be Yellowfang!" Meows of anger and distress rose from the crowd. "Silence!" ordered Bluestar, leaping onto the Highrock. Instinctively, the cats settled in front of

“你是去警告黄牙的，是吗？”火爪走到灰爪身边时，灰爪小声说。 “是的。”火爪承认。 “可是她不肯走。她相信蓝星会公平对待她。 有人想我吗？”“只有我们。”拉文爪回答。 在营地周围，留下来的猫开始醒来。 它们一定是嗅到了攻击的气息，从归来的猫的声音中听到了紧张的气氛，因为它们全都高高举起尾巴跑进空地。 “发生了什么事？”一只名叫奔风的虎斑猫战士问道。 “布罗肯之星要求影族在我们的领土上狩猎！”长尾回答，声音大得所有的猫都能听到。 “他还警告过我们，有只淘气的猫会伤害我们的孩子！” “一定是黄牙！”人群中响起了愤怒和痛苦的叫声。 “安静！”蓝星命令道，跳上了海岩号。 猫本能地站在前面

her. A loud screech made every cat turn its head toward the fallen tree where the elders slept. Tigerclaw and Darkstripe were dragging Yellowfang roughly from her nest. She shrieked furiously as they hauled her into the clearing and dumped her in front of the Highrock. Firepaw felt every muscle in his body tense. Without thinking, he dropped into a low crouch, ready to spring at Yellowfang's persecutors. "Wait, Firepaw," growled Graypaw in his ear. "Let Bluestar deal with this." "What is going on?" demanded Bluestar, jumping down from the Highrock and glaring at her warriors. "I gave no order to attack our prisoner." Tigerclaw and Darkstripe instantly let go of Yellowfang, who crouched in the dust, hissing and spitting. Frostfur appeared from the nursery and pushed her way through to the front of the Clan. "We got back in time," she meowed with a gasp. "The kits are safe!" "Of course they are!" snapped Bluestar.

她的。一声巨大的尖叫使所有的猫都把头转向了长老们睡觉的那棵倒下的树。 虎爪和暗条粗暴地把黄牙从窝里拖了出来。 她愤怒地尖叫着，他们把她拖到空地上，扔在海罗克酒店前面。 火爪感到全身的肌肉都绷紧了。 他不假思索地蹲了下来，准备扑向黄方的迫害者。 “等等，火爪。”灰爪在他耳边咆哮。 “让蓝星来处理这件事。” “怎么回事？”蓝星问，从海岩上跳下来，怒视着她的战士们。 “我没有下令攻击我们的囚犯。” 虎爪和暗条立刻放开了黄牙，黄牙蹲在尘土里，嘶嘶地吐着唾沫。 Frostfur从育儿室出来，挤到氏族的前面。 “我们及时回来了。”她喘着气叫道。 “套件是安全的！”“当然了！”蓝星厉声说。