Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 As they headed out of the camp, the two young warriors nearly crashed into Whitestorm, who was leading Sandpaw and Runningwind into the forest for the dawn patrol. "Sorry!" panted Fireheart. He stopped, and Graystripe skidded to a halt beside him. Whitestorm dipped his head. "I hear you two are going on a mission," he meowed. "Yes," Fireheart replied. "Then may you have StarClan's protection," meowed Whitestorm gravely. "What for?" Sandpaw sneered. "You off to catch voles?" Runningwind, a lean tabby, turned and whispered something into Sandpaw's ear. Her expression changed and the contempt in her green eyes switched to guarded curiosity. The patrol stepped aside to let Fireheart and Graystripe pass. The pair raced on and scrambled up the side of the ravine. Fireheart and Graystripe shared few words as they followed the route through the forest to Fourtrees, saving their breath for the long journey

当他们走出营地时，两个年轻的战士差点撞上白风暴，白风暴正带领Sandpaw和Runningwind进入森林进行黎明巡逻。 “对不起！”火心喘着气说。 他停了下来，灰条纹在他身边滑了下来。 怀特斯托姆低下头。 “我听说你们两个要去执行任务。”他喵喵地叫道。 “是的。”火心答道。“那么愿你得到StarClan的保护。”Whitestorm严肃地喵喵叫道。 “什么?”Sandpaw冷笑道。 “你要去抓田鼠吗？”跑风是一只瘦削的虎斑猫，它转过身来，对着Sandpaw耳语了几句。 她的表情变了，绿眼睛里的轻蔑变成了警惕的好奇。 巡警让开，让火心和灰条通过。 这对夫妇继续奔跑，爬上了峡谷的一侧。 火心和灰条纹在穿过森林前往四树树的路上没有说什么话，为漫长的旅程留了口气

ahead. They paused at the top of the steep slope on the far side of the oak-shaded clearing, their sides heaving from the climb. "Is it always windy up here?" grumbled Graystripe, fluffing out his thick fur against the blast of cold air that swept across the uplands. "I suppose there aren't any trees to block it," Fireheart pointed out, screwing up his eyes. This was WindClan's territory. As Fireheart sniffed the air, he detected a scent that all of his senses told him should not be there. "Do you smell RiverClan warriors?" he murmured uneasily. Graystripe lifted his nose. "No. Do you think there might be some here?" "Maybe. They might want to make the most of WindClan's absence, especially since they know WindClan will be back soon," Fireheart warned. "Well, I can't smell anything now," whispered Graystripe. The two friends padded watchfully along a frozen turf trail sheltered by heather. A fresh scent stopped Fireheart in his tracks. "Can you smell that?" he hissed to Graystripe. "Yes," whispered Graystripe, flattening himself

领先。他们在橡树荫遮蔽的空地的另一边的陡坡顶上停了下来，两边都因为攀爬而起伏不定。 “这里总是刮风吗？”灰条嘟囔着，抖了抖厚厚的皮毛，挡住了横扫高地的冷空气。 “我想没有树挡住吧。”火心指出，眯起了眼睛。 这是WindClan的地盘。 火心嗅了嗅空气，发现了一种他所有感官都认为不应该存在的气味。 “你闻到河族战士的味道了吗？”他不安地喃喃道。 灰条纹抬起鼻子。 “没有。你觉得这里会有吗？”“也许。 他们可能想要充分利用《WindClan》的缺席，特别是因为他们知道《WindClan》很快就会回来。” “嗯，我现在什么也闻不到了。” 两个朋友小心翼翼地沿着一条被石南草遮蔽的结冰的草皮小径走着。 一股新鲜的气味挡住了火心的去路。 “你闻到了吗？”他低声对格雷斯特里克说。 “是的。”灰条纹低声说，伸直了身子

against the ground. "RiverClan!" Fireheart dropped into a crouch, keeping his ears below the heather. Beside him, Graystripe lifted his dark gray head to peer over the bushes. "I can see them," he murmured. "They're hunting." Fireheart stretched up cautiously to look. Four RiverClan warriors were chasing a rabbit through a patch of gorse. Fireheart recognized Blackclaw from the Gathering. The smoky-black warrior pounced, his claws unsheathed, but sat up again with nothing to show for the chase. The rabbit must have made it to the safety of her warren. Fireheart and Graystripe dropped down again and pressed their bellies against the cold turf. "They're not good rabbit hunters," Graystripe hissed scornfully. "I guess RiverClan is more used to catching fish," Fireheart whispered back. His nose twitched as he smelled the scent of a terrified rabbit coming nearer. With a pang of dread, Fireheart heard the pawsteps of the RiverClan warriors fast approaching after it. "They're coming this way!

靠在地上。“RiverClan !”火心蹲了下来，把耳朵埋在石南花下面。 在他身边，灰条抬起深灰色的头，从灌木丛中窥视着。 “我能看见他们。”他喃喃地说。 “他们打猎。”火心小心地伸直身子看。 四个河族战士在一片金雀花丛中追逐一只兔子。 火心认出了集会上的黑爪。 这名烟黑色的战士突然扑了上来，伸出爪子，但又坐了起来，追得毫无收获。 那只兔子一定是安全到达了她的窝。 火心和灰条又趴下来，把肚子贴在冰冷的草皮上。 “他们不是好的猎兔人。”灰条纹轻蔑地嘶嘶地说。 “我猜河族更习惯捕鱼。”火心小声回答。 当他闻到一只受惊的兔子走近的气味时，他的鼻子抽搐了一下。 火心带着一阵恐惧，听到河族战士的脚步声紧追不舍。 “他们朝这边来了！”

We'll have to hide!" "Follow me," whispered Graystripe. "I smell badgers this way." "Badgers?" Fireheart echoed. "Is that safe?" He'd heard the story of how Halftail had lost his tail in a fight with a bad-tempered old brock. "Don't worry. The scent is strong but stale," Graystripe reassured him. "There must be an old set near here." Fireheart sniffed. His scent glands picked up a strong, almost foxlike scent. "Are you sure it's abandoned?" "We'll know soon enough. Come on; we've got to get out of here," replied Graystripe. He led the way quickly through the low bushes. The rustle of heather told Fireheart the RiverClan warriors were closing in. "Here!" Graystripe shouldered aside a tuft of heather to reveal a sandy hole in the ground. "Get inside! The badger's scent will disguise ours. We can wait till they're gone." Fireheart slipped speedily into the dark hole, and Graystripe followed him. The stench of badger was overwhelming.

我们得躲起来！”“跟我来。” “我从这里闻到獾的味道。” “獾?”Fireheart回荡。 “那安全吗？”他听说过半尾巴在和一个坏脾气的老家伙打架时失去了尾巴的故事。 “别担心。味道很浓，但不新鲜。”格雷斯特向他保证。 “这附近一定有台旧电视机。” Fireheart闻了闻。他的嗅觉腺闻到了一种强烈的、几乎像狐狸一样的气味。 “你确定它被遗弃了吗？”“我们很快就会知道的。 来吧;我们必须离开这里。”格雷斯特回答。 他带路迅速穿过低矮的灌木丛。 石楠的沙沙声告诉火心，河族的战士正在逼近。 “在这里!”灰条纹拨开一丛石南花，露出地上的沙洞。 “进入!獾的气味会掩盖我们的气味。 我们可以等到他们走了再说。” 火心迅速溜进了黑洞，灰条纹紧随其后。 獾的臭味令人难以忍受。

Pawsteps thudded on the ground overhead. Both cats held their breath as the steps halted and one of the RiverClan warriors yowled, "Badger set!" From the rasping mew, Fireheart knew it was Blackclaw. A second voice answered: "Is it abandoned? The rabbit may be hiding inside." Fireheart felt Graystripe's fur bristling beside him in the dark. He unsheathed his claws and stared at the entrance to the hole, ready to fight if the warriors came inside. "Wait; the scent leads this way," meowed Blackclaw. There was a scrabble of paws overhead as the RiverClan warriors charged away. Graystripe slowly let out his breath. "D'you think they're gone?" "Perhaps we should wait a bit longer, make sure none of them stayed behind," Fireheart suggested. No more noises came from outside. Graystripe nudged Fireheart. "Come on," he meowed. Fireheart followed Graystripe cautiously out into the daylight. There was no sign of the RiverClan patrol. The fresh breeze cleared

脚步声在头顶的地面上砰砰作响。 两只猫都屏住了呼吸，只见台阶停了下来，河族的一个战士喊道：“獾来了！”从刺耳的声音中，火心知道那是黑爪。 第二个声音回答说：“它被遗弃了吗？ 兔子可能藏在里面。” 在黑暗中，火心感到灰条纹的毛在他身边竖起来。 他伸出爪子，盯着洞口，如果勇士们进来，他就准备战斗。 “等;气味指向这边。”黑爪喵喵地叫道。 大河氏族的战士们冲锋而去，头顶上传来一阵混战。 灰条慢慢地喘了口气。 “你认为他们走了吗？”“也许我们应该再等一会儿，确保他们都没有留下。”火心建议道。 外面再也没有声音了。 灰条推了推火心。 “来吧，”他叫道。火心跟着灰条纹小心翼翼地走到白天。 没有河族巡逻队的踪迹。 清新的微风吹散了。

Fireheart's scent glands of the badger stench. "We should look for the WindClan camp," he meowed to Graystripe. "It'll be the best place to pick up their scent." "Okay," answered Graystripe. They moved slowly through the heather, keeping their mouths slightly open to pick up the scent of any more RiverClan warriors. They stopped at the foot of a large flat rock that sloped up steeply, past the tops of the gorse bushes. "I'll climb up and have a look around," offered Graystripe. "My pelt will blend better with the stone." "Okay," Fireheart agreed. "But keep your head down." He watched his friend creep up the rock. Graystripe crouched at the top and gazed around the plateau, then skidded back down to Fireheart. "There's a hollow over there, I think," Graystripe puffed, signaling with his tail. "I can see a gap in the heather." "Let's check it out," meowed Fireheart. "It could be the camp." "That's what I thought." Graystripe nodded.

火心的气味腺体散发着獾的恶臭。 “我们应该去找风氏族的营地。”他喵喵地对格雷stripe说。 “这是捕捉它们气味的最佳地点。” “好吧，”灰条回答。 他们慢慢地穿过石南丛，微微张开嘴巴，嗅出河族战士的气味。 他们在一块大而平坦的岩石脚下停了下来，岩石陡峭地倾斜着，经过了金雀花丛的顶端。 “我要爬上去四处看看。”灰条纹说。 “我的皮毛会和石头更好地融合。” “好吧。”火心同意了。“但是你要低着头。” 他看着他的朋友爬上岩石。 灰条蹲在山顶，环顾着高原，然后滑回火心。 “那边有个洼地，我想。”灰条喘着气说，用尾巴做了个手势。 “我能看到石南花上有一个缺口。” “我们去看看。”火心叫道。 “可能是营地。”“我也是这么想的。” Graystripe点点头。