Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17 As he plunged into the stream Fireheart managed to keep one clawhold on the branch. He felt as if he were fighting a spiky wooden enemy, twigs that lashed at him and raked through his fur while his breath bubbled into the dark water. His head broke the surface briefly, but before he could gasp in air the branch twisted and rolled him under again. Terror made him strangely calm, as if time had slowed down. Part of Fireheart's mind told him to let go of the branch and fight his way to the surface, but he knew that if he did that he would risk his life; the current was far too strong for him to swim. The force of the water meant there was nothing he could do but dig his claws in and endure. StarClan help me! he thought frantically. His senses were just beginning to ebb into a tempting darkness when the branch rolled over again and brought him back to the surface. Choking and spitting he clung to it, with water churning along on either side of him. He could not see the bank. He tried to haul himself farther out of the water, but his sodden fur was too heavy

第十七章火心跳进河里时，一只爪子抓住了树枝。 他觉得自己好像在和一个长着尖刺的木头敌人战斗，小树枝在鞭打他，划破他的皮毛，他的呼吸在黑暗的水中冒泡。 他的头露出水面，但还没等他在空气中喘气，树枝就扭曲了，又把他卷进了水里。 恐惧使他出奇地平静，仿佛时间慢了下来。 火心的一部分思想告诉他放开树枝，奋力向水面游去，但他知道，如果他这样做，他将冒着生命危险；水流太猛了，他游不过去。 水的力量意味着他什么也做不了，只能把爪子伸进水里忍耐。 救救我！他疯狂地想。 正当他的知觉开始在诱人的黑暗中退潮时，树枝又滚了过来，把他带回了水面。 他喘不过气来，吐着唾沫，紧紧抓住它，水在他两边翻腾。 他看不见银行。 他想把自己拖出水面，但湿透的皮毛太重了

and his limbs were growing stiff with cold. He did not know how long he could hold on. Just as he felt that he was about to let go, something brought the branch to a jarring stop. It shuddered along its whole length, almost throwing Fireheart off. As he clung on desperately, he heard a cat screech his name. Twisting his head, he saw that the other end of the branch was jammed against a rock that jutted out into the stream. Longtail was crouched on the rock, leaning down toward him. "Move, kittypet!" he growled. With his last drop of energy, Fireheart scrambled along the length of the branch. Twigs whipped across his face. He felt the branch lurch again and flung himself at the rock, his front paws scraping at it while his hind legs thrust through the water. His paws had barely touched stone when the branch was swept away from underneath him. For a heartbeat Fireheart thought he would follow it. The rock was smooth; there was no purchase for his paws. Then Longtail reached down and Fireheart felt his teeth meet in the scruff of his neck. With the other cat's help he

他的四肢冻僵了。 他不知道自己还能坚持多久。 正当他想要松手时，树枝突然嘎然停住了。 它整个身体都在颤抖，几乎把火心甩了下去。 正当他拼命抓着的时候，他听到一只猫尖叫着叫他的名字。 他扭过头来，看到树枝的另一端卡在一块突出的岩石上。 长尾蹲在岩石上，向他俯下身子。 “走开，小猫！”他咆哮道。 火心用尽最后一滴力气，顺着树枝往上爬。 细枝抽打在他脸上。 他感到树枝又摇晃了一下，便扑向岩石，前爪抓着树枝，后腿探出水面。 他的爪子刚碰到石头，树枝就被从他身下卷走了。 火心觉得他会跟着走。 岩石很光滑；没有钱买他的爪子。 然后，长尾巴伸出手，火心感到他的牙齿在他的颈背上相遇了。 在另一只猫的帮助下

managed to claw his way upward until he was crouching on the top of the rock. Shivering, he coughed up several mouthfuls of stream water before he looked up. "Thanks, Longtail," he gasped. The warrior's face was expressionless. "It was nothing." Tigerclaw padded up from behind the rock. "Are you hurt?" he demanded. "Can you walk?" Shakily, Fireheart pushed himself to his paws. Water streamed off his coat as he shook himself. "I-I'm fine, Tigerclaw," he stammered. Tigerclaw stepped backward to avoid the spinning droplets from Fireheart's fur. "Watch it; we're all wet enough already." Approaching Fireheart again he gave a rapid sniff down the length of his body. "Back to camp for you," he ordered. "In fact, we'll all go back. No cat can get across that water; you've proved that, if nothing else." Fireheart nodded and wordlessly followed the deputy back into the forest. Colder and more tired than he could ever remember being before, he wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep in

他奋力往上爬，直到蹲在岩石顶上。 他浑身发抖，咳了几口溪水才抬起头来。 “谢谢，长尾巴。”他喘着气说。 战士的脸上毫无表情。 “没什么。”虎爪从岩石后面蹑手蹑脚地走了出来。 “你受伤了吗？”他问。 “你能走路吗？”火心颤颤巍巍地站了起来。 他抖了抖身子，水从他的外套上淌了下来。 “我——我很好，虎爪。”他结结巴巴地说。 虎爪后退几步，避开火心皮毛上旋转的水珠。 “看;我们已经全身湿透了。” 他再次走近火心，迅速地嗅了嗅全身。 “给你回营地去。”他命令道。 “事实上，我们都要回去。 没有猫能过那水；你至少已经证明了这一点。” 火心点点头，一言不发地跟着副手回到了森林里。 这是他记忆中前所未有的寒冷和疲惫，他只想蜷缩起来睡个懒觉

a patch of sunlight. But while his limbs felt like waterlogged stone, his mind was a whirlpool of fear and suspicion. Tigerclaw had sent him out onto the branch, when any cat could see it was dangerous. Fireheart couldn't help wondering if Tigerclaw had deliberately dislodged it, to make sure that he was flung into the swollen stream. Not if Longtail was watching, he decided. After all, Longtail had rescued him; much as Fireheart disliked Longtail, he had to admit that the pale tabby would stick rigidly to the Clan code when another warrior needed his help. Even so, Tigerclaw could have shifted the branch without letting Longtail see, or perhaps Longtail hadn't understood what was happening. Fireheart would have liked to ask him, but he knew that if he did the question would be reported to Tigerclaw. Then he glanced at Tigerclaw, and saw the deputy glaring at him with unmasked hatred. As Fireheart met the amber stare, he saw Tigerclaw's eyes narrow as if with an unspoken threat. And in that moment Fireheart knew that somehow

一片阳光。虽然他的四肢像浸透了水的石头，但他的内心却充满了恐惧和怀疑。 虎爪把他送到了树枝上，任何一只猫都看得出来这很危险。 火心不禁怀疑，是不是虎爪故意把它挪开，好让自己被扔进膨胀的河水里。 他决定，只要长尾在看着，就不会。 毕竟是长尾巴救了他；尽管火心不喜欢长尾，但他不得不承认，当另一名战士需要他的帮助时，这只苍白的虎斑猫会严格遵守部落的规则。 即便如此，虎爪也可以在不让长尾看到的情况下移动树枝，或者长尾不明白发生了什么。 火心很想问他，但他知道，如果他问了，这个问题就会报告给虎爪。 然后他瞥了虎爪一眼，看到那个副手带着赤裸裸的仇恨瞪着他。 当火心遇到那琥珀色的目光时，他看见虎爪眯起了眼睛，似乎有一种说不出的威胁。 就在那一刻，火心不知怎么地明白了

Tigerclaw had tried to murder him. This time he had failed. But what about next time? Fireheart's tired brain shied away from what was all too obvious. Next time, Tigerclaw would make sure he did not fail. By the time he reached the camp, the warm newleaf sun had dried Fireheart's fur, but he was so exhausted he could scarcely put one paw in front of another. Sandstorm, who was sunning herself outside the warriors' den, sprang up as soon as she saw him and bounded over to his side. "Fireheart!" she exclaimed. "You look awful! What happened?" "Nothing much," Fireheart mumbled. "I was—" "Fireheart went for a swim, that's all," Tigerclaw interrupted. He looked down at the young warrior. "Come on. We need to report to Bluestar." He strode across to the Highrock with Longtail at his heels. As Fireheart staggered after them, Sandstorm padded close beside him, pressing her warm body against his for support. "Well?" Bluestar asked when the cats stood in

虎爪曾试图谋杀他。 这一次他失败了。但是下次呢？ 火心疲惫的大脑避开了那些显而易见的东西。 下次，虎爪要确保他不会失败。 当他到达营地时，温暖的新叶太阳已经晒干了火心的皮毛，但他太累了，几乎不能把一只爪子放在另一只爪子前面。 沙暴正在武士洞穴外晒太阳，她一看到他就跳了起来，跳到了他身边。 “火心！” “你看起来很糟糕！”发生了什么事?”“没什么。”火心咕哝道。 “火心去游泳了，仅此而已。”虎爪打断了他的话。 他低头看着那个年轻的战士。 “来吧。我们需要向蓝星报告。” 他大步走向海岩酒店，长尾巴跟在后面。 火心踉踉跄跄地跟在他们后面，沙暴紧紧地依偎在他身边，把她温暖的身体紧贴在他身上。 “嗯?”蓝星问猫是什么时候进来的

front of her. "Did you find somewhere to cross?" Tigerclaw shook his massive head. "It's impossible. The water's too high." "But every Clan should attend the Gathering," Bluestar pointed out. "StarClan will be angry if we don't try to find a dry route. Tigerclaw, tell me exactly where you went." Tigerclaw began to describe the events of the morning in more detail, including Fireheart's attempt to cross by the branch. "It was brave but foolish," he growled. "I thought he'd paid with his life." Sandstorm looked around, impressed, but Fireheart knew as well as Tigerclaw that he had had no choice about getting onto the branch. "Be more careful in the future, Fireheart," Bluestar warned. "You'd better see Yellowfang in case you've caught a chill." "I'm fine," Fireheart told her. "I just need to sleep, that's all." Bluestar's eyes narrowed. "That was an order, Fireheart." Stifling a yawn, Fireheart bowed his head respectfully. "Yes, Bluestar."

在她面前。“你找到要过河的地方了吗？”虎爪摇了摇他那硕大的脑袋。 “这是不可能的。水太高了。” “但是每个部落都应该参加聚会，”蓝星指出。 “如果我们不尝试找到一条干燥的路线，StarClan会生气的。 虎爪，告诉我你到底去哪儿了。” 虎爪开始更详细地描述早上发生的事情，包括火心试图从树枝上穿过。 “这很勇敢，但很愚蠢。”他咆哮道。 “我以为他已经付出了生命的代价。” 沙暴环顾四周，留下了深刻的印象，但火心和虎爪一样清楚，他没有办法爬到树枝上。 “火心，以后要多加小心。”蓝星警告道。 “你最好去看看黄牙，免得着凉了。” “我很好。”火心告诉她。 “我只是需要睡觉，仅此而已。” 蓝星眯起了眼睛。“那是命令，火心。” 火心强忍着哈欠，恭敬地低下头。 “是的,蓝星。”