Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26 Once the injured cats had been treated and were resting in their sleeping hollows, Stoneteller padded wearily toward the mouth of the cave. He beckoned with his tail for Brambleclaw to join him, and Lionpaw followed, eager to hear what their next move would be. The light that came through the waterfall was dim and gray. Stoneteller sat down, a small, dark figure in the midst of the watery radiance, and tucked his paws underneath him. "The Tribe cannot survive here," he sighed, his voice almost drowned out by the pounding of the water. "We must leave the mountains and find a home somewhere else." Brambleclaw's eyes widened in dismay. "That's your decision to make, Stoneteller, but is it wise? It's dangerous for a large group of cats to move around together. The Clans lost cats on the Great Journey. Besides, where would you go?" Stoneteller shook his head; he had no answer to that question.

第二十六章 受伤的猫咪接受治疗，回自己的睡洞休息后，尖石巫师拖着疲惫的步子走向洞口 他甩尾巴招呼黑莓掌过来，狮爪也跟了上去，急着想听他们接下来的计划 穿过瀑布照进来的光线灰蒙蒙的，十分昏暗 尖石巫师坐了下来，在朦胧水光里缩成小小的黑影，把爪子收在了身下 “我们部落没法在这儿活下去了，”他叹道，话音几乎被隆隆的水声盖过 “我们得离开大山，去别的地方找新家。” 黑莓掌惊愕地瞪大了眼睛 “这得由你做决定，尖石巫师，可这么做明智呢？ 一大群猫一起行动太危险了 各族在大迁徙途中都损失了不少猫 再说，你们能去哪儿呢？” 尖石巫师摇了摇头，这个问题他也答不上来

Maybe they could come to the lake with us, Lionpaw thought. But there are too many to join one Clan. They would have to split up, and they wouldn't like that. Anyway, the Clans would never accept them. "Even if you found a new home," Brambleclaw went on, "you would have to learn new ways of living, new hunting techniques. It would be better to find a way of surviving here, where you belong." Stoneteller turned his head to look up at the dark tabby. "And how do you suggest we do that?" "Give the border patrols a try," Brambleclaw meowed. "Patrols?" Stoneteller's voice was disapproving. "Spend all our time scrambling over rocks?" "Yes, it's hard," Brambleclaw admitted, an edge of annoyance in his voice. "But your cats are used to moving around in this terrain. That gives you a big advantage over the intruders." The Healer blinked, his eyes on the eternally falling water. After several heartbeats, he asked, "Are you saying that the Tribe must restrict itself to one area?"

狮爪心想，或许他们可以跟我们回湖边 可是部落的猫太多了，没法整个加入一个族群 他们必须分开，他们肯定不愿意这样 而且，族群也不会接受他们的 黑莓掌接着说：“就算你们找到了新家，也得重新学习怎么生活，学习新的捕猎技巧 不如想办法留在这片属于你们的土地上活下去。” 尖石巫师抬起头，看向这只深色虎斑猫 “那你说我们该怎么做呢？” “你试试划分边界巡逻呀，”黑莓掌说 “巡逻？”尖石巫师不太赞同地说 “要我们整天在岩石上爬来爬去吗？” “没错，这很辛苦，”黑莓掌承认，声音里带着点不耐烦 “可你们的猫本来就习惯在这种地形活动 这就比入侵者占了很大优势呀。” 这位医者眨了眨眼，目光落在不停坠落的瀑布上 过了好一会儿，他问道：“你是说，部落必须把活动范围限定在一块区域里？

"It would be a big area," Brambleclaw promised. "Plenty of space for you to support yourselves. And isn't keeping part of your territory better than losing it all?" When Stoneteller didn't respond, he added, "Why don't you come and see for yourself, to make sure you'll have enough?" "The Healer does not leave the cave, except for ceremonies above the waterfall," Stoneteller responded. "That is the will of the Tribe of Endless Hunting." Brambleclaw looked frustrated, the tip of his tail twitching back and forth. Lionpaw was afraid he was going to give up the argument. Then Stoneteller spoke again. "But perhaps the time is right to break with some of our traditions, so that we can preserve the rest. I will come with you." "Great!" Brambleclaw's tail went straight up. "I'll get a patrol together right away. Lionpaw, you can come." He flicked his tail at him as he raced back into the main part of the cave. Lionpaw wasn't sure he wanted to clamber all the way around the territory again. His paws were

“这块区域会很大的，”黑莓掌保证道 “足够你们活动，够养活你们所有人 总比丢掉整个领地好，对不对？” 见尖石巫师没有回答，他又补充道：“你何不自己去看看，确认一下领地够不够大呢？” “除了去瀑布上方参加仪式，医者从来不离开洞穴，”尖石巫师回答 “这是无尽狩猎部落的意愿” 黑莓掌看起来很沮丧，尾巴尖不停地晃来晃去 狮爪担心他就要放弃争辩了 接着尖石巫师又开口了 “不过或许是时候打破一些旧传统了，这样我们才能保住剩下的一切 我跟你们一起去。” “太好了！” 黑莓掌的尾巴一下子竖了起来 “我现在就集合一支巡逻队 狮爪，你也一起来。” 他冲狮爪甩了甩尾巴，跑回洞穴的主区域去了 狮爪其实不太想再爬遍整个领地一圈了 他的爪子还

still sore from the previous day. But he did want to help establish the border and to see what Stoneteller's reaction would be. He waited beside the Healer until Brambleclaw returned. Talon, Breezepaw, and Pebble were with him; Crowfeather followed a little way behind with Crag, Night, and a couple of the other Tribe tobes. "Crowfeather will take his patrol in one direction, and we'll take the other," Brambleclaw meowed to Stoneteller. "That way, we can get around the whole territory by nightfall. We won't try to explore every corner, just find landmarks along the way so that we all know where the border is." Stoneteller nodded. "Very well." He let Brambleclaw take the lead along the Path of Rushing Water and out into the open. Lionpaw paused briefly before leaping from the rocks to the flat ground around the pool. The sky was covered with gray clouds, so low that they rested on the mountain peaks. The air was heavy, with a taste of rain to come. The blue skies and warm sun of greenleaf could have been moons

依旧因为昨天的奔波酸疼不已 但他还是想帮忙划定边界，也想看看尖石巫师会是什么反应 他在医者身边等着，直到黑莓掌回来 利爪、荆爪和卵石跟他同行； 鸦羽跟在不远处，身后跟着石岭、夜和另外几只部落学徒 黑莓掌对尖石巫师说：“鸦羽带他那队巡逻走一条路，我们走另一条 “这样一来，我们天黑前就能绕完整块领地 “我们不用探遍每个角落，只要沿路找好地标，这样大家就都知道边界在哪儿了。” 尖石巫师点了点头 “好的。” 他让黑莓掌领路，沿着急水步道走到洞外的开阔地带 狮爪稍作停顿，从岩石跳到水潭边的平地上 天空铺满灰云，云压得极低，贴在山顶之上 空气沉闷，已经透着快要下雨的气息 晴蓝的天空和绿叶季的暖日，仿佛已经是好多个月

away. Crowfeather's patrol climbed the path beside the waterfall and vanished, while Brambleclaw led his cats over the rocks opposite, the same route they had followed the day before. He set a brisk pace until they reached the twisted spike of rock that Lionpaw had picked out as the first border marker. "We'll set a scent marker here," Brambleclaw announced. "Lionpaw, would you like to demonstrate?" "Shouldn't it be Tribe scent?" Talon asked. "Of course," mewed Brambleclaw. "You and Pebble can do the rest, once Lionpaw has shown you how." The three Tribe cats glanced at one another. Lionpaw could see that they weren't sure that marking a border would make any difference to the aggressive intruders. He couldn't help agreeing; scent markers were useless unless they were reinforced with teeth and claws when it was needed. "I don't know why we bother," Breezepaw muttered in his ear. "They just don't think like

出发了。 鸦羽的巡逻队沿着瀑布旁的小路往上走，很快消失不见，荆爪则带领族猫从对面的岩石穿过，走的是昨天他们走过的老路。 他快步前进，一直走到狮爪选出来当第一个边界标记的扭岩柱那里。 “我们在这里留一个气味标记，”荆爪宣布。 “狮爪，你愿意来示范一下吗？” “不应该留部落的气味吗？” 鹰爪问。 “那当然，”荆爪轻声说道。 “等狮爪示范完，剩下的标记就你和卵石来做。” 三只部落猫对视了一眼。 狮爪看得出来，它们不确定划边界能对那些好斗入侵者起到什么作用。 他也忍不住同意这个看法； 除非必要的时候用牙爪捍卫，不然气味标记根本没用。 “真不知道我们费这劲干嘛，”风爪在他耳边嘟囔。 它们想问题的方式根本不像

Clan cats. They have no idea how to make a border work." When Lionpaw had set the marker the patrol continued along the ridge to the head of the valley with the stream, and then on across the plateau. Brambleclaw chose a stack of loose rocks as another vantage point for a marker. Water dripped over them from a narrow crack, leaving them slick and green with a thin covering of moss. "What use is this in our territory?" Stoneteller objected, as Talon prepared to set the marker. "These rocks are always so wet that no prey can survive here." "That's not the point," Brambleclaw explained. "Markers need to be seen and easily identified. It's great if they're useful as well, but they don't need to be." Stoneteller gave a doubtful snort but didn't object anymore as Talon set the marker. He was silent as they continued around the pool where they had clashed with the three intruders and along the narrow valley where the young trespassers had ambushed them. When they had climbed out of the valley,

族群猫。 它们根本不懂怎么让边界发挥作用。” 狮爪做好标记后，巡逻队沿着山脊走到有溪流的山谷源头，接着继续穿过了高地。 荆爪选了一堆散石，作为第二个标记的好位置。 细缝里的水不断渗到石头上，让石头变得滑溜溜的，还长了一层薄薄的绿苔藓。 “这块地方对我们领地有什么用？” 鹰爪准备做标记时，石言反对道。 “这些石头一直湿乎乎的，根本没有猎物会来这儿。” “重点不是这个，”荆爪解释道。 “标记得能被看见，还要方便辨认。 如果顺便能用当然好，但不是必须的。” 石言怀疑地哼了一声，没再反对，看着鹰爪做好了标记。 他们继续往前走，绕过之前和三名入侵者打斗的水潭，沿着年轻偷袭者伏击他们的狭窄山谷前进，石言一路上都没说话。 等他们爬出山谷后，