Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27 Horror slashed through Hollypaw like the claws of fighting cats. "They haven't any code at all!" she gasped, turning to her brother. "Even the Tribe understands about duty and being fair. These cats just don't care!" Her muscles tensed, ready to leap into battle. The patrol had come in peace, wanting only to talk, but now it looked as if the truce would be shattered. StarClan, help us, she prayed, not even knowing if StarClan could hear her under these strange skies. Show us what to do. Beckoning with her tail, she gathered the Tribe to-bes close to her. Lionpaw and Breezepaw flanked them on either side. "Do we fight now?" Splash asked nervously. "Let's hope not," Lionpaw replied. Hollypaw was grateful for the reassurance in his voice. "But Hollypaw will give you a signal if we have to." She didn't have much hope that they could avoid a battle now. Stripes had made it clear that the trespassers had no intention of respecting the

第二十七章 恐惧像格斗猫的爪子一般，狠狠扎进冬青爪的身体。 “他们根本没有任何守则！” 她倒抽一口冷气，转向自己的哥哥。 “就连急水部落都懂得责任和公平。 这些猫根本毫不在乎！” 她肌肉紧绷，随时准备扑入战斗。 这支巡逻队本是和平来访，只想好好谈谈，可现在休战眼看就要破碎了。 星族啊，帮帮我们，她祈祷着，连在这片陌生天空下星族能否听见她都不知道。 告诉我们该怎么做。 她甩尾示意，把部落候选猫召集到自己身旁。 狮爪和风爪分别守在队伍两侧。 “我们现在就开战吗？” 泼爪紧张地问道。 “希望不用开战。”狮爪回答。 冬青爪感激他话音里的安稳底气。 “但万不得已时，冬青爪会给你们发信号。” 她现在也不觉得他们能躲开这场战斗了。 条纹已经摆明了，这些闯入者根本不打算尊重

borders the Tribe had worked so hard to set in place. The Tribe were no better off than when they started. At Stripes's challenge, Crag had stepped forward until the two cats stood nose to nose. His neck fur bristled and his eyes were narrowed menacingly. "If you're looking for a fight—" Brambleclaw stopped him with a touch of his tail on his shoulder and motioned him back. "This isn't the right time," he murmured. "They outnumber us, for one thing. Best go back to the cave and see what happens." "I know what's going to happen," Crag snarled. For a couple of heartbeats Hollypaw thought that he would defy Brambleclaw and leap into battle. Then the rest of them would have to fight to back him up. At last Crag let out a long sigh, bowing his head. "Have it your way," he mewed to Brambleclaw. Brambleclaw touched his tail to the caveguard's shoulder once again, a silent gesture of gratitude. Facing Stripes, he meowed, "We will defend our borders. It's your choice if you cross

部落好不容易才划定的边界。 部落的处境和一开始比起来，丝毫没有变好。 面对条纹的挑衅，克拉格上前，直到两只猫鼻尖对鼻尖站定。 他颈毛炸开，双眼凶狠地眯起。 “如果你想找架打——”黑莓掌用尾巴碰了碰他的肩膀拦住他，示意他退回去。 “现在不是动手的时候。”他低声说。 “一来对方人数比我们多。 最好先回山洞，看看接下来的发展。” “我清楚接下来会发生什么。”克拉格怒吼道。 有那么好几秒，冬青爪都以为他会违抗黑莓掌，直接扑上去开战。 到时候剩下的我们也不得不上去帮他。 最终克拉格长长叹了一口气，低下了头。 “就按你说的办。”他对黑莓掌说道。 黑莓掌再次把尾巴搭在这位洞穴守卫肩上，无声地表达谢意。 他面向条纹，开口道：“我们会保卫我们的边界。 越不越线，选择权在你们

them." "Fine." Stripes flicked his tail. "We'll bear that in mind. Not forgetting that some of you don't belong here." "He means us," Lionpaw whispered. "He knows we'll go home sooner or later. Then the Tribe will be weaker..." He didn't need to go on. It was obvious to Hollypaw that Stripes meant to attack the Tribe as soon as the Clan cats left them defenseless. But we can't stay here forever, she thought, struggling against a pang of homesickness for the forest and the camp in the stone hollow. Brambleclaw turned and led his cats away. Mocking caterwauls followed them. "Don't bother coming back!" Flick yowled. The sun was well above the mountains as the patrol made its way back to the cave. Golden rays warmed the rocks, but Hollypaw felt as cold as if she were padding through a bitter leaf-bare. "Do you think that was okay?" Splash fretted. "They know about our borders now, so they should leave us alone." "I hope I'll be on the first patrol!" Pebble

手上。” “行啊。” 条纹甩了甩尾巴。 “我们会记着这话的。 也不会忘了，你们有些人根本不属于这里。” “他说的是我们。”狮爪低声说。 “他知道我们迟早要回家。 到时候部落就会变弱……” 他不用把话说完。 冬青爪清楚得很，条纹就是打算等族群猫离开、部落失去防备后立刻攻打部落。 可我们不能永远留在这里，她想着，忍不住涌起思乡之情，想念森林，想念石谷里的营地。 黑莓掌转身带着猫群离开了。 嘲讽的嚎叫跟在他们身后。 “别再来了！” 弗里克大声吼道。 巡逻队往山洞走的时候，太阳已经高高挂在山巅了。 金色阳光把岩石晒得暖融融的，可冬青爪却冷得像行走在苦寒的叶枯季。 “你觉得刚才那样做没问题吗？” 泼爪担忧地问道。 “他们现在知道我们的边界了，肯定就会放过我们了。” “我希望我能加入第一支巡逻队！” 卵石

added. "Let's wait and see," Hollypaw mewed. She wasn't sure if the Tribe to-bes really hadn't understood what had just happened, or whether they were forcing themselves to be optimistic. She couldn't bring herself to tell them that borders didn't exist unless they were seen from both sides. The trespassers had shown that they had no honor, not a scrap of respect for their rivals, so it was only a matter of time before they crossed the boundaries and stole more prey from the Tribe. The warrior code has failed, she thought. She had built her life on it, and now she felt as though she had stepped off a precipice and was plummeting down into darkness. Even the Tribe doesn't really understand it. She gave herself a shake. The Tribe might not have the warrior code, but they had traditions just as ancient and important. Perhaps the Tribe of Endless Hunting would come to their aid at last. The patrol had reached the boulder-covered slope that led down to the stream when Brambleclaw paused suddenly, raising his tail to

接着说道。 “咱们先等等看。”冬青爪回应道。 她不确定是部落候选猫真没听懂刚才发生的事，还是他们强迫自己往好处想。 她没法开口告诉他们，只有双方都认可，边界才真正存在。 这些闯入者已经摆明了毫无荣誉感，一点都不尊重对手，所以他们越界偷猎只是时间问题。 武士守则已经失效了，她想。 她一直靠着守则生活，此刻却感觉自己跌下悬崖，直直坠入了黑暗。 就连部落都没能真正读懂武士守则。 她晃了晃自己的身子。 部落或许没有武士守则，但他们也有同样古老而重要的传统。 说不定无尽狩猎部落最终会来帮助他们。 巡逻队走到通往溪流、满是巨石的斜坡时，黑莓掌突然停下，抬起尾巴准备

bring the other cats to a halt behind him. "Intruder scent!" he hissed. Hollypaw felt the fur on her shoulders begin to bristle. Tasting the air, she picked up a strong, fresh scent, carried on the breeze that swept across the bare rock. She couldn't see the intruders, but she realized that they must be very close. "I don't believe this," Lionpaw muttered into her ear. His fur was fluffed up with anger and his tail-tip twitched back and forth. "We only just told them about the borders, and they're already trespassing." "Look—down there!" Pebble angled her ears toward the stream. Down below, the skinny brown intruder, Flick, emerged from behind a spur of rock, following the course of the stream. Four more of the intruders followed him; one of them, the black tom they had encountered before, had the body of a mouse hanging from his jaws. They padded along confidently, as if they had every right to be there. I knew it, Hollypaw thought. Everything we've done has been for nothing.

把其他猫拦在了他身后。 "入侵者的气味！" 他嘶声说道。 冬青爪感觉到肩膀的毛都竖起来了。 她嗅了嗅空气，察觉到一股浓烈新鲜的气味，顺着微风飘过光秃的岩石。 她看不见入侵者，但清楚他们肯定离得非常近。 "我真不敢相信，"狮爪在她耳边咕哝道。 他气得毛发炸起，尾尖不停来回抽动。 "我们刚跟他们说过边界，他们就已经闯进来越界了。" "看——就在下面！" 卵石把耳朵转向溪流的方向。 下方，瘦瘦的棕色入侵者弗里克从一块岩脊后走出，沿着溪流前进。 另外四名入侵者跟在他身后； 其中那只他们之前遇过的黑色公猫，嘴里叼着一只老鼠。 他们自信地缓步往前走，就像这地方本来就属于他们一样。 我就知道，冬青爪心想。 我们做的一切全都白费了。

"They're useless hunters," she commented, trying to push down the cold sense of failure that sat in her belly like a stone. "They can't even scent us. They have no idea that we're here." "Or they don't care," Lionpaw added. Brambleclaw, Crag, and Stormfur exchanged a few quick words, speaking too low for Hollypaw to catch what they said. Then Brambleclaw leaped up onto the nearest boulder so that his figure was outlined against the sky. "Trespassers!" he yowled. The invaders halted. In the same heartbeat, Brambleclaw let out a fearsome screech and launched himself down from the boulder. The rest of the patrol poured down the slope after him; Hollypaw felt as if a rushing torrent were sweeping her on. After one terrified glance, Flick's patrol spun around and fled downstream. Flick clawed his way up a steep rockslide until he reached a ledge. He glared down at the Clan and Tribe cats, his ears flattened and his lips drawn back in a snarl. Brambleclaw bounded up to the foot of the rockslide. "You have crossed the Tribe's border," he meowed. Hollypaw could tell that he was

"他们可真是差劲的猎手，"她说道，拼命压下心头那块像石头一样沉的冰冷失败感。 "他们连我们的气味都闻不到。 根本不知道我们就在这儿。" "或许他们根本不在乎，"狮爪补充道。 黑莓掌、石棱和暴毛快速交谈了几句，声音压得太低，冬青爪听不清内容。 接着黑莓掌跳上最近一块大圆石，身影映衬在天空下。 "越界者！"他怒吼道。 入侵者们一下子停住了脚步。 与此同时，黑莓掌发出一声吓人的嘶喊，从巨石上猛扑下来。 巡逻队其他成员紧跟着冲下山坡； 冬青爪感觉自己就像被奔腾的激流裹挟着往前冲。 弗里克的巡逻队惊恐瞥了一眼后，立刻转身顺流逃走。 弗里克扒着陡峭碎石坡往上爬，一直爬到一块岩台上。 他俯盯着族群猫和部落猫，耳朵平贴，龇牙咧嘴地咆哮着。 黑莓掌纵身跃到碎石坡脚下。 "你们跨过了部落的边界，"他说道。 冬青爪能听得出来，他正在