Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22 Firepaw and Graypaw retraced their steps to ThunderClan territory. Both cats were bone- weary and wet through, but Firepaw kept up the pace. The storm was beginning to move away. A ThunderClan patrol would be out soon and on Yellowfang's trail. They had to find her first. The sky was still dark, even though the black thunderclouds were beginning to roll away toward the horizon. Firepaw guessed that it must be nearly sunset. "Why don't we head straight into ShadowClan territory?" suggested Graypaw as they ran down the steep hillside into Fourtrees. "We need to pick up Yellowfang's scent first," Firepaw explained. "I just hope it won't lead to the ShadowClan camp." Graypaw glanced sideways at his friend, but didn't reply. They headed back over the stream, into ThunderClan territory. There was no scent of Yellowfang until they crossed into the oak woods close to the camp. Now that the rain had finally stopped, the

第二十二章火爪和灰爪原路返回雷霆氏族领地。 两只猫都累得骨瘦如柴，浑身都湿透了，但火爪还是跟上了脚步。 暴风雨开始退去。 迅雷族巡逻队很快就会出动，追踪黄牙的踪迹。 他们得先找到她。 天空仍然很黑，尽管黑色的雷云开始向地平线滚去。 火爪猜想一定快日落了。 “我们为什么不直接进入暗影家族的领地呢？”格雷paw建议道，他们顺着陡峭的山坡跑进了四棵树。 “我们得先找到黄牙的气味。”火爪解释道。 “我只希望它不会通向影族营地。” 格雷paw瞥了一眼他的朋友，但没有回答。 他们越过小溪，回到了雷霆族的领地。 直到他们穿过营地附近的橡树林，才闻到黄牙的气味。 既然雨终于停了，他们

scents around them were beginning to return. Firepaw hoped that the rain had not washed away Yellowfang's trail completely. He stopped and brushed at a fern with the tip of his nose, and recognized the familiar smell. Yellowfang's fear- scent prickled in his nostrils. "She came this way!" he meowed. He pushed his way through the wet undergrowth. Graypaw followed. The rain was easing, and the thunder was fading into the distance. Time was running out. Firepaw pushed on faster. To his dismay, he realized Yellowfang's scent was indeed leading them straight to ShadowClan territory. His heart sank. Did this mean Tigerclaw's accusations were true? Firepaw began to hope that each new smell would take them in a different direction, but the trail was unfaltering. They arrived at the Thunderpath and halted. Several monsters roared by, throwing up fountains of dirty water. The two cats hung back from the edge of the wide, gray track until there was a gap. Then they raced across the path and into ShadowClan territory.

他们周围的气味开始恢复。 火爪希望雨没有把黄牙的踪迹全部冲掉。 他停了下来，用鼻尖轻轻拂过一棵蕨类植物，认出了那熟悉的气味。 黄牙的恐怖气味刺痛了他的鼻孔。 “她朝这边来了！”他叫道。 他从潮湿的矮树丛中挤过去。 Graypaw紧随其后。雨停了，雷声渐渐消失在远处。 时间不多了。火爪加快了速度。 令他沮丧的是，他意识到黄牙的气味确实把他们直接带到了影族的领地。 他的心一沉。这是否意味着虎爪的指控是真的？ 火爪开始希望每一种新的气味都能把它们引到不同的方向，但踪迹没有改变。 他们来到雷道，停了下来。 几个怪物呼啸而过，喷出脏水的喷泉。 两只猫在宽阔的灰色轨道边上徘徊，直到出现了一个缺口。 然后他们跑过小路，进入了暗影部落的领地。

The scent markers that lined the border made Firepaw's paws tingle. Graypaw halted and looked around nervously. "I always thought I'd have a few more warriors with me when I finally entered ShadowClan territory," he confessed. "Not afraid, are you?" Firepaw murmured. "Aren't you? My mother warned me about the stench of ShadowClan many times." "My mother never taught me such things," Firepaw replied. But for the first time he was relieved that his fur was so wet that it clung to his body—Graypaw might not notice the way it was bristling fearfully along his spine. The two cats prowled onward, alert to every sight and sound. Graypaw was on the lookout for ShadowClan patrols, and Firepaw for the ThunderClan party he knew must come soon. Yellowfang's scent-trail led them steadily into the heart of ShadowClan's hunting grounds. The woods here were gloomy, the undergrowth crowded with nettles and brambles. "I can't smell her," complained Graypaw. "It's too wet."

边界上的气味标记让火爪的爪子发麻。 灰爪停了下来，紧张地环顾四周。 “我一直以为，当我最终进入暗影部落的领地时，会有更多的战士和我在一起，”他坦白道。 “你不会害怕吧？”Firepaw低声说道。 “是吗?我母亲曾多次警告我提防影子家族的恶臭。” “我妈妈从来没教过我这些东西。”火爪回答。 但他第一次松了一口气，因为他的皮毛湿得紧贴在身上，格雷paw可能不会注意到它沿着他的脊柱可怕地竖起来。 两只猫悄悄地向前走着，对每一个景象和声音都很警觉。 灰爪负责寻找暗影部落的巡逻队，而火爪负责寻找迅雷部落的队伍，他知道他们很快就要来了。 黄牙的气味指引他们稳步进入影族狩猎场的中心。 这里的树林阴森森的，矮树丛里长满了荨麻和荆棘。 “我闻不到她的味道。”灰爪抱怨道。 “太湿了。”

"It's there," Firepaw assured him. "I can smell that though," Graypaw spat suddenly. "What?" Firepaw hissed. He stopped, alarmed. "Kitscent. There's kit blood here!" Firepaw sniffed again, seeking out the smell of ThunderClan offspring. "I smell it too," he agreed. "And something else!" He flicked his tail down sharply, warning Graypaw to keep quiet. Then, silently, he signaled with his whiskers toward a blackened ash tree up ahead. Graypaw twitched his ears questioningly. Firepaw gave him a tiny nod. Yellowfang was sheltering behind the wide, split trunk. Instinctively the two cats separated, each moving toward the tree, one on either side. They crept over the soft forest floor, using all the tricks of basic training, stepping lightly, keeping their bodies low. Then they leaped. Yellowfang yowled with surprise as the two cats landed beside her and pinned her to the ground. She struggled free, spitting, and backed into a sheltered hollow at the base of the trunk.

“就在那儿。”火爪向他保证。 “不过我能闻到。”灰爪突然啐了一口。 “什么?”Firepaw发出嘘嘘的声音。他吃惊地停了下来。 “Kitscent。这里有kit的血！”火爪又嗅了嗅，寻找着雷族后代的气味。 “我也闻到了，”他同意道。 “还有别的东西！”它猛地甩了甩尾巴，警告灰爪不要出声。 然后，他默默地用胡须向前面一棵烧焦的白蜡树示意。 灰爪疑惑地扭动着耳朵。 火爪微微点了点头。 黄牙躲在宽大的树干后面。 两只猫本能地分开了，各自朝树走去，一边一只。 他们蹑手蹑脚地走在森林里柔软的地面上，用了所有基本训练的技巧，轻轻地走着，把身体放低。 然后他们跳了起来。两只猫落在她身边，把她按倒在地，黄牙惊讶地叫了起来。 她挣扎着挣脱，吐着唾沫，退到树干底部一个隐蔽的洞里。

Firepaw and Graypaw moved forward, blocking her way out. "I knew ThunderClan would blame me!" she hissed, her eyes flashing with all her old hostility. "Where are the kits?" Firepaw demanded. "We can smell their blood!" spat Graypaw. "Have you harmed them?" "I don't have them," snarled Yellowfang angrily. "I've come to find them and take them back. I stopped because I smelled blood too. But they're not here." Firepaw and Graypaw looked at one another. "I don't have them!" insisted Yellowfang. "Why did you run away, then? Why did you kill Spottedleaf?" Graypaw asked the questions Firepaw couldn't bring himself to say out loud. "Spottedleaf is dead?" There was no mistaking the shock in Yellowfang's voice. Relief washed over Firepaw. "You didn't know?" he croaked. "How could I? I left the camp as soon as I heard the kits were missing." Graypaw looked suspicious, but Firepaw could hear the truth in her voice.

火爪和灰爪上前，挡住了她的去路。 “我就知道雷霆家族会怪我的！”她嘶嘶地说，眼睛里闪着往日的敌意。 “套件在哪里？”Firepaw问道。 “我们能闻到他们的血味儿！” “你伤害过他们吗？”“我没有。”黄牙生气地吼道。 “我来找他们，把他们带回去。 我停下来是因为我也闻到了血腥味。 但他们不在这里。”火爪和灰爪面面相觑。 “我没有！”黄牙坚持说。 “那你为什么要逃跑呢？” 你为什么要杀点点树叶？”灰爪问了火爪不敢大声说出来的问题。 “斑点叶死了？”黄牙的声音里透着震惊。 火爪松了一口气。 “你不知道？” “我怎么能呢？我一听说工具包不见了就离开了营地。” 灰爪看起来很怀疑，但火爪能从她的声音里听出真相。

"I know who has taken the kits," she continued. "I smelled his scent near the nursery." "Who was it?" Firepaw asked. "Clawface—one of Brokenstar's warriors. And as long as the kits are with ShadowClan, they're in great danger." "But surely even ShadowClan wouldn't harm kits!" Firepaw protested. "Don't be so sure," spat Yellowfang. "Brokenstar intends to use them as warriors." "But they are only three moons old!" Graypaw gasped. "That hasn't stopped him before. He has been training kits as young as three moons since he became leader. At five moons he sends them out as warriors!" "Surely they'd be too small to fight!" Firepaw protested. But in his mind's eye he pictured the undersize ShadowClan apprentices he had seen at the Gathering. They weren't just small; they were kits! Yellowfang hissed scornfully, "Brokenstar doesn't care about that. He has plenty more kits to spare, and if they run out, he can steal them

“我知道是谁拿走了那些工具包，”她继续说道。 “我在育儿室附近闻到了他的气味。” “是谁？”Firepaw问道。 “爪脸——布罗肯斯塔的一个战士。 只要套件和ShadowClan在一起，他们就处于极大的危险之中。” “但即使是影族也不会伤害套件！”Firepaw抗议道。 “别那么肯定，”黄牙吐了一句。 “布罗肯星打算把他们当作战士。” “可他们才三个月大啊！”Graypaw气喘吁吁地说。 “这之前并没有阻止他。 自从他成为领袖后，他就开始训练了。 每到五个月，他就派他们去当战士！”“他们肯定太小了，打不动！”Firepaw抗议道。 但在他的脑海里，浮现出他在聚会上看到的那些身材矮小的影子氏族徒弟。 它们不仅小；他们是套件！黄牙轻蔑地嘶嘶地说：“失恋星才不在乎呢。 他还有很多工具，如果用完了，他可以偷来