Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 As Brambleclaw walked away from the fresh-kill pile, he spotted Ashfur limping away from Leafpool's den. Fresh cobwebs were plastered on the gash in his foreleg. He was heading for the warriors" den, but before he reached it Birchpaw came bounding over to him. "Hi, Ashfur!" he meowed. "Brackenfur is taking Whitepaw for a training session. Can we go with them?" "No." His mentor's voice was an ill-tempered growl. "I fell off a rock and opened this wound again. Leafpool says I can't leave the camp today." Birchpaw's tail drooped; he turned his head to watch mournfully as Brackenfur and his apprentice, Whitepaw, left through the thorn tunnel. Brambleclaw strolled over to Ashfur and Birchpaw and flicked the disappointed apprentice with his tail. "Cheer up." To Ashfur he added, "I'm just leaving on patrol. I could take Birchpaw with me, if you like."

第十章 黑莓掌离开鲜猎堆时，看见灰毛一瘸一拐地从叶池的巢穴走出来。 他前腿的伤口上贴满了刚找来的蜘蛛网。 他正往武士巢穴走，可还没到，桦爪就蹦蹦跳跳地跑了过来。 "你好呀，灰毛！"他喵呜叫道。 "蕨毛带白爪去参加训练了。 我们能跟着一起去吗？" "不行。" 他师父的话音是脾气暴躁的低吼。 "我从石头上摔下来，把伤口又扯开了。 叶池说我今天不能出营地。" 桦爪的尾巴耷拉了下来； 他转过头，闷闷不乐地看着蕨毛和他的学徒白爪穿过荆丛通道离开了。 黑莓掌慢悠悠走到灰毛和桦爪身边，用尾巴轻扫了一下这个失望的学徒。 "开心点。" 他接着对灰毛说："我正要出发巡逻。 如果你愿意的话，我可以带桦爪一起去。"

Birchpaw's tail shot straight up in the air again and his whiskers quivered with excitement. "Please, Ashfur!" he begged. Ashfur opened his mouth; Brambleclaw was convinced he was about to refuse. Then a new voice spoke from behind Brambleclaw. "Good idea. Birchpaw missed a lot of training while he was hurt. He shouldn't miss any more." Brambleclaw turned to see his Clan leader leaping down the rocks from the Highledge. "I thought we'd go up by the ShadowClan border," he meowed. "We'll renew the scent markers and check for fox traps." Firestar nodded, though Ashfur was staring at Brambleclaw through narrowed eyes. Without saying anything the gray warrior turned away and stalked off to the warriors" den. "Off you go, then," Firestar meowed to Birchpaw. "Do as Brambleclaw tells you and watch out for those traps. You don't want to lose your tail, like Berrykit." "I'll be careful," Birchpaw promised. Brambleclaw stuck his head through the branches of the warriors" den and called

桦爪的尾巴一下子竖得笔直，胡须都兴奋得不停发抖。 "求你啦，灰毛！"他恳求道。 灰毛张开了嘴，黑莓掌敢肯定他马上就要拒绝了。 这时，一个新的声音从黑莓掌身后响起。 "好主意。 桦爪受伤的时候落下了好多训练。 他不该再缺更多训练了。" 黑莓掌转过头，看见他们的族长从高岩上跳了下来。 "我打算去影族边境那边走走，"他喵呜说道。 "我们去更新气味标记，还要检查有没有狐狸陷阱。" 火星点了点头，可灰毛正眯着眼睛盯着黑莓掌。 这只灰色武士什么也没说，转身大步走回了武士巢穴。 "那你们出发吧，"火星对桦爪说。 "听黑莓掌的话，一定要小心那些陷阱。 你可不想像莓崽那样丢掉尾巴呀。" "我会小心的，"桦爪保证道。 黑莓掌把头探进武士巢穴的枝桠间，喊道

Sandstorm and Thornclaw to join the patrol. Ashfur, settling himself among the mossy bedding, ignored him. The day was overcast, with a damp breeze that promised rain later. Prey-scent was muted, as if all the prey were hiding in their holes, and there was little sound except for the rustle of branches overhead. Birchpaw was still trembling with excitement; Brambleclaw could see that he was struggling to control himself and pad along quietly beside the rest of the patrol. "Why don't you run ahead and see if you can spot the ShadowClan scent markers?" he suggested. "Come back and tell us when you find them." "Okay, Brambleclaw!" Birchpaw's eyes gleamed, and he bounded off with his tail straight up. Brambleclaw suppressed a pang of anxiety at the sight of his fuzzy haunches, where the fur was just beginning to grow back. Birchpaw had been lucky to survive the badger attack. But he couldn't be protected by his Clanmates forever.

叫沙风和荆爪加入巡逻队。 灰毛躺在苔藓窝垫上安歇，没理他。 这天阴沉沉的，吹着潮湿的微风，预示着晚些时候会下雨。 猎物的气味十分淡，好像所有猎物都躲进了自己的洞穴，除了头顶树枝的沙沙声，几乎没什么声响。 桦爪还兴奋得浑身发抖； 黑莓掌看得出来，他正在努力克制自己，安安静静地走在巡逻队其他成员身边。 "你何不跑到前面，看看能不能找到影族的气味标记？"他提议道。 "找到了就回来告诉我们。" "好的，黑莓掌！" 桦爪眼睛发亮，尾巴竖得笔直，蹦跳着跑远了。 看到他那刚长出新绒毛的臀部，黑莓掌忍不住一阵揪心的不安。 桦爪能从獾的袭击中活下来已经够幸运了。 但他不可能永远被族伴保护着。

He had to learn the skills he needed to survive, and being out on patrol was a good way to put them into practice. "Be careful of fox traps!" he called after him. "It's time he ran the itch out of his paws," Sandstorm commented when the apprentice had disappeared. "Between his injuries and Ashfur's, he's hardly been out of camp since the badger attack." "Maybe Firestar will let you take over his training until Ashfur's fit again," Thornclaw suggested. "Maybe." Brambleclaw nodded, trying to hide how much the idea pleased him. He was enjoying this taste of mentoring, and his paws tingled with eagerness to have an apprentice of his own. He still hoped Firestar would choose him to mentor Berrykit. He admired the kit's brave, inquisitive nature, even though it had led to trouble. He was the biggest and strongest of Daisy's litter, too, with the potential to be a fine warrior. Leaping over the gnarled roots of an oak tree, Brambleclaw spotted Birchpaw standing beside a

他必须学会生存所需的本领，出来巡逻就是锻炼本领的好方法。 "小心狐狸陷阱！" 他对着跑远的桦爪喊道。 "这孩子早该跑一跑散散爪子上的劲儿了，"学徒跑远后，沙风说道。 "自从獾袭之后，他因为自己受伤，加上灰毛也受伤，几乎就没出过营地。" "说不定火星会让你在灰毛养好伤之前，接手他的训练，"荆爪提议道。 "有可能。" 黑莓掌点了点头，努力藏起这个想法让他有多开心。 他很享受这种当导师的感觉，爪子都因为渴望拥有自己的学徒而发痒。 他还是希望火星能选他来指导莓崽。 他很欣赏这只幼崽勇敢好奇的性格，哪怕这份性格惹出过麻烦。 而且他也是黛西一窝幼崽里个头最大、最强壮的，很有潜力成为出色的武士。 黑莓掌跳过一棵橡树扭曲的树根，看见桦爪站在一棵

bramble thicket a few tail-lengths ahead, his jaws open to draw in scent. "I've found the scent markers, Brambleclaw," he reported. "What? You can't have." Hadn't Ashfur given Birchpaw any training at all? "We're nowhere near the ShadowClan border." Birchpaw looked hurt. "But I'm sure..." he began. Sandstorm brushed through the ferns until she reached the spot where Birchpaw had stopped to taste the air. A moment later she came back, her green eyes gleaming with anger. "Birchpaw's right," she meowed. "ShadowClan has set their scent markers just beyond those brambles." Thornclaw let out a furious hiss. "That's ThunderClan territory!" Brambleclaw felt a growl rising in his throat. With his patrol behind him, he stalked across the clearing and skirted the brambles. The reek of the ShadowClan scent markers flooded over him after a couple of tail-lengths. "Those are fresh," he hissed. "If we follow

前方几尾长外的荆棘丛旁，他张开嘴辨识气味。 “我找到气味标记了，黑莓掌。”他汇报道。 “什么？ 你不可能找到的。” 难道灰毛根本没训练过桦爪吗？ “我们离影族边境还远得很。” 桦爪看上去很失落。 “可是我明明……”他刚开口说道。 沙风擦过蕨叶，走到桦爪停下闻味的地方。 没过一会儿她回来了，绿眼睛里闪着怒火。 “桦爪是对的。”她喵喵说道。 “影族把气味标记设在了那些荆棘丛的另一边。” 荆爪愤怒地嘶叫一声。 “这是雷族的领地！” 黑莓掌的喉咙里泛起一阵低吼。 他带着身后的巡逻队，蹑步穿过空地，绕开荆棘丛。 才走了几尾长，影族气味标记的恶臭就扑面而来。 “这些标记还是新的。”他嘶声说。 “如果我们顺着

them we should be able to catch up to the patrol and ask them what they think they're playing at." Whirling around, he added, "Birchpaw, run back to camp as fast as you can. Tell Firestar what's going on, and fetch help." The apprentice took off, racing back along their trail with his belly close to the ground and his tail streaming out behind him. Brambleclaw checked the scent markers to discover which way the ShadowClan patrol had gone, then bounded off in pursuit, with Sandstorm and Thornclaw a pace behind. The ShadowClan scent became stronger and stronger, until Brambleclaw reached the top of a gentle slope and spotted the patrol setting more markers in the hollow on the far side. Bristling with fury, he paused for a couple of heartbeats to size up the enemy patrol. There were four ShadowClan cats: Russetfur, Oakfur, and Cedarheart—the same three who had watched Berrykit struggling in the fox trap—and Rowanclaw. The ThunderClan cats were outnumbered, but Brambleclaw knew there wasn't time to wait for reinforcements to arrive.

他们追过去，肯定能追上那支巡逻队，问问他们到底在搞什么鬼。” 他转过身，补充道：“桦爪，尽快赶回营地。 告诉火星这里发生了什么，再搬救兵来。” 这名学徒立刻出发，沿着来路拼命往回跑，肚子贴着地面，尾巴绷直伸在身后。 黑莓掌查看了气味标记，确认影族巡逻队走的方向，然后立刻追了上去，沙风和荆爪紧跟在他身后。 影族的气味越来越浓，最后黑莓掌爬上缓坡顶端，看到那支巡逻队正在对面洼地里插新的气味标记。 他怒发冲冠，停了几个心跳的功夫，摸清对方巡逻队的情况。 影族一共有四只猫：赤毛、橡毛和杉心——就是那三个眼睁睁看着莓崽陷在狐狸陷阱里的猫——还有花楸掌。 雷族猫数量处于劣势，但黑莓掌知道没时间等援军赶来。