Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 In the following days, Fireheart struggled against the urge to visit his sister. His yearning to be with his kittypet kin was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable. He kept himself busy hunting in the snowy forests, replenishing the camp store. He had had a successful hunt this afternoon, returning to camp with two mice and a chaffinch as the sun dipped behind the trees. He buried the mice in the snow store and took the chaffinch for his own supper. As he finished his meal, he noticed Whitestorm padding toward him. "I want you to take Sandpaw out on the dawn patrol," the great white warrior meowed. "ShadowClan has been scented as close as the Owl Tree." "ShadowClan?" Fireheart echoed in alarm. Perhaps Tigerclaw really had found evidence of an invasion after all. "I was planning to take Brackenpaw out again tomorrow." "Isn't Graystripe better now?" asked Whitestorm. "He can take Brackenpaw." Of course! thought Fireheart. And perhaps

第十九章接下来的几天里，火心一直克制着要去看妹妹的冲动。 他渴望和他的小猫亲戚在一起，这开始使他感到不舒服。 他不停地在白雪皑皑的森林里打猎，补充营地的物资。 今天下午，他打猎成功了。当太阳落在树后时，他带着两只老鼠和一只苍头燕雀回到营地。 他把老鼠埋在雪堆里，把苍头燕雀当作自己的晚餐。 当他吃完饭时，他注意到怀特风暴正在向他走来。 “我要你带Sandpaw去黎明巡逻，”伟大的白色战士喵喵地说。 “影子家族的气味就像猫头鹰树一样近。” “ShadowClan ?”火心发出惊恐的回声。 也许虎爪真的找到了入侵的证据。 “我打算明天再带宝爪出去。” “灰条纹现在不是好些了吗？”白风暴问道。 “他可以带走宝爪。”当然!认为Fireheart。 也许

training his apprentice would keep Graystripe away from Silverstream for once. But that meant he would have to go on patrol with Sandpaw. And Fireheart couldn't help thinking of the furious look Sandpaw had given him when he'd interrupted her fight with the RiverClan warrior beside the gorge. "Just me and Sandpaw?" he asked. Whitestorm looked at him in surprise. "Sandpaw's almost a warrior, and you can take care of yourself," he replied. Whitestorm had misunderstood Fireheart's concern. He wasn't afraid of being attacked by enemy cats; he was afraid Sandpaw hated him as much as Dustpaw did. But Fireheart didn't correct him. "Does Sandpaw know?" "You can tell her," meowed Whitestorm. Fireheart's ear twitched. He didn't think Sandpaw would be too thrilled by the idea of patrolling with him, but he didn't argue. Whitestorm nodded briefly and bounded away toward the warriors' den. Fireheart sighed and padded over to where Sandpaw was sitting with the other apprentices.

训练他的徒弟可以让灰条远离银溪一次。 但这意味着他必须和Sandpaw一起去巡逻。 火心不禁想起，当他在峡谷旁打断她与河族战士的战斗时，沙爪对他的怒视。 “只有我和Sandpaw?”他问。 怀特斯托姆惊讶地看着他。 “Sandpaw差不多是个战士了，你可以照顾好自己，”他回答。 白风暴误会了火心的意思。 他不怕被敌人的猫攻击；他怕Sandpaw和Dustpaw一样恨他。 但是火心并没有纠正他。 “Sandpaw知道吗？”“你可以告诉她，”白风暴叫道。 火心的耳朵抽搐了一下。他不认为Sandpaw会因为和他一起巡逻的想法而太兴奋，但他没有争辩。 白风暴短暂地点了点头，向战士们的洞穴跳去。 火心叹了口气，走到Sandpaw和其他徒弟坐在一起的地方。

"Sandpaw." Fireheart shifted uneasily. "Whitestorm wants you to patrol with me at dawn tomorrow." He waited for a resentful hiss, but Sandpaw merely looked up at him and meowed, "Fine." Even Dustpaw looked surprised. "O-okay," echoed Fireheart, taken aback. "Meet you at sunrise then." "Sunrise," agreed Sandpaw. Fireheart decided to share the good news about Sandpaw's lack of hostility with Graystripe. It might be a chance for them to start talking to each other again. Graystripe was sharing tongues with Runningwind by the clump of nettles. "Hi, Fireheart," Runningwind meowed as Fireheart approached. "Hi." Fireheart looked expectantly at Graystripe. But Graystripe had turned his head away and was staring at the boundary wall. Fireheart's heart sank. He dropped his head and turned back toward his nest. He couldn't wait to be out on patrol tomorrow and away from the camp.

“Sandpaw。”火心不安地挪动了一下。 “白风暴要你明天黎明和我一起巡逻。” 他等着听到一声愤怒的嘘声，但Sandpaw只是抬头看着他，喵喵地说：“好吧。” 就连簸箕也显得很惊讶。 “哦——好吧。”火心吃了一惊，应声说。 “那么，太阳升起时见。” “日出。”沙爪同意了。 火心决定把Sandpaw没有敌意的好消息告诉灰条。 这可能是他们重新开始交谈的机会。 灰条在荨麻丛中与奔风交谈。 “嗨，火心。”当火心走近时，跑风叫道。 “嗨。”火心期待地看着灰条纹。 但灰条纹已经转过头去，盯着边界的墙。 火心的心一沉。他低下头，转身回巢去了。 他迫不及待地想明天离开营地出去巡逻。

The sky glowed palest pink above Fireheart's head as he pushed his way out of the den the next morning. Sandpaw was waiting for him outside the gorse tunnel. "Er, hi," Fireheart meowed, feeling a bit awkward. "Hi," Sandpaw answered quietly. Fireheart sat down. "Let's wait for the night patrol to get back," he suggested. They sat in silence until they heard the familiar rustle of bushes heralding the return of Whitestorm, Longtail, and Mousefur. "Any sign of ShadowClan?" Fireheart asked. "We definitely picked up some ShadowClan scents," answered Whitestorm grimly. "It's strange," meowed Mousefur, frowning. "It's always the same group of scents. ShadowClan must be sending the same warriors each time." "You two had better check out the RiverClan border," suggested Whitestorm. "We didn't get a chance to patrol there. Be careful, and remember, you don't want to start a fight. You're just looking for signs they've been hunting on our land again."

第二天早上，火心从洞穴里爬出来时，头顶上的天空闪着淡淡的粉红色。 沙爪在金雀花隧道外面等着他。 “呃，嗨。”火心叫道，觉得有点尴尬。 “嗨，”Sandpaw平静地回答。 火心坐了下来。“我们等夜班巡逻队回来吧。”他建议道。 他们静静地坐着，直到听到熟悉的灌木丛沙沙作响，预示着白风暴、长尾巴和鼠毛回来了。 “有影子家族的迹象吗？”Fireheart问道。 “我们确实闻到了影子部落的味道，”Whitestorm冷酷地回答。 “真奇怪，”鼠毛皱着眉头喵喵地说。 “总是同一组气味。 暗影氏族每次都必须派出同样的战士。” “你们俩最好去河族边境看看。”白风暴建议。 “我们没有机会在那里巡逻。 小心点，记住，你可不想挑起一场争吵。 你只是在寻找他们又在我们的土地上打猎的迹象。”

"Yes, Whitestorm," meowed Fireheart. Sandpaw nodded respectfully. Fireheart led the way. "We'll start at Fourtrees and work our way along the border to Tallpines," he meowed as they climbed out of the camp ravine. "Sounds good," replied Sandpaw. "I've never seen Fourtrees in the snow." Fireheart listened for sarcasm in her voice, but she seemed to be sincere. They reached the top of the ravine. "Which way now?" Fireheart decided to test her. "Do you think I don't know the way to Fourtrees?" Sandpaw protested. Fireheart began to regret acting like a mentor until he noticed a good-humored gleam in her eyes. She charged away through the woods without another word, and Fireheart pelted after her. It felt good to be running through the woods with another cat again. He had to admit Sandpaw was fast. She was still two fox lengths ahead when she leaped over the trunk of a fallen tree and disappeared. Fireheart followed, taking the tree in a single

“是的，白风暴。”火心叫道。 Sandpaw恭敬地点点头。 火心带路。“我们从四棵树开始，沿着边境一路走到Tallpines，”当他们爬出营地峡谷时，他喵喵地叫道。 “听起来不错，”Sandpaw回答。 “我从来没在雪地里见过四棵树。” 火心听着她声音里的讥讽，但她似乎很真诚。 他们到达了峡谷的顶端。 “现在走哪条路？”火心决定考验一下她。 “你以为我不知道去四树树的路吗？”Sandpaw抗议道。 火心开始后悔自己不该像个良师益友，直到他注意到她眼中流露出一种愉快的光芒。 她二话没说就冲进树林，火心追了上去。 又能和另一只猫一起在树林里奔跑了，感觉真好。 他不得不承认Sandpaw跑得很快。 当她跳过一棵倒下的树干消失时，她还领先两个狐狸的距离。 火心紧随其后，一举拿下了那棵树

bound. As he landed on the other side, something hit him from behind. He skidded in the snow, rolled over, and sprang to his paws. Sandpaw faced him, her whiskers twitching. "Surprise!" Fireheart hissed playfully and leaped on top of her. He was impressed by Sandpaw's strength, but he had the advantage of size. When he finally held her down in the snow, she protested, "Get off, you great lump!" "Okay, okay," meowed Fireheart, letting go of her. "But you asked for it!" Sandpaw sat up, her orange coat dusted with snow. "You look like you've been caught in a snowstorm!" she mewed. "So do you." They both shook the flakes from their fur. "Come on," Fireheart meowed. "We'd better get a move on." They raced side by side, as far as Fourtrees. By the time they reached the top of the slope that overlooked the valley, the sky was milky blue. Pale sunlight lit up the snowy hollow. The four bare oaks stood below them, glittering with frost. Sandpaw stared down, her eyes wide. Fireheart

绑定。当他降落在另一边时，有什么东西从背后击中了他。 他在雪地里打滑，翻了个身，跳了起来。 Sandpaw面对着他，她的胡须抽搐着。 “奇怪!”火心顽皮地嘶嘶叫着，跳到了她身上。 沙爪的力量给他留下了深刻的印象，但他有身材的优势。 当他终于把她按在雪地上时，她抗议道：“滚开，你这个大笨蛋！”“好了，好了。”火心叫道，放开了她。 “但这是你自找的！”Sandpaw坐了起来，她的橙色外套上沾满了雪。 “你看起来像是遇到了暴风雪！”她叫道。 “你也是。”他们俩都抖掉了皮毛上的雪花。 “来吧。”火心叫道。 “我们最好赶快走。” 他们并排跑着，一直跑到四树村。 当他们到达俯瞰山谷的斜坡的顶端时，天空是乳白色的蓝色。 苍白的阳光照亮了白雪覆盖的山谷。 四棵光秃秃的橡树站在他们下面，因霜冻而闪闪发光。 Sandpaw瞪大了眼睛盯着下面。 Fireheart