Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 They headed back the way they had come. The moon had disappeared behind a bank of clouds. It was dark, but at least the Thunderpath was quieter now. The only monster they heard was far off in the distance. The cats crossed the path together and pushed their way through the hedge on the other side. Firepaw could feel his muscles growing stiff with tiredness as they hurried on. Bluestar kept up a swift pace with her nose thrust forward and her tail high. Tigerclaw loped beside her. Firepaw followed a few paces behind with Graypaw, but Ravenpaw was flagging. "Keep up, Ravenpaw!" Tigerclaw growled over his shoulder. Ravenpaw flinched and bounded forward until he caught up with Firepaw and Graypaw. "Are you okay?" Firepaw asked. "Yes," Ravenpaw panted, not meeting Firepaw's eyes. "Just a bit tired." They scrambled down a deep ditch and up the other side. "What did Tigerclaw say when he came out of

第十六章他们原路返回。 月亮消失在一层云后。 天很黑，但至少雷道现在安静多了。 他们听到的唯一的怪物是在很远的地方。 猫们一起穿过小路，穿过另一边的树篱。 他们匆匆赶路，火爪感到自己的肌肉越来越僵硬。 蓝星向前伸着鼻子，尾巴高高翘着，飞快地走着。 虎爪跑到她身边。 火爪带着灰爪跟在后面几步远的地方，但拉文爪正在萎靡不振。 “跟上，拉文爪！”虎爪在他身后咆哮。 拉文爪畏缩了一下，向前跳了几步，终于追上了火爪和灰爪。 “你还好吗？”Firepaw问道。 “是的。”拉文爪喘着气说，没有直视火爪的眼睛。 “只是有点累。”他们爬下一条深沟，爬上另一边。 “虎爪出来的时候说了什么？

the cave?" Firepaw meowed, trying not to sound too curious. "He wanted to check that we were still guarding the entrance," replied Graypaw. "Why?" Firepaw hesitated. "Did you scent anything strange about him?" he asked. "Only that damp old cave," Graypaw mewed, looking surprised. "He seemed a little edgy," ventured Ravenpaw. "He wasn't the only one!" Graypaw meowed, looking at the black cat. "What do you mean?" asked Ravenpaw. "Just that the fur on your neck stands up whenever you see him these days," whispered Graypaw. "You nearly jumped out of your skin when he came out of the cave." "He just surprised me, that's all," Ravenpaw protested. "You have to admit, it was a bit creepy by Mothermouth." "I suppose so," agreed Graypaw. The cats slipped under a hedge into a cornfield that glowed silver in the moonlight, and followed the ditch that ran around its edge. "So what was it like inside, Firepaw?" Graypaw

洞穴?”火爪叫了一声，尽量不让自己听起来太好奇。 “他想看看我们是否还守着入口。”灰爪回答。 “为什么?”Firepaw犹豫了。“你闻到他有什么奇怪的地方吗？”他问。 “只有那个潮湿的老洞。”灰爪叫道，显得很惊讶。 “他好像有点急躁。”拉文爪大胆地说。 “他不是唯一一个！”灰爪看着黑猫喵喵叫着。 “你是什么意思？”拉文爪问。 “只是这些天你一见到他，脖子上的毛就会竖起来。”灰爪低声说。 “当他从山洞里出来的时候，你几乎吓了一跳。” “他只是吓了我一跳，仅此而已。”拉文爪抗议道。 “你必须承认，这对母亲来说有点令人毛骨悚然。” “我想是的。”灰爪同意道。 猫儿们从树篱下溜进一片在月光下闪着银光的玉米地，顺着绕着玉米地边缘的沟渠跑过去。 “那里面是什么样子，火爪？”Graypaw

demanded. "Did you see the Moonstone?" "Yes, I did. It was amazing!" Firepaw felt his fur tingle at the memory. Graypaw shot him an admiring glance. "So it's true! The rock really does shine underground." Firepaw didn't reply. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the image of the Moonstone that dazzled his mind. Then pictures from his dream crowded into his head, and his eyes shot open. Bluestar was right: they had to get back to camp as quickly as they could. Ahead, Tigerclaw and Bluestar had leaped through a fence, out of the cornfield. The apprentices followed, squeezing under the fence, onto an earth track. It was the path that led past the Twoleg nest and the dogs. Firepaw looked up and saw Bluestar and Tigerclaw trotting tirelessly together, silhouetted against a skyline tinged with red. The sun would be rising soon. "Look!" he called to Graypaw and Ravenpaw. An unfamiliar cat had jumped out in front of the two warriors. "It's a loner!" hissed Graypaw. The three apprentices hurried forward.

要求。“你看见月光石了吗？”“是的，我看到了。 太神奇了！”火爪想起这事，毛都发麻了。 灰爪赞赏地看了他一眼。 “原来是真的！”地下的岩石确实闪闪发光。” 火爪没有回答。他闭上眼睛片刻，细细品味着月光石的画面，这画面让他眼花缭乱。 接着梦中的画面涌进了他的脑海，他的眼睛突然睁开了。 蓝星是对的：他们必须尽快回到营地。 前面，虎爪和蓝星已经跳过一道篱笆，跳出了玉米地。 学徒们紧跟着，从篱笆下面挤到一条土路上。 这是一条经过特沃列格巢穴和狗群的小路。 火爪抬起头，看见蓝星和虎爪一起不知疲倦地小跑着，他们的剪影映衬着染着红色的天际线。 太阳很快就要升起来了。 “看！”他对格雷paw和拉文paw喊道。 一只陌生的猫跳出来，挡在了两个战士的面前。 “它是个孤独的人！”灰爪嘶嘶地说。 三个徒弟急忙上前。

The stranger was a stout black-and-white tom, shorter than the warriors, but well muscled. "This is Barley," Bluestar explained to the apprentices as they caught up. "He lives near this Twoleg nest." "Hi!" meowed the cat. "I haven't seen any of your Clan for some moons. How are you, Bluestar?" "I'm well, thank you," replied Bluestar. "And you, Barley? How's the prey been running since we last passed this way?" "Not so bad," replied Barley, with an amiable gleam in his eye. "One good thing about Twolegs —you'll always find plenty of rats nearby." The black-and-white tom went on: "You seem in more of a hurry than usual. Is everything all right?" Tigerclaw looked at Barley. A growl rumbled deep in his chest. Firepaw could sense that the warrior was suspicious of the loner's curiosity. "I don't like to be away from my Clan too long," Bluestar answered smoothly. "As always, Bluestar, you are tied to your Clan like a queen to her kits," observed Barley, not unkindly.

这个陌生人是一头粗壮的黑白相间的公猫，比那些勇士矮一些，但肌肉发达。 “这是大麦，”当学徒们赶上来时，蓝星向他们解释道。 “他住在特沃莱格家附近。” “嗨！”猫叫道。“我好几个月没见到你们氏族的人了。 你好吗，蓝星？”“我很好，谢谢你。”蓝星回答。 “你呢，巴利？”自从我们上次经过这条路以来，猎物跑得怎么样了？”“还不错，”巴利回答，眼里闪着和蔼可亲的光芒。 “两条腿有一个好处——你总能在附近发现很多老鼠。” 黑白相间的汤姆接着说：“你看起来比平时更着急。 一切都好吗？”虎爪看着巴利。 一声怒吼在他的胸膛深处隆隆作响。 火爪能感觉到战士对孤独者的好奇心有所怀疑。 “我不喜欢离开氏族太久。”蓝星平静地回答。 “一如既往，蓝星，你和你的部落联系在一起，就像女王和她的孩子一样。”巴利不无恶意地说。

"What is it you want, Barley?" asked Tigerclaw. Barley flashed him a reproachful look. "I just wanted to warn you that there are two dogs here now. You'd be safer going back into the cornfield instead of past the yard." "We know about the dogs. We saw them earlier—" Tigerclaw began impatiently. "We are grateful to you for the warning," interrupted Bluestar. "Thank you, Barley. Until next time…" Barley flicked his tail. "Have a safe journey," he meowed as he bounded away up the track. "Come," ordered Bluestar, heading off the track. She pushed her way through the long grass between the path and the fence that led back into the cornfield. The three apprentices followed, but Tigerclaw hesitated. "You trust the word of a loner?" he meowed. Bluestar stopped and turned to face him. "Would you rather face those dogs?" "They were tied up when we passed them earlier," Tigerclaw pointed out. "They may be untied now. We're going this

“你有什么事，巴利？”虎爪问。 巴利责备地看了他一眼。 “我只是想提醒你，这里现在有两条狗。 你回到玉米地去比从院子里经过要安全得多。” “我们知道狗的事。我们刚才看见他们了——”虎爪不耐烦地说。 “我们很感谢你的警告，”蓝星打断了他的话。 “谢谢你，巴利。下次见……”巴利摇了摇尾巴。 “一路平安，”他喵喵地叫着，沿着铁轨蹦蹦跳跳地跑开了。 “来吧。”蓝星命令道，冲出跑道。 她挤过小路和栅栏之间的长草，栅栏通向玉米地。 三个徒弟跟了上去，但虎爪犹豫了。 “你相信一个孤独的人的话？”他叫道。 蓝星停下来，转过身来面对他。 “你宁愿面对那些狗吗？”“我们刚才经过的时候，他们被绑着。”虎爪指出。 “他们现在可能已经解开了。我们要这样做

way," meowed Bluestar. She ducked under the fence into the field. Firepaw slipped after her, followed by Graypaw, Ravenpaw, and finally Tigerclaw. By now, the sun had lifted its head above the horizon. The hedgerows sparkled with dew, promising another warm day. The cats padded along the edge of the ditch. Firepaw looked down into the deep gully, steep- sided and filled with nettles. Firepaw could smell prey-scent. There was something familiar about the bitter odor, but it was one he hadn't smelled for a long time. An earsplitting squeal made Firepaw whip around. Ravenpaw was struggling and clawing at the earth. Something had hold of his leg and was dragging him down into the ditch. "Rats!" spat Tigerclaw. "Barley has sent us into a trap!" Before they could react, all five cats were surrounded. Huge brown rats swarmed out of the ditch, squeaking shrilly. Firepaw could see their sharp front teeth glinting in the early dawn light. Suddenly one leaped onto Firepaw's shoulder.

蓝星叫道。她从篱笆下面钻到地里。 火爪跟在她后面，灰爪、鸦爪跟在后面，最后是虎爪。 这时，太阳已经从地平线上抬起了头。 树篱上露珠闪烁，预示着又一个暖和的日子。 猫沿着沟边慢慢地走。 火爪往下看，那是一条很深的沟壑，山坡陡峭，长满了荨麻。 火爪能闻到猎物的气味。 这种苦涩的气味有点熟悉，但他已经很久没有闻到过了。 一声震耳欲聋的尖叫使火爪猛地转过身来。 拉文爪挣扎着用爪子抓着泥土。 有什么东西抓住了他的腿，把他拖进了沟里。 “老鼠！”虎爪啐道。“大麦把我们送进了陷阱！”在它们做出反应之前，五只猫都被包围了。 巨大的棕色老鼠从沟里蜂拥而出，尖叫着。 火爪可以看到它们锋利的门牙在晨光中闪闪发光。 突然，一只跳上了火爪的肩膀。