Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21 Night was falling as the ThunderClan cats crossed the stream and entered WindClan territory. Out of the shelter of the trees, a stiff wind was blowing with an icy sting of rain. Now and then the moon or a star shone fitfully between rags of cloud, but for most of the time thick darkness covered the moor. The cats had to find their way by scent alone, barely able to see their own paws. "There's no sign of a border patrol," Dustpelt whispered, sniffing. "That could mean they're defending the camp," Mistyfoot replied. "Shh!" Firestar's low hiss came out of the darkness. "Stay alert. We don't know what we're getting into." Soon they reached the stream that flowed down from the WindClan camp. Firestar followed it for a while, then halted to taste the air. Brambleclaw did the same; a strong scent of WindClan cats came from up ahead, but none of the other Clan scents. There was no sound of

第二十一章 雷族猫渡过溪流，进入风族领地时，夜幕正在降临 走出树林的遮蔽后，一阵劲风吹来，还带着冰冷刺骨的雨意 月亮和星星时不时从云缝里隐约露脸，荒原大部分时间都被浓重的黑暗笼罩 猫群只能靠气味辨认方向，几乎连自己的爪子都看不见 “连边界巡逻队的影子都没有，”尘毛吸着鼻子低声说 “这说明他们都回营地防守了，”雾足回答 “嘘！” 火星低沉的喝止声从黑暗中传来 “保持警惕， 我们不知道接下来会遇到什么。” 很快，他们就抵达了从风族营地流出来的小溪边 火星沿着溪边走了一会儿，停下身嗅探空气中的气味 黑莓掌也跟着这么做； 前方飘来浓烈的风族猫气味，没有其他任何族群的气味 没有听到任何声音

fighting cats, just the buffeting of the wind and the gurgling stream. A faint hope began to grow inside Brambleclaw that Mistyfoot had made a mistake. "Nothing," Firestar murmured when the silence had stretched out for many heartbeats. "We could go and ask Onewhisker if everything's okay," Brackenfur suggested. "What? Stroll into his camp and tell him we came to fight off his enemies?" Dustpelt meowed. "I don't think so." Sandstorm murmured agreement, and after a moment's thought Firestar echoed it. "You're right. The best thing we can do is go home." "But something's wrong; I'm sure of it," Mistyfoot protested. Her eyes gleamed with anxiety. "What about Leafpool's dream?" "We've no idea what Leafpool's dream means," Firestar pointed out. "Meanwhile, we're here in fighting strength on another Clan's territory. Onewhisker would be well within his rights if he ripped our fur off." Dustpelt snorted. "I'd like to see him try." The wind was rising, and a sudden gust almost

打斗声，只有呼啸的狂风和潺潺的流水声 黑莓掌心里渐渐生出一丝侥幸，说不定雾足弄错了 “什么动静都没有，”寂静过了好久之后，火星轻声说道 “我们可以去找一星问问是不是一切安好，”蕨毛提议 “什么？ 直接走进他的营地告诉他，我们是来帮他打退敌人的？” 尘毛说道 “我可不觉得这是个好主意。” 沙风也轻声附和，火星思索片刻后，也同意了这个说法 “你说得对， 我们现在最好就是回家。” “可是肯定出事儿了，我敢肯定，”雾足反对道 她的眼中满是焦虑 “那叶池的梦该怎么说？” “我们根本不知道叶池的梦是什么意思，”火星指出 “而且，我们带着作战的队伍来到其他族群的领地， 就算一星扒了我们的皮，他也是完全占理的。” 尘毛哼了一声 “我倒要看看他有没有这个本事。” 风越来越大，一阵突如其来的狂风差点

carried Brambleclaw off his paws. In the distance he heard a faint rumble of thunder. "Let's get back before the storm breaks," Firestar mewed. All the cats turned to follow him. Bringing up the rear, Brambleclaw cast one last glance toward the WindClan camp, and froze as a wisp of scent drifted between his parted jaws. Hawkfrost! "Firestar, wait!" he rasped. Gazing up the hill, he saw several dark shapes flow over the rise from the opposite direction and launch themselves down into the hollow. For a heartbeat he thought he recognized the outline of Hawkfrost's broad head and powerful shoulders at the head of the cats. A single screech split the night. Firestar whipped around and raced back up the hill. "Come on!" Brambleclaw was shoulder-to-shoulder with him as they reached the edge of the hollow. More screeches split the night; in the darkness, Brambleclaw could make out nothing more than a caterwauling tangle of fur. He could scent RiverClan and ShadowClan as well as WindClan,

把黑莓掌刮得站不住脚 远方传来隐隐的雷声隆隆 “我们趁暴风雨没来赶紧回去吧，”火星说 所有猫都转身跟着他出发 走在队尾的黑莓掌朝着风族营地望了最后一眼，一缕气味飘进他鼻腔，他瞬间僵住了 鹰霜！ “火星，等等！” 他粗声喊道 他朝山丘上望去，看见好几个黑影从对面翻过山顶，猛冲进了下方的山谷 一瞬间，他觉得自己认出了领头那只猫，就是鹰霜宽阔的头颅和强壮的肩膀 一声尖叫划破了黑夜 火星猛地转身，往山丘上往回跑 “快跟我来！” 黑莓掌和他并肩跑到山谷边缘 更多尖叫声划破夜空； 黑暗里，黑莓掌只能看清一团扭打在一起、狂呼乱叫的猫群，别的什么都分辨不清 他除了风族气味，还闻到了河族和影族的气味，

but he couldn't recognize individuals or work out which cats he should be attacking. He heard Firestar yowl, "Mudclaw!" as his leader hurtled down the slope into the camp. Brambleclaw and the rest of the ThunderClan patrol raced after him. A moment later Brambleclaw lost sight of his Clanmates as he plunged into the struggling mass. Before he had a chance to get his breath, a cat crashed into his side, knocking him off his paws. He twisted around and found himself glaring up into the eyes of Cedarheart from ShadowClan. "Stay out of this!" spat the dark gray tom. "This is not ThunderClan's fight!" Not bothering to reply, Brambleclaw kicked out hard with his hind legs and jabbed his feet into Cedarheart's belly. The ShadowClan warrior staggered backward and vanished, leaving Brambleclaw to stumble to his paws. Great StarClan, please, don't let Tawnypelt be here! he begged silently. He was buffeted from side to side as cats slammed into him in screeching knots of fur and claws. There was no sign of Hawkfrost, though

但他认不出具体是哪只猫，也搞不清楚自己该攻击谁 他听见火星怒号：“泥爪！” 他们的族长顺着斜坡冲进了营地 黑莓掌和其他雷族巡逻猫跟着他往下冲 没过多久，黑莓掌冲进扭打一团的猫群里，就看不到自己的族猫了 他还没来得及喘口气，一只猫就狠狠撞到他腰侧，把他撞倒在地 他转过身，抬头对上了影族武士杉心的眼睛 “别掺和进来！” 这只深灰色公猫恶狠狠地说道 “这不是雷族的战斗！” 黑莓掌懒得回话，抬起后腿狠狠一蹬，爪子戳进了杉心的肚子 这名影族武士连连后退，消失在人群里，黑莓掌摇摇晃晃站了起来 伟大的星族啊，求求你，别让褐皮在这里！ 他在心里默默祈祷 狂呼怒喊、爪牙相向的猫撞得他东倒西歪 虽然没有看到鹰霜的影子，

he spotted another RiverClan warrior hurling himself across the hollow and leaping into a clump of gorse with his claws outstretched. The throng of cats shifted, and Brambleclaw had a clear view of Webfoot and Onewhisker struggling together, Onewhisker's teeth sunk deep in Webfoot's shoulder while the tabby tom clawed lumps of fur from his leader's side. Brambleclaw leaped forward to help Onewhisker, but at the same moment Mudclaw erupted from the shadows. Onewhisker vanished under a whirl of teeth and claws, but a heartbeat later Firestar appeared, grabbed Mudclaw's scruff in his teeth, and hauled him off. Mudclaw shook himself free. "Do you think this is your Clan?" he snarled at Firestar. "Think again, kittypet! WindClan will have a new leader now, a strong cat who can make the Clan great again." "Onewhisker is WindClan's leader," Firestar spat back. Mudclaw threw himself at the ThunderClan leader. As the two cats went down, Webfoot dashed in from the side and fastened his teeth in

他发现另一名河族武士正冲过洼地，伸着爪子跳进一丛金雀花里 猫群散开后，黑莓掌清楚看到湿足和一根须扭打在一起，一根须深深咬进湿足的肩膀，这只虎斑公猫则从族长身侧抓掉了好几块毛皮 黑莓掌跳上前去帮一根须，可就在这一刻，泥爪从阴影里猛冲出来 一根须被一阵爪牙乱舞淹没，可眨眼间火星冲了过来，一口咬住泥爪的后颈，把他拽开了 泥爪挣脱了出来 “你觉得这族群是你的吗？”他对着火星低吼道 “醒醒吧，宠物猫！ 风族现在要有新族长了，一只强壮的猫能带族群重新变得强大” “一根须才是风族的族长”，火星厉声回击 泥爪猛地朝这位雷族族长扑了过去 两只猫扭倒在地时，湿足从侧边冲了进来，狠狠一口咬住

Firestar's leg. Brambleclaw leaped toward them but was brought to a jolting stop when a weight landed on top of him, rolling him to the ground. RiverClan scent flooded over him, but his attacker was black, not tabby. As Brambleclaw raked his claws over the cat's face he felt a stab of relief that he didn't have to fight Hawkfrost—yet. He felt a sharp pain in his side as his attacker's claws found their mark. We're losing, he thought, fighting panic when he pictured Firestar struggling alone against two strong cats. There are too many of them! But fear gave him a new surge of strength, and he forced himself to his paws, driving off his attacker with a swift bite to his tail. Suddenly he heard a distant yowling and recognized Squirrelflight's voice. A gleam of moonlight showed her racing over the top of the hollow with Thornclaw and Ashfur beside her. Only a flash of Firestar's flame-colored flank was visible beneath Mudclaw and Webfoot. Before Brambleclaw could reach him, Squirrelflight hurtled past and flung herself into the battle with a screech of fury. Webfoot fled,

火星的腿 黑莓掌朝他们扑过去，却被猛地撞停，有重物砸在他背上，把他滚倒在地 河族的气味扑面而来，袭击他的猫是黑色的，不是虎斑猫 当黑莓掌一爪扫过对方的脸，他松了口气，幸好自己不用现在就和鹰霜交手 袭击者的爪子划中他的身侧，一阵尖锐的痛感传来 我们要输了，他想着，一想到火星独自对抗两只强壮的猫，恐慌就涌上心头 他们的数量太多了！ 但恐惧反而给了他新的力量，他挣扎着站起身，飞快一口咬向对手的尾巴，把对方赶跑了 忽然他听到远处的嚎叫，他认出那是松鼠飞的声音 一道月光闪过，照见她奔过洼地顶端，身旁跟着刺毛和蜡毛 只能看见火星火焰色的侧腹在泥爪和湿足身下闪了一下 黑莓掌还没来得及冲到火星身边，松鼠飞就猛冲过去，怒吼着扑进了战局 湿足落荒而逃