Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18 Brambleclaw kept his ears pricked for the sound of prey as he slipped through the undergrowth. He could hear Thornclaw and Dustpelt padding close behind him, their bellies close to the ground as they ducked under the bracken. Brambleclaw tried to tell himself he didn't mind that Squirrelflight was not with them. Feeding the Clan and exploring the new territory was more important right now. If Squirrelflight was determined to fight with him, that was her problem. She had never worried about his connection with Tawnypelt, so why was she getting so worked up about Hawkfrost? The patrol emerged from the bracken and padded along the edge of a broad Twoleg path. This was the farthest a patrol had been from the camp. Until now, they had been busy organizing the dens and barriers in the hollow, and they had found enough prey close by to feed every cat. Now they were beginning to range farther, cautiously exploring the more distant parts of the

第十八章 黑莓掌悄悄钻进灌木丛，耳朵竖得直直的，留意着猎物的动静 他能听见刺掌和尘毛紧跟在身后，他俩贴着肚皮弯身钻过蕨丛 黑莓掌试着告诉自己，他不在乎松鼠飞没和他们同来 给族群觅食、探索新领地才是眼下更要紧的事 要是松鼠飞非要和他争执，那是她自己的问题 她从前从来不在意他和褐皮的交情，为什么这次对鹰霜这么激动 巡逻队走出蕨丛，沿着一条宽阔的两脚兽小径边缘往前走 这是巡逻队离营地走得最远的一次 在此之前，他们一直忙着整理山谷里的巢穴和屏障，在附近就能找到足够喂饱所有猫的猎物 现在他们开始往更远的地方活动，小心翼翼探索着这片领地更远的

territory. Something about the path made Brambleclaw uneasy. "I'm not sure I like this," he muttered. "It's too much like a Thunderpath." His belly clenched as he remembered how the Twoleg monsters had torn through the forest, leaving a swath of devastation wider than this, but just as straight. Thornclaw carefully tasted the air. "I don't think it can be," he meowed after a moment. "There's no scent of Twolegs or monsters." Brambleclaw drew in a long breath and realized that the golden brown warrior was right. There was no sign of Twolegs, not even stale scent. But there was still something very familiar about the path. "It might be an old Thunderpath," he guessed. "Maybe the Twolegs let the grass grow over it." "Why would they do that?" Thornclaw wondered. "Because they're mouse-brained," Dustpelt retorted sourly. "All Twolegs are mouse-brained." He spotted a vole beneath the nearest bush and began to creep toward it.

领地 这条小径透着不对劲，让黑莓掌满心不安 “我不太喜欢这里，”他低声咕哝 “这太像雷路了” 他一想到两脚兽的怪物冲穿森林，留下比这更宽却同样笔直的大片废墟，肚子就不由得揪紧了 刺掌小心地嗅了嗅空气中的气味 “我觉得这不太可能是雷路，”他过了一会儿喵道 “这儿没有两脚兽和怪物的气味” 黑莓掌深吸一口气，发现这只金棕色武士说得没错 这儿确实没有两脚兽的踪迹，连陈旧的气味都找不到 可这条小径还是有种让他十分熟悉的感觉 “这可能是一条废弃的旧雷路，”他猜测道 “说不定两脚兽不用它之后，草就长出来盖住了” “他们为什么要这么做？” 刺掌不解地问道 “因为他们都是鼠脑子，”尘毛没好气地反驳道 “所有两脚兽都是鼠脑子” 他看见近处灌木丛下有一只田鼠，便悄悄朝它爬了过去

Watching him, Brambleclaw went on puzzling about the path. If Twolegs had cut rock from the stone hollow, perhaps they had needed a Thunderpath to take it away. He twitched his ears. It wasn't important, as long as there were no Twolegs here now. When Dustpelt had killed his vole and scraped earth over it, they went on, still keeping to the side of the path. Brambleclaw was reluctant to set paw on something made by Twolegs, even so long ago, and he guessed his Clanmates felt the same. Suddenly Dustpelt let out a hiss. Brambleclaw froze, his fur bristling as he followed the brown warrior's gaze through the trees. He could just make out the stone walls of a Twoleg nest. "There's still no scent," Thornclaw mewed. He looked at Brambleclaw. "What do you want to do?" Part of Brambleclaw wanted to turn and run back to the hollow as fast as he could. He thought of the nest they had discovered in ShadowClan's territory when they made the first patrol around the lake, and the two ferocious

黑莓掌看着他，心里继续琢磨这条小径的事 如果两脚兽当初在石谷里采石，说不定就需要雷路来运走石头 他抖了抖耳朵 这不重要，只要现在这儿没有两脚兽就好 尘毛咬死田鼠，用土把它埋好之后，他们继续前进，仍旧沿着小径边缘走 黑莓掌不愿意把爪子踩在两脚兽造的东西上，哪怕这是很久以前的事，他猜族猫们也和他感受相同 突然，尘毛发出一声嘶叫 黑莓掌僵住了，毛发根根竖起，顺着这只棕色武士的目光望向树林深处 他隐约能分辨出两脚兽巢穴的石墙 “还是没有任何气味，”刺掌喵道 他看向黑莓掌 “你打算怎么做？” 黑莓掌心里有个念头，想要掉头拼尽全力跑回山谷去 他想起第一次绕湖巡逻时，他们在影族领地发现的那座巢穴，还有两只凶猛的

kittypets they had disturbed. But the Clan needed to know everything about their new territory. "Let's take a look," he decided. Another, narrower path led to the nest from the path they were traveling along, but Brambleclaw took a more direct course through the trees, creeping up on the nest with his belly flattened to the ground. It was very different from the nests in Twolegplace. There was a door made from flat wooden strips, but they were broken and rotten and hung crookedly from one side. The big square holes in the walls were empty, so wind and rain could blow straight in. The nest looked dark and silent, full of shadows and confusing scents. A shiver went through Brambleclaw, raising every hair on his pelt. He wanted to leave without going one pawstep nearer, but he knew what Squirrelflight would say: You never went inside! Are you a mouse or what? "Wait here," he ordered his companions, and stalked up to the doorway. Thornclaw and Dustpelt did not obey his

被他们惊扰到的宠物猫 可族群需要摸清新领地的一切情况 “我们过去看看，”他下定决心 另一条更窄的小径从他们走的这条路通向那座巢穴，但黑莓掌选了更直接的路线，穿过树林，贴着肚皮悄悄靠近巢穴 这座巢穴和两脚兽地盘里的巢穴完全不同 有一扇用平木条做的门，可木条已经断裂腐烂，歪歪扭扭挂在一边 墙壁上的大方洞什么遮挡都没有，风雨可以直接灌进去 这座巢穴又黑又静，到处都是阴影，气味混杂难辨 黑莓掌打了个寒颤，全身的毛发都竖了起来 他想一步都不往前走直接离开，可他知道松鼠飞会说：你根本没进去看看！ 你到底是老鼠还是什么？ “你们在这儿等着，”他命令同伴，接着潜到了门口 刺掌和尘毛并没有听从他的

order: No reason why they should, thought Brambleclaw, reminding himself that he wasn't deputy yet. They were hard on his paws as he climbed the steps and slipped inside the Twoleg nest. The weak shaft of light slanting through the door revealed rough gray walls and floors made from splintered strips of wood, with weeds pushing up through the gaps. Straight ahead, a slope of jutting blocks led up to another level. There was no Twoleg scent, just a powerful aroma of prey. The cracks in the stone walls and the spaces under the floorboards would make good hiding places for mice and voles. Brambleclaw heard Thornclaw's paws thump on the wood, and glanced back to see his Clanmate with a mouse dangling from his jaws. "Well done!" he whispered. Dustpelt looked impressed. "This could be a useful place," he meowed. "Provided the Twolegs don't come back." Brambleclaw agreed—the prey was certainly plentiful and easy to catch—but he didn't like the feeling the place gave him. It was as desolate and

黑莓掌暗想，他们本来就没理由这么做，他提醒自己，他还不是副族长呢。 他爬上台阶溜进两脚兽巢穴时，台阶硌得他爪子生疼。 一缕微弱的光线斜透进门，露出粗糙的灰墙，还有碎木条拼成的地板，杂草从缝隙里钻了出来。 正前方，一段由凸起石块铺成的斜坡通向更高一层。 这里没有两脚兽的气味，只有浓郁的猎物香气。 石墙的裂缝和地板下方的空隙，正好能给老鼠和田鼠当藏身之处。 黑莓掌听见棘爪的爪子踩在木板上咚咚作响，回头看见这位族友嘴里叼着一只老鼠。 “干得好！” 他小声说道。 尘毛看起来十分赞赏。 “这儿说不定能派上大用场，”他喵声道。 “只要两脚兽别再回来就好。” 黑莓掌也认同——这里猎物确实很多，也容易抓——可他就是不喜欢这个地方带给他的感觉。 这里荒芜又

hollow as an empty den, and he wondered why the Twolegs had abandoned it. "Do you want to go up there?" Thornclaw twitched his ears toward the steeply sloping blocks. "Not if StarClan themselves came and begged me," Dustpelt mewed. "That doesn't look safe at all." "I'll take a quick look," Brambleclaw meowed, Squirrelflight's imagined scorn ringing in his ears. He ran swiftly up the blocks before he could spend too long worrying what he might find at the top. As he burst onto the next level, which was made of strips of wood like the floor below, a loud squawking and the rattle of wings set his heart thudding. A moment later he realized it was only a pigeon, disturbed by his sudden appearance. Scattering gray and white feathers, it fluttered up through the space where the roof had broken away. Brambleclaw padded cautiously forward, peering around until he was sure the place was empty. When he scrambled down to ground level again he found that Dustpelt had caught another

空旷，就像一个被遗弃的空窝，他想不通两脚兽为什么会抛下这里。 “你想去上面看看吗？” 棘爪把耳朵歪向那段陡峭的石坡。 “就算星族亲自来求我，我也不去，”尘毛喵道。 “那地方看着一点都不安全。” “我去快速看一眼，”黑莓掌喵道，松鼠飞可能会鄙夷他的样子浮现在他心头。 没等他多想顶上会有什么，他已经飞快地跑上石块了。 他冲上第二层——这里和楼下一样也是木条铺成——一阵刺耳的叫声和扑棱翅膀的声响，吓得他心砰砰直跳。 过了一会儿他才反应过来，只是一只鸽子被他突然闯入惊到了。 鸽子扑腾着从屋顶的破缺口飞出去，散落了一身灰白羽毛。 黑莓掌小心翼翼地往前走，四处查看，确认这里空无杂物才停下。 他爬回底层后，发现尘毛已经抓到了另一只