Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Hollypaw slipped out under the brambles that sheltered the apprentice den. Gray clouds moved sluggishly across the sky and she could scent rain on the breeze. Shivering, she sat down, licking one paw and rubbing it over her face. The dawn patrol was just leaving; Dustpelt was in the lead, with Mousewhisker, Sandstorm, and Honeypaw. Ferncloud popped her head out of the nursery, sniffed the air, and disappeared inside again. A heartbeat later, Birchfall and Berrynose appeared from the elders" den, each carrying a huge wad of moss. Hollypaw's tail curled up in amusement. Good! Firestar put them back on apprentice duties. She watched them cross the camp and vanish into the thorn tunnel. "Make sure you squeeze all the water out of the fresh moss!" she called mischievously. "Mousefur will claw you if her pelt gets damp!" Berrynose lashed his tail as he entered the tunnel, but neither of them stopped to reply.

第四章 冬青爪从庇护学徒窝的荆棘丛下溜了出来。 灰云在天空中慢吞吞地飘移，微风里带着雨的气息。 她冻得发抖，坐下来舔了舔一只爪子，再用爪子抹了抹脸。 黎明巡逻队正好要出发； 尘皮带队，随行的有鼠须、沙风和蜜爪。 蕨云从育婴室探出头，嗅了嗅空气，又缩了回去。 片刻之后，桦落和莓鼻从长老窝走出来，每人都抱着一大团苔藓。 冬青爪觉得好笑，尾巴卷了起来。 太好了！ 火星让他们回去做学徒的本职工作了。 她看着两人穿过营地，消失在荆藤通道里。 “一定要把新苔藓里的水全都挤干净！” 她调皮地喊道。 “要是鼠毛的毛皮湿了，她肯定会挠你们的！” 莓鼻进通道的时候甩了甩尾巴，不过他俩都没停下来答话。

A thin drizzle set in as the rest of the camp began to stir. Lionpaw scrabbled out of the apprentice den behind Hollypaw, still looking half asleep, and blundered across the camp to the dirtplace tunnel. Brackenfur and Stormfur emerged from the warriors" den and headed for the fresh-kill pile. Hollypaw jumped up and bounded over to her mentor. "Are we going hunting?" Brackenfur shook his head. "All the prey will be in their holes. Maybe later." But Hollypaw's paws were itching to be doing something. She didn't want to spend the morning hanging around the camp. "Can I go out by myself, then?" she asked. "If you want," her mentor replied. "Stay away from the borders, though. We don't want any more trouble like yesterday." "I'll be careful," Hollypaw promised. "And be back by sunhigh," her mentor added. "We'll have a training session." "Sure." Hollypaw dashed off. As she prowled away from the stone hollow, senses straining for any sign of prey, the rain grew

营地其他地方渐渐苏醒，天空下起了蒙蒙细雨。 狮爪跟在冬青爪身后，连滚带爬爬出学徒窝，他还睡眼惺忪，跌跌撞撞穿过营地往便所通道走去。 蕨足和暴风毛走出武士窝，朝新鲜猎物堆走去。 冬青爪跳起身，蹦到她导师身边。 “我们要去打猎吗？” 蕨足摇了摇头。 “所有猎物都躲进洞里了。 也许晚点儿再去。” 可冬青爪爪子发痒，就想找点事做。 她不想一上午都在营地里闲晃。 “那我能自己出去吗？” 她问道。 “想去就去吧，”她的导师回答。 不过别离边界太近。 我们可不想再出昨天那样的麻烦了。” “我会小心的，”冬青爪保证道。 “太阳升到头顶就得回来，”她的导师补充道。 “我们还要上训练课。” “好的。” 冬青爪飞奔而去。 她悄悄走出石山谷，绷紧感官搜寻猎物踪迹，这时雨势变得

steadily heavier, pattering on the leaves, filling every dip in the ground with water. Each branch and tussock of grass was loaded with droplets that soaked Hollypaw's fur as she brushed past. She started to think that Brackenfur had been right, and she wouldn't catch anything, but for once that didn't bother her too much. She wanted to be out of the camp, and she wanted to think. Everything seemed to be getting much more complicated. She needed to concentrate on her training, but her mind was continually tugging her one way or the other—to the future and wondering if she could ever be Clan leader, or to the past and the traces of those ancient cats. She saw herself standing on the Highledge, calling a summons to her Clan... Hollypaw realized she had stopped concentrating on prey. She was just standing in the forest, getting wetter and wetter. Flicking drops from her ears, she dived into a hole in a sandy bank and crouched there, watching the hissing screen of rain a mouse-length from her nose. Her tongue rasped over her fur in an effort to dry herself off and get warm. She froze when

越来越大，雨点儿噼里啪啦打在叶子上，把地上每一处洼坑都灌满了水。 每一根树枝、每一丛草都挂着雨珠，冬青爪擦过的时候，浑身都打湿了。 她开始觉得蕨足是对的，自己肯定抓不到猎物，不过这一回她倒不太在意。 她就是想离开营地，好好理一理思绪。 所有事情好像都变得越来越复杂了。 她本该专心训练，可心思总被拉来扯去——一会儿想到未来，好奇自己能不能当上族群族长，一会儿又想到过去，想着那些古猫留下的痕迹。 她仿佛看见自己站在高岩上，向族群发号施令…… 冬青爪这才回过神，自己早就没在找猎物了。 她就呆呆站在森林里，身上越来越湿。 她弹掉耳朵上的雨珠，钻进沙岸的一个洞，蹲在里面，看着离鼻尖只有一只老鼠远的哗哗雨幕。 她用舌头舔着皮毛，想把毛舔干，暖和一点身子。 她猛地僵住，就在

she heard a scuffling from farther down the hole where she was sheltering. Something big—at least as big as she was—was coming up the tunnel behind her. Stupid! she scolded herself. She had been so wet, she hadn't bothered to check if she had the burrow to herself. She tensed her muscles and took a gulp of air, expecting to taste fox or even worse, badger. Instead, the scent of cat flooded into her jaws. And it was a familiar scent, too. Limp with relief, Hollypaw twisted around in the entrance to the hole. "Jaypaw! What are you doing down there?" Her brother squeezed into the sheltered space beside her. His pelt smelled of earth and stale fox. "Nothing," he mumbled. "Sheltering." "No, you're not!" Hollypaw was annoyed that he was so obviously lying. "Your fur is dry. You must have been here since before the rain started." When Jaypaw didn't reply, she added, "You've been trying to get down into the tunnels again, haven't you?" Jaypaw's paws scuffled the sandy earth. "What if I have?"

她听到藏身洞的更深处传来一阵窸窸窣窣的刮擦声。 有个大家伙——至少和她一样大——正从她身后的通道往上走。 真蠢！ 她在心里骂自己。 她刚才浑身湿透，居然没检查一下这个洞是不是只有她自己。 她绷紧肌肉，猛吸一口气，做好了闻到狐狸、甚至更糟的獾气味的准备。 结果，冲进她鼻腔的却是猫的气味。 而且这还是一股熟悉的气味。 冬青爪松了口气，浑身都放松下来，她在洞口转过身。 “松鸦爪！ 你在这下面干什么？” 她哥哥挤进她身边的遮雨空地。 他的皮毛带着泥土和陈旧的狐狸气味。 “没什么，”他咕哝道。 躲雨而已。” “才不是！” 冬青爪看出他明摆着在撒谎，有点生气。 你的毛是干的。 你肯定下雨前就待在这儿了。” 见松鸦爪没答话，她又说道：“你又想往那些地道里钻，对不对？” 松鸦爪的爪子扒拉着脚下的沙土。 我去了又怎么样？”

"It's dangerous!" Hollypaw protested. "Think what happened to Lionpaw when the roof of that badger set fell in. And remember what it was like in the cave. We nearly drowned. And—" "I know all that," Jaypaw interrupted. "You're not acting as if you do. It's raining hard now. The tunnels will flood again. And you just stroll down there as if you were strolling into camp! Honestly, Jaypaw, I don't know how you can be so mouse-brained." "You don't have to go on," her brother grumbled. "Anyway, I couldn't get in. This is just an old foxhole. It doesn't lead anywhere." "But you tried." Why couldn't Jaypaw see the trouble he was getting into? "I don't see what's so special about the caves. There's nothing down there." "Yes, there is!" He crouched in front of her; his blue eyes gazed up at her so intensely that Hollypaw could hardly believe he was blind. He hesitated, twitching his ears, then went on. "The ancient cats spoke to me. When I go to the Moonpool my paws slip into their paw prints. And I used to hear their voices on the wind. But

“太危险了！” 冬青爪抗议道。 “想想那次獾洞塌了，狮爪遇上了什么事。 还记得在洞穴里是什么滋味吗。 我们差点被淹死。 还有——” “这些我都知道，”松鸦爪打断了她。 “你做起事来根本就不像知道。 现在雨下得特别大。 隧道又要被淹了。 你居然还大摇大摆往那儿走，就跟回营地一样轻松！ 说真的松鸦爪，你怎么能这么缺心眼呢。” “你不用再说了，”她哥哥咕哝道。 “反正我也进不去。 这不过就是个旧狐狸洞。 根本不通往任何地方。” “可你都试过了呀。” 松鸦爪怎么就看不出他这是在自找麻烦呢？ “我不明白这些洞穴有什么特别的。 那下面什么东西都没有。” “才不对，那儿有东西！” 他蹲在冬青爪面前； 他那双蓝眼睛热切地望着她，冬青爪几乎不敢相信他是瞎的。 他犹豫了一下，抖了抖耳朵，接着说了下去。 “古代猫族和我说过话。 我去月亮池的时候，爪子会踩进他们留下的爪印里。 以前我还能在风中听到他们的声音。 可

since we rescued the kits, I haven't heard them. That's why I have to get back into the tunnels." Hollypaw stretched her neck forward and gave Jaypaw a sympathetic lick on his ear. She couldn't bear to hear the sorrow in his voice; he sounded as if he had lost something precious. Jaypaw jerked his head away. "You don't understand." "Explain it to me, then." Jaypaw hesitated. His forepaws traced spirals in the earth. "There were other cats in the caves," he mewed at last. Hollypaw was puzzled. "What do you mean?" "Spirits of the ancient cats who lived here seasons ago. One of them is called Fallen Leaves. He went down there in the ceremony to make him a warrior, and he never came out. He showed me where to find the lost kits." Every hair on Hollypaw's pelt rose. The ordeal in the caves had been bad enough without the thought of invisible cats watching them. "The other cat is called Rock," Jaypaw went on. "He's old—I mean, really old. He was in the cave. He showed me that we would escape, and

自从我们救下幼崽后，我就再也听不到他们的声音了。 所以我必须回到隧道里去。” 冬青爪伸长脖子，同情地舔了舔松鸦爪的耳朵。 她不忍心听见他声音里的悲伤，他听起来就像丢了什么无比珍贵的东西。 松鸦爪猛地把头甩开。 “你不懂。” “那你讲给我听啊。” 松鸦爪犹豫了。 他的前爪在泥土上画着圈圈。 “洞穴里还有别的猫，”他终于开口说道。 冬青爪一头雾水。 “你这话是什么意思？” “是好多季节前住在这里的古代猫的魂灵。 其中一只叫落叶。 他下去参加成为武士的仪式，之后就再也没出来了。 是他帮我找到了失踪的幼崽。” 冬青爪浑身的毛都竖了起来。 光是洞穴里的那场磨难就够糟了，更别说还有看不见的猫盯着他们。 “另一只叫岩石，”松鸦爪接着说。 “他很老了——我是说，真的非常老。 他就在洞穴里。 他告诉过我们能逃出去，还