Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 Leopardfur lifted her head and yowled into the wind, "Whiteclaw! No!" Graystripe scrambled backward until all four paws were on safe ground. His wet fur was bristling and his eyes were wide with shock. "I tried to grab him… he just lost his footing…I didn't mean to…" The words tumbled out breathlessly. Fireheart bounded across to his friend and pressed his nose into his flank for comfort, but Graystripe backed blindly away. One by one, the other cats turned away from the edge and looked at Graystripe. The RiverClan cats' eyes were narrowed with fury, their shoulders tense. Willowpelt and Whitestorm moved instinctively toward Graystripe, taking up defensive positions on either side of him. Leopardfur growled deep in her throat, but it was a warning to her own cats. They were to stay back. The RiverClan deputy stared Tigerclaw straight in the eye. "This has gone beyond a border fight," she murmured. "We shall return to our Clan. It has become a matter to settle at another time and in a different way."

第八章豹皮抬起头，对着风叫道：“白爪！不!”灰条向后爬，直到四只爪子都落在安全的地面上。 他湿漉漉的皮毛竖了起来，眼睛瞪得大大的。 “我想抓住他……他只是没站稳……我不是故意的……”这句话喘不过气来。 火心跳向他的朋友，把鼻子紧贴在他的胁腹上寻求安慰，但灰条纹盲目地后退了。 其他的猫一个接一个地从边缘转过身来，看着灰条。 河族的猫们愤怒地眯起眼睛，紧绷着肩膀。 Willowpelt和Whitestorm本能地向Graystripe移动，占据了他两侧的防御位置。 豹皮在她喉咙深处咆哮，但这是对她自己的猫的警告。 他们要退后。河族代表直勾勾地盯着虎爪的眼睛。 “这已经超出了边境战争的范畴，”她喃喃地说。 “我们将回到我们的氏族。 这已经成为另一个时间以不同方式解决的问题。”

Tigerclaw defiantly returned Leopardfur's stare. He showed no fear, but merely gave the smallest of nods. Leopardfur flicked the tip of her tail, then turned and padded away. The RiverClan cats followed her, and the whole patrol disappeared into the bushes. Leopardfur's menacing words made Fireheart shiver. A sense of foreboding settled over his heart like a cold shadow as he realized that this battle might have started a war. "We should leave," meowed Deadfoot, limping forward. "Your two young warriors served us well, and my Clan thanks you." But the formal words of gratitude sounded hollow after the tragedy they had just witnessed. Tigerclaw nodded, and the two WindClan warriors began to head back toward their own territory. Fireheart meowed a quiet farewell to Onewhisker as he passed. Onewhisker glanced briefly at him, and walked on. Fireheart noticed that Sandpaw was standing at the edge of the gorge, staring down at the torrent below. Her paws seemed frozen to the ground, and her eyes remained fixed on the steep

虎爪挑衅地瞪了豹皮一眼。 他一点也不害怕，只是微微点了点头。 利奥帕弗轻轻地甩了甩尾巴尖，然后转身走开了。 河族的猫跟着她，整个巡逻队消失在灌木丛中。 豹皮威胁的话吓得火心发抖。 当他意识到这场战斗可能会引发一场战争时，一种不祥的预感像冰冷的阴影一样笼罩着他的心。 “我们该走了。”死脚叫着，一瘸一拐地向前走。 “你的两个年轻的战士为我们服务得很好，我的部落感谢你。” 但是，在他们刚刚目睹了这场悲剧之后，正式的感谢之词听起来有些空洞。 虎爪点了点头，两个风氏族的战士开始返回自己的领地。 一须经过时，火心悄悄地向他喵了一声。 有一个胡须瞟了他一眼，又继续往前走。 火心注意到沙爪正站在峡谷边上，凝视着下面的激流。 她的爪子似乎冻在了地上，眼睛一直盯着悬崖

drop. Fireheart guessed she had realized how close she had come to sharing Whiteclaw's fate. Fireheart started toward her but Tigerclaw growled, "Follow me!" The tabby warrior charged away through the trees, and the rest of his patrol followed after him, but Fireheart hesitated beside Graystripe. "Come on," he urged. "We should keep up!" Graystripe shrugged, his eyes dull and clouded with pain, and began to pad after the others, dragging his paws as if they were made from stone. Soon the cats ahead of them were out of sight, but Fireheart was able to track them by their scent. Tigerclaw was leading them back toward ThunderClan territory, straight through RiverClan's strip of forest. Fireheart guessed there was no need to worry about RiverClan patrols right now. The damage had been done. It would be pointless to take the long way around by Fourtrees. Tigerclaw had halted the patrol and was waiting for Fireheart and Graystripe at the border of ThunderClan's territory. "I thought I told you to follow me," he

下降。火心猜想她已经意识到自己差一点就和白爪的命运一样了。 火心朝她走去，但虎爪咆哮道：“跟我来！”虎斑战士冲进树林，他的其他巡逻队也跟在后面，但火心在灰条纹旁边犹豫了一下。 “来吧，”他催促道。“我们应该跟上！”灰条耸了耸肩，他的眼睛因痛苦而黯淡无光，开始拖着爪子跟在其他人后面，好像爪子是石头做的一样。 很快，前面的猫就看不见了，但火心还是能靠气味追踪到它们。 虎爪带着他们径直穿过河族的森林地带，回到雷霆族的领地。 火心猜现在根本不用担心河族的巡逻队。 伤害已经造成了。从四树树绕远路是没有意义的。 虎爪停止了巡逻，在雷族领地的边界上等着火心和灰条。 “我想我告诉过你跟我来，”他说

growled. "Graystripe was–" Fireheart began. "The sooner Graystripe gets back to camp, the better," interrupted Tigerclaw. Graystripe said nothing, but Fireheart bristled at the deputy's harsh tone. "Whiteclaw's death wasn't his fault!" Tigerclaw turned away. "I know," he meowed. "But it's done. Come on, and this time keep up!" He leaped away, crossing the scent markers that bounded ThunderClan territory. Fireheart had been looking forward to this moment since leaving WindClan's den among the Thunderpaths. Now he hardly noticed as he pounded past the markers, keeping one eye on Graystripe. The rain eased as they followed the familiar trail to the camp. When the patrol emerged from the gorse tunnel, some of the other Clan cats bounded out of their dens, their tails held high in greeting. "Did you find WindClan? Are they safe?" Mousefur called. Fireheart nodded absently, but felt too hollow to reply. Mousefur's tail dropped.

咆哮道。“灰条是——”火心开口了。 “灰条越快回营地越好。”虎爪打断他说。 灰条纹什么也没说，但火心对副警长严厉的语气感到愤怒。 “白爪的死不是他的错！”虎爪转过身去。 “我知道，”他叫道。“但事情已经过去了。 来吧，这次跟上！”他跳开了，越过了雷声氏族领地的气味标记。 火心自从离开风氏族的巢穴，就一直期待着这一刻的到来。 现在，他几乎没有注意到自己在标志牌旁匆匆走过，一只眼睛盯着格雷stripe。 他们沿着熟悉的小路向营地走去，雨停了。 当巡逻队从金雀洞出来时，其他一些氏族猫从它们的洞穴里跳了出来，它们的尾巴高高举起，以示欢迎。 “你找到风氏族了吗？”他们安全吗？”Mousefur调用。 火心心不在焉地点了点头，但觉得太空洞了，没有回答。 鼠毛的尾巴垂了下来。

The other cats hung back at the edge of the clearing. The expressions on the faces of the returning cats told them that something serious had happened. "Come with me," Tigerclaw ordered Fireheart and Graystripe, leading them toward Bluestar's den. Fireheart kept close to Graystripe so that his fur brushed against his friend. Graystripe just padded onward, neither drawing closer to Fireheart nor moving away. A warm mew welcomed them from the shadows beyond the lichen. The three cats pushed their way into the snug cave. "Welcome!" Bluestar leaped up, purring. "Did you find WindClan? Did you bring them back?" "Yes, Bluestar," Fireheart replied quietly. "They are safe in their camp. Tallstar told me to thank you." "Good, good," meowed Bluestar. Her eyes darkened as she noticed Tigerclaw's grim expression. "What has happened?" "Fireheart decided to return home through RiverClan territory," growled Tigerclaw. Graystripe looked up for the first time. "It

其他的猫在空地的边缘徘徊。 回来的猫脸上的表情告诉他们发生了严重的事情。 “跟我来。”虎爪命令火心和灰条，领着他们朝蓝星的巢穴走去。 火心紧紧地靠近灰条，所以他的皮毛蹭到了他的朋友。 灰条只是向前走去，既没有靠近火心，也没有走开。 一声温暖的歌声从地衣后面的阴影里欢迎他们。 三只猫挤进了舒适的山洞。 “欢迎!”蓝星跳了起来，咕噜咕噜地叫着。 “你找到风氏族了吗？”你把它们带回来了吗？”“是的，蓝星。”火心平静地回答。 “他们在营地里很安全。 塔尔斯特叫我谢谢你。” “很好，很好，”蓝星叫道。 当她注意到虎爪冷酷的表情时，她的眼睛暗了下来。 “出什么事了？”“火心决定穿过河族领地回家。”虎爪咆哮道。 灰条第一次抬起头来。 “这

wasn't just Fireheart who decided—" he began. Tigerclaw interrupted him. "They were found by a RiverClan patrol. If my patrol hadn't heard their yelps in time, they wouldn't have made it home at all." "So you rescued them," meowed Bluestar, relaxing. "Thank you, Tigerclaw." "It's not that simple." Tigerclaw snorted. "They were fighting beside the gorge. A RiverClan warrior who was battling Graystripe fell over the edge." Fireheart noticed Graystripe flinch at Tigerclaw's words. Bluestar's eyes widened. "Dead?" she asked, looking horrified. Fireheart meowed quickly, "It was an accident! Graystripe would never kill a cat over a border fight!" "I doubt Leopardfur sees it that way." Tigerclaw turned on Fireheart, his tail lashing from side to side. "What were you thinking? Traveling through RiverClan territory! And with WindClan cats. You've sent a message that we are their allies, which will only drive RiverClan and ShadowClan closer together."

不仅仅是火心一个人决定——”他开始说。 虎爪打断了他的话。 “他们是被河族巡逻队发现的。 如果我的巡逻队没有及时听到它们的叫声，它们根本就回不了家。” “所以你救了他们，”蓝星放松地喵喵叫道。 “谢谢你，虎爪。”“事情没那么简单。” Tigerclaw哼了一声。“他们在峡谷边战斗。 一名河族战士在与灰条纹作战时从悬崖边上摔了下去。” 火心注意到灰条听到虎爪的话畏缩了。 蓝星睁大了眼睛。“死了？”她惊恐地问道。 火心迅速叫道：“这是个意外！灰条永远不会在边境战争中杀死一只猫！”“我怀疑利奥帕德弗是这么认为的。” 虎爪转向火心，尾巴左右摇摆着。 “你在想什么？”穿越河族领地！还有WindClan的猫。 你已经发出了我们是他们盟友的信息，这只会让河流氏族和暗影氏族走得更近。”