Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29 As the den grew lighter, Willowpelt woke up. Fireheart watched as she rose and stretched, then pushed her way out of the den. He gave a last glance at Graystripe's sleeping form, and followed her. "It's stopped snowing," he meowed, desperate to break the ghostly silence that enfolded the snowbound camp. His voice echoed around the clearing, and Willowpelt nodded. A rustling noise accompanied the scent of Tigerclaw and Runningwind as they emerged from the den. They settled themselves beside Willowpelt to wash. Ready for the dawn patrol, Fireheart thought. He wondered if he should offer to join them, since he could do with a run through the woods, but part of him wanted to stay behind and keep an eye on Graystripe. Spottedleaf's words still lay heavy in his heart. He couldn't shake off the idea that Graystripe was the warrior he could not trust. Graystripe insisted his relationship with Silverstream didn't change his loyalty to the Clan, but how could it not? He was breaking the warrior code just by seeing her!

第二十九章洞穴渐渐亮了，柳树皮醒了。 火心看着她站起来伸伸懒腰，然后冲出了洞穴。 他最后看了一眼熟睡的格雷斯特里特，跟着她走了。 “雪停了，”他喵喵地叫着，拼命想打破笼罩在被雪困住的营地的幽灵般的寂静。 他的声音在空地上回响，威洛佩特点点头。 他们从洞里出来时，伴随着虎爪和奔风的气味，沙沙作响。 他们坐在威洛佩特旁边洗澡。 火心心想，准备好黎明巡逻了。 他不知道自己是否应该主动提出加入他们，因为他可以在树林里跑一跑，但他又有点想留下来监视格雷斯特里特。 点点树叶的话仍然沉重地压在他心里。 他无法摆脱灰条纹是他不能信任的战士的想法。 Graystripe坚称他与Silverstream的关系并没有改变他对Clan的忠诚，但这怎么可能呢？ 他见到她就违反了战士的准则！

Suddenly Tigerclaw lifted his head as though he had smelled something. Fireheart tensed. His ears twitched—he could hear paws crunching through the snow in the distance, moving fast. The breeze carried the scent of WindClan. The pawsteps grew louder. As one, the warriors stiffened—a cat was rushing toward them through the gorse tunnel. Tigerclaw arched his back and hissed as Onewhisker burst into the clearing. The WindClan warrior skidded to a halt in front of them, his eyes filled with dread. "ShadowClan and RiverClan!" he gasped. "They're attacking our camp! We're outnumbered and fighting for our lives. Tallstar refuses to be driven off this time. You must help or my Clan will be wiped out!" Bluestar bounded out of her den. All eyes turned from Onewhisker to her. "I heard," she meowed. Without mounting the Highrock, the ThunderClan leader gave the yowl she used to call the Clan together. Onewhisker's fear-scent filled the clearing as he watched the cats emerge into the morning light. As soon as the Clan had gathered, Bluestar

突然，虎爪抬起头来，好像闻到了什么味道。 Fireheart绷紧。他的耳朵抽搐了一下——他能听到远处爪子在雪地上嘎吱作响，移动得很快。 微风带着风氏族的气味。 脚步声越来越响。战士们齐心协力地站了起来——一只猫正穿过金雀花隧道向他们冲来。 虎爪拱起背，嘶嘶地叫着，只见一须冲进空地。 风氏族的战士在他们面前刹住脚步，眼里充满了恐惧。 “暗影氏族和大河氏族！” “他们在攻击我们的营地！”我们寡不敌众，为生存而战。 塔尔斯特这次拒绝被赶走。 你必须帮忙，否则我的家族将被消灭！”蓝星从她的窝里跳出来。 所有的目光都从一个胡须转向她。 “我听说了，”她叫道。没有登上海岩，雷霆氏族首领发出了她用来召集氏族的嚎叫。 当他看着猫出现在晨光中时，空地上弥漫着一股恐惧的气味。 氏族一集合，蓝星

began. "There's no time to waste. It's as we feared —ShadowClan and RiverClan have joined together, and now they're attacking the WindClan camp. We must help them." She paused and looked around at the faces staring back at her in dismay. Onewhisker stood beside her, listening silently with wide, hopeful eyes. Fireheart was appalled. After the rogue cats had been discovered, he'd thought Nightstar could be trusted. Now it seemed the ShadowClan leader had broken the warrior code after all by uniting with RiverClan to drive WindClan from their home yet again. "But we are leaf-bare–weak!" protested Patchpelt. "We've taken a risk for WindClan once before. Let them take care of themselves this time." A few murmurs of agreement rose from the elders and queens. It was Tigerclaw who answered him, stepping forward to stand beside Bluestar. "You're right to be cautious, Patchpelt. But if ShadowClan and RiverClan have united, it is only a matter of time before they turn on us. It's better we fight now, with WindClan, than later, alone!"

开始了。“没有时间可以浪费了。 正如我们所担心的——暗影氏族和河流氏族联合起来了，现在他们正在攻击风氏族的营地。 我们必须帮助他们。”她停了下来，环顾四周，看着那些惊愕地盯着她的脸。 一个胡须站在她身边，睁大充满希望的眼睛静静地听着。 火心吓了一跳。在发现流浪猫之后，他认为夜星是可以信任的。 现在看来，暗影氏族的首领终于打破了战士的准则，与河流氏族联合起来，再次将风氏族赶出家园。 “可我们是光秃秃的！”补丁儿抗议道。 “我们曾经为《WindClan》冒过一次险。 这次让他们自己照顾自己吧。” 长老和王后们低声表示同意。 是虎爪回答了他，走到蓝星身边。 “你的谨慎是对的，Patchpelt。 但如果暗影氏族和大河氏族联合起来，他们攻击我们只是时间问题。 我们现在和风氏族一起战斗，总比以后孤军奋战好！”

Bluestar looked at Patchpelt, who closed his eyes and lifted his tail, accepting Tigerclaw's words. Yellowfang pushed her way forward and spoke quietly to the leader. "I think you should remain behind in camp, Bluestar. The fever from the greencough may have gone, but you'll still be weak." The two cats exchanged a look that Fireheart understood with a jolt. Bluestar was on her ninth and final life. For the sake of the Clan, she could not afford to risk it in battle. Bluestar nodded briskly. "Tigerclaw, I want you to organize two parties, one to head the attack, one to back it up. We need to get there as fast as we can!" "Yes, Bluestar." Tigerclaw turned to the warriors. "Whitestorm, you'll head the second party; I'll head the first. I'll take Darkstripe, Mousefur, Longtail, Dustpelt, and Fireheart." Fireheart lifted his head as Tigerclaw called his name, feeling a thrill run through him. He was to join the lead party! "You!" Tigerclaw called to Onewhisker. "What's your name?" The WindClan warrior

蓝星看着补丁儿，补丁儿闭上眼睛，抬起尾巴，接受了虎爪的话。 黄芳向前挤去，轻声地对领队说。 “我认为你应该留在营地，蓝星。 绿足病的烧可能已经退了，但你还是会很虚弱。” 两只猫对视了一下，火心猛然明白了。 那是蓝星的第九次生命，也是最后一次生命。 为了氏族的利益，她不能在战斗中冒险。 蓝星轻快地点了点头。“虎爪，我要你组织两支队伍，一支领头进攻，一支做后援。 我们要尽快赶到那里！”“是的,蓝星。” 虎爪转向战士们。 “白风暴，你率领第二队；我第一个去。 我要带黑条、鼠毛、长尾巴、灰尘皮和火心。” 当虎爪叫他的名字时，火心抬起头，感到一阵兴奋。 他要加入领头的队伍！“你!”虎爪叫一须。 “你叫什么名字？”风氏族战士

looked startled by Tigerclaw's tone. Fireheart answered for him. "Onewhisker," he meowed. Tigerclaw nodded, barely pausing to look at Fireheart. "Onewhisker, you'll be in my party. The rest of the ThunderClan warriors will join Whitestorm. You too, Brackenpaw." "Are we all ready?" called Tigerclaw. The warriors raised their heads and let out a battle cry. Tigerclaw charged for the gorse tunnel and they raced after him. Up the ravine they climbed, into the forest. They were heading for Fourtrees and the uplands beyond. Fireheart glanced over his shoulder as he ran through the trees. Graystripe was near the back, his face grim, his eyes staring blankly ahead. Fireheart wondered if Silverstream would be at the battle. Fireheart felt a pang of sorrow for his friend, but this time he had no doubts about his own readiness to fight. After bringing WindClan home, he couldn't help feeling responsible for them. He would not let any Clan drive them back to those Thunderpath tunnels. Spottedleaf's fragrance filled his nostrils once

似乎被虎爪的语气吓了一跳。 火心替他回答。 “一撮胡须。”他叫道。虎爪点点头，几乎没有停下来看火心一眼。 “只要有一个胡须，你就会加入我的队伍。 其余的雷霆族战士将加入白风暴。 你也是，爪子。”“大家都准备好了吗？”虎爪喊道。 战士们抬起头，发出了战斗的呐喊。 虎爪冲进了金雀花隧道，他们追了上去。 他们爬上峡谷，进入森林。 他们朝四树村和远处的高地走去。 火心跑过树林时，回头瞥了一眼。 灰条纹站在靠近后面的地方，脸色阴沉，眼睛茫然地盯着前方。 火心不知道银溪是否会参加战斗。 火心为他的朋友感到一阵悲痛，但这一次他对自己的战斗准备毫不怀疑。 在将《WindClan》带回家后，他不禁感到自己对他们负有责任。 他不会让任何部族把他们赶回迅雷之路的地道。 斑点叶的香味一度充满了他的鼻孔

more, and Fireheart's fur prickled. "Beware a warrior you cannot trust!" This was going to be a difficult battle in more ways than one. Graystripe would have no choice about proving his loyalty now. Even though the snow had stopped falling, it was hard work getting through the drifts. An icy crust had formed over the top of the snow, but the warriors were heavy enough to break through and sink into the softer snow underneath. "Tigerclaw!" Willowpelt's yowl sounded from the rear. The deputy halted and turned. "We're being followed!" Willowpelt called. Her words sent a quiver of alarm through Fireheart. Had they run into a trap? Quietly the patrol retraced their pawsteps, alert and suspicious. A snow-laden branch creaked above, making Brackenpaw jump. "Wait," hissed Tigerclaw. The cats crouched in the deep snow. Fireheart could hear the noise of pawsteps heading toward them. They sounded light, like small paws stepping delicately over the top of the ice crust. With a sinking heart, Fireheart guessed who it was

更多，火心的毛刺痛了。 “当心一个你不能信任的战士！”从很多方面来说，这将是一场艰难的战斗。 灰条纹现在别无选择要证明他的忠诚。 虽然雪已经停了，但要穿过积雪还是很困难的。 雪的顶部已经形成了一层冰壳，但战士们足够重，可以冲破冰壳，沉入下面柔软的雪中。 “Tigerclaw !”威洛佩特的嚎叫从后面传来。 警官停了下来，转过身来。 “我们被跟踪了！”Willowpelt调用。 她的话使火心一阵惊恐。 他们是掉进陷阱了吗？巡逻队警觉而多疑，悄悄地循着他们的脚步走了回去。 上面一根被雪覆盖的树枝吱吱作响，把爪子吓了一跳。 “等等。”虎爪嘶嘶地说。猫蹲在厚厚的雪里。 火心听到了向他们走来的脚步声。 它们的声音听起来很轻，就像小爪子轻轻地踩在冰层上。 火心怀着一颗沉甸甸的心，猜到了是谁