Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 "Where have they gone?" Fireheart gasped. "Let's have a closer look," suggested Sandstorm, already trotting toward the place where the ShadowClan cats had disappeared. Fireheart hurried after her. As they neared the patch of grass that had swallowed up the black tail, he noticed a shadow where the earth dipped away sharply into a hollow beside the Thunderpath. It was the entrance to a stone tunnel that led under the Thunderpath, like the one he'd used with Graystripe on their journey to find WindClan. Sandstorm's pelt brushed against him as they crept down the slope and cautiously sniffed the gloomy entrance. Fireheart felt the rush of wind on his ears from the monsters roaring past above, but as well as the stench of the Thunderpath, he could smell the fresh scents of the ShadowClan cats. They had definitely come this way. The tunnel was perfectly round, lined with pale cream stone about the height of two cats. The moss that grew halfway up the smooth sides told Fireheart that the tunnel ran with water

第九章“他们到哪里去了？”Fireheart气喘吁吁地说。 “让我们仔细看看。”沙暴建议道，他已经小跑着向影子家族的猫消失的地方走去。 火心急忙跟在她后面。 当他们走近那块吞没了黑尾巴的草地时，他注意到一个影子，在那里，大地急剧地向雷道旁边的一个洼地倾斜。 这是一条通往雷霆之路的石头隧道的入口，就像他和格雷条纹在寻找风氏族的路上所使用的一样。 他们爬下斜坡，小心翼翼地嗅着阴暗的入口，沙暴的毛皮拂过他。 火心感到头顶上呼啸而过的怪物呼啸而过的风吹拂着他的耳朵，但除了雷霆之路的恶臭，他还能闻到影子家族猫的新鲜气味。 他们肯定是从这边来的。 隧道是完美的圆形，两边是浅奶油色的石头，大约有两只猫那么高。 光滑的两边中间长满了青苔，这告诉火心，这条隧道是有水的

during leaf-bare. Now it was dry, the bottom littered with leaves and Twoleg rubbish. "Have you heard of this place before?" asked Sandstorm. Fireheart shook his head. "It must be how ShadowClan crosses to get to Fourtrees." "A lot easier than dodging the monsters," commented Sandstorm. "No wonder Littlecloud wanted to be left to cross the Thunderpath alone. This tunnel is a secret ShadowClan would want to keep for themselves. Let's get back to the camp and tell Bluestar." Fireheart dashed up the slope and back into the forest, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Sandstorm was with him. She came charging after him, and the two cats headed home. As they crossed the scentline, Fireheart felt the familiar relief of being back in the safety of ThunderClan territory; although, after hearing Littlecloud's news about the sickness in ShadowClan, he doubted if the rival Clan was in a fit state to keep up their border patrols anyway.

在leaf-bare。现在它干了，底部散落着树叶和特沃莱格垃圾。 “你以前听说过这个地方吗？”沙暴问道。 火心摇了摇头。“这一定是影帮去四棵树的必经之路。” “比躲避怪物容易多了。”沙暴评论道。 “难怪小云想独自一人穿过雷霆谷。 这条隧道是暗影家族想要为自己保留的秘密。 我们回营地去告诉蓝星吧。” 火心冲上山坡，回到森林里，回头看了看沙暴是否跟在他身边。 她追了过来，两只猫朝家走去。 当他们越过中心线时，火心感到了回到雷霆族安全领地的那种熟悉的宽慰；然而，在听到Littlecloud关于ShadowClan生病的消息后，他怀疑对手Clan是否处于合适的状态，无论如何都要继续他们的边境巡逻。

"Bluestar!" Hotter than ever and breathless after the run home, Fireheart went straight to Bluestar's den. "Yes?" came the answer through the lichen. Fireheart pushed his way in. The ThunderClan leader was lying in her nest with paws tucked neatly under her chest. "We found a tunnel just inside ShadowClan territory," he told her. "It leads under the Thunderpath." "I hope you didn't follow it," growled Bluestar. Fireheart hesitated. He had expected his leader to be excited by this discovery; instead her tone was harsh and accusing. "N-no, we didn't," he stammered. "You took too much risk entering their territory at all. We don't want to antagonize ShadowClan." "If ShadowClan is as weak as the warriors said, I don't think they'd do anything about it," he pointed out, but Bluestar stared past him, apparently busy with her own thoughts. "Have those two cats gone?" she asked. "Yes. They went through the tunnel. That's how we found it," Fireheart explained.

“蓝星!”跑回家后，火心比以前更热，气喘吁吁，直奔蓝星的巢穴。 “是吗？”地衣里传来了回答。 火心挤了进来。 雷霆氏族的首领正躺在她的窝里，爪子整齐地塞在胸前。 “我们在暗影部落的地盘内发现了一条地道。”他告诉她。 “它从雷道下面通过去。” “我希望你没有跟着它。”蓝星咆哮道。 Fireheart犹豫了。他原以为他的首领会对这个发现感到兴奋；相反，她的语气是严厉和指责的。 “不，我们没有。”他结结巴巴地说。 “你进入他们的地盘太冒险了。 我们不想与ShadowClan对抗。” “如果暗影氏族真像战士们说的那么弱，我想他们不会有什么办法的。”他指出，但蓝星却盯着他身边，显然在忙着自己的事。 “那两只猫走了吗？”她问。 “是的。他们穿过了隧道。 我们就是这样找到它的。”火心解释道。

Bluestar nodded distantly. "I see." Fireheart searched the ThunderClan leader's eyes for some hint of compassion. Didn't she care about the sickness in ShadowClan at all? "Did we do the right thing, sending them back?" he couldn't help asking. "Of course!" snapped Bluestar. "We don't want sickness in the camp again." "No, we don't," Fireheart agreed heavily. As he turned to leave, Bluestar added, "Don't tell anyone about the tunnel yet." "Okay," Fireheart promised, slipping through the lichen. He wondered why Bluestar wanted to keep the tunnel a secret. After all, he had uncovered a weakness in ShadowClan's border that could become a strength for ThunderClan. Not that he felt ShadowClan deserved any sort of attack at the moment, but surely a better knowledge of the forest could only be a good thing? Fireheart sighed as Sandstorm dashed up to him. "What did she say? Was she pleased we'd found the tunnel?" she demanded. Fireheart shook his head. "She told me to keep

蓝星远远地点了点头。 “我明白了。”火心在雷霆氏族首领的眼睛里寻找一丝同情。 难道她一点也不关心《ShadowClan》中的疾病吗？ “我们把他们送回去做得对吗？”他忍不住问道。 “当然！”蓝星厉声说。 “我们不想让疾病再次出现在营地里。” “不，我们不知道。” 当他转身离开时，蓝星补充道：“先别告诉任何人隧道的事。” “好吧。”火心答应道，一边从地衣中溜走。 他想知道为什么蓝星要对隧道保密。 毕竟，他发现了暗影氏族边界的一个弱点，而这个弱点可能会成为雷霆氏族的优势。 并不是说他觉得暗影氏族应该受到任何形式的攻击，但对森林有更好的了解肯定是件好事吧？ 火心叹了口气，沙暴向他冲了过来。 “她说什么？”她高兴我们找到了隧道吗？”她问道。 火心摇了摇头。“她叫我留着

it a secret." "Why?" Sandstorm meowed in surprise. Fireheart shrugged and kept going toward his den. Sandstorm trotted after him. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Is it Bluestar? Did she say anything else?" Fireheart realized he was giving away too much of his anxiety about the ThunderClan leader. He bent to give his chest a quick lick, then lifted his head and meowed with forced brightness, "I must go. I promised I'd take Cloudpaw hunting this afternoon." "Do you want me to come with you?" Sandstorm's eyes looked concerned, and she added, "It'll be fun. We haven't been hunting together for ages." She nodded toward the apprentices' den, where Cloudpaw was dozing in the sunshine. The apprentice's plump, furry belly rose and fell as he breathed. "He certainly needs the exercise," she added. "He's beginning to look like Willowpelt." She purred with amusement. "He must be quite a hunter! I don't think I've ever seen a Clan cat that fat." There was no spite in Sandstorm's voice, but

这是个秘密。”“为什么?”沙暴惊讶地叫着。 火心耸耸肩，继续朝自己的窝走去。 沙暴紧跟在他后面。 “你还好吗？”她问。 “是蓝星吗？”她还说了什么吗？”火心意识到他对雷霆氏族首领的焦虑表露得太多了。 他弯下腰，迅速舔了舔胸口，然后抬起头，强作欢快地喵喵叫道：“我得走了。 我答应过今天下午带云爪去打猎。” “你想让我和你一起去吗？”沙暴的眼睛看起来很关心，她补充说：“会很有趣的。 我们好久没有一起打猎了。” 她朝徒弟的书房点了点头，云爪正在阳光下打盹。 学徒的丰满、毛茸茸的肚子随着呼吸起伏。 “他当然需要锻炼，”她补充说。 “他开始长得像柳树皮了。” 她高兴得发出呼噜声。 “他一定是个了不起的猎人！”我想我从来没见过这么胖的猫。” 沙暴的声音里没有恶意，但是

Fireheart felt his fur growing hot. Cloudpaw did look fat for such a young cat, much fatter than the other apprentices, even though they were all enjoying the plentiful prey of greenleaf. "I think I should take Cloudpaw out by myself," he meowed reluctantly. "I've been neglecting him a bit lately. Could we go out together another time?" "Just let me know when," Sandstorm responded cheerfully. "I'll be there. I could catch us another rabbit." Fireheart saw mischief flash in her pale green eyes, and he knew she was referring to the time they'd hunted together in a snowbound forest that shimmered with frost, when she had surprised him with her speed and skill. "Unless you've finally learned how to catch them for yourself!" Sandstorm teased, flicking Fireheart's cheek with her tail as she trotted away. Watching her go, Fireheart felt a strange, happy prickling in his paws. He shook his head and padded over to Cloudpaw. The sleepy apprentice arched his back and stretched, his short legs quivering with the effort. "Have you been out of the camp today?" Fireheart asked.

火心感到他的毛越来越热。 云爪对这么小的一只猫来说，确实显得很胖，比其他学徒胖得多，尽管他们都在享受丰富的绿叶猎物。 “我想我应该自己带云爪出去。”他不情愿地喵喵叫道。 “我最近有点忽视他。 我们能改天一起出去吗？”“什么时候告诉我，”沙暴高兴地回答。 “我会去的。我可以再抓一只兔子。” 火心看到她淡绿色的眼睛里闪烁着恶作剧的光芒，他知道她指的是那次他们一起在冰霜闪烁的白雪覆盖的森林里打猎，当时她的速度和技巧让他大吃一惊。 “除非你终于学会了如何自己抓它们！”沙暴揶揄道，一边小跑着走开，一边用尾巴轻拍火心的脸颊。 看着她离去，火心感到一种奇怪而快乐的刺痛。 他摇了摇头，朝云爪走去。 困倦的学徒拱起背，伸了伸懒腰，他的短腿随着努力而颤抖。 “你今天离开营地了吗？”Fireheart问道。