Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 Fireheart darted from one clump of gorse to the next as he crossed the moor toward the WindClan camp. He ran with his belly brushing the turf, trying to stay out of sight and longing for the thick undergrowth of his own territory. The last time he had visited the camp, when ThunderClan helped WindClan in a battle against the other two Clans, there had been no need to hide. Now he dared not show himself until he reached Tallstar, or at least met with one of the cats he could call his friends—if any of them were still friendly, after the recent disastrous Gathering. WindClan patrols had attacked him on their territory before; they would be even more hostile now. The scent of WindClan was all around him, but so far he hadn't seen any cats. The sun had nearly finished crossing the sky. Fireheart tried not to think about that. He came close to panic when he remembered how little time was left before Bluestar would launch her attack. He was crossing one of the shallow moorland streams, bounding from rock to rock, when a

第十三章火心穿过荒原，奔向风氏族的营地，从一丛金雀花跑到另一丛金雀花。 他跑着，用肚子擦着草皮，尽量躲在别人的视线之外，渴望着自己领地上茂密的灌木丛。 他上一次造访营地，是在雷霆氏族帮助风氏族对抗另外两个氏族的战斗中，没有必要躲藏起来。 现在他不敢露面了，直到他到达高斯特，或者至少遇到一只他可以称之为朋友的猫——如果它们中有一只在最近灾难性的聚会之后仍然友好的话。 风氏族巡逻队以前曾在他们的领土上袭击过他；现在他们的敌意会更大。 风氏族的气味到处都是，但到目前为止，他还没有看到任何猫。 太阳几乎已经穿过了天空。 火心尽量不去想那件事。 当他想起蓝星发动攻击的时间所所无几时，他几乎惊慌失措。 他正穿过一条沼地的浅水溪流，从一块岩石跳到另一块岩石

stronger scent of WindClan cats flooded over him, along with the scent of rabbit. Fireheart's belly growled in complaint, but he had to ignore it. There was no way he could take WindClan's prey now—and it smelled as if there was a hunting patrol not far behind anyway. Diving into a clump of bracken at the water's edge, he peered out cautiously to spot the source of the scent. Three cats were making their way upstream toward him. At the front of the patrol was his old friend Onewhisker, and Fireheart's heart lifted. Gorsepaw was with his mentor; they were both carrying rabbits. But to Fireheart's dismay, the third cat was Mudclaw, the dark, mottled warrior who had stopped Bluestar when she tried to cross WindClan territory to get to Highstones. This cat would never allow Fireheart to bring his message to Tallstar. But it seemed that luck—or the favor of StarClan—was on Fireheart's side. With their jaws full of prey, the WindClan cats were unable to pick up his ThunderClan scent, and they passed within a couple of tail-lengths of him. Then Gorsepaw, who was struggling with a rabbit

更强烈的风之家族猫的气味，连同兔子的气味，充斥着他的全身。 火心的肚子抱怨地咆哮着，但他不得不置之不理。 现在他已经不可能抓住风氏族的猎物了，而且闻起来好像后面不远有一支狩猎巡逻队。 他潜入水边的一丛蕨菜中，小心翼翼地向外张望，寻找气味的来源。 三只猫正向他逆流而来。 站在队伍最前面的是他的老朋友一须，火心的心也松了口气。 戈瑟paw和他的导师在一起；他们俩都带着兔子。 但令火心沮丧的是，第三只猫竟然是泥巴爪，那只黑乎乎、浑身斑纹的战士，曾在蓝星试图穿越风氏族领地前往海斯通时阻止过她。 这只猫绝不会允许火心把他的消息带给塔尔斯特。 但似乎运气——或者说星际氏族的眷顾——站在了火心这边。 风氏族的猫满嘴都是猎物，它们无法闻到雷霆氏族的气味，它们在离他只有几尾长的地方经过。 然后是戈瑟paw，他正在和一只兔子搏斗

almost as big as he was, stopped to adjust his grip on it and fell behind the others. Fireheart spotted his chance. "Gorsepaw!" The young cat raised his head, ears pricked. "Over here, in the bracken." Gorsepaw turned, and his eyes stretched wide when he saw Fireheart poking his head out from the rusty fronds. His mouth opened, but Fireheart urgently signaled to him to keep silent. "Listen, Gorsepaw," he mewed. "I want you to tell Onewhisker I'm here, but don't let Mudclaw know, okay?" The apprentice hesitated, looking troubled, and Fireheart added urgently, "I have to talk to him. It's important for both our Clans. You've got to trust me." The desperation in his tone reached Gorsepaw, who paused a moment longer and then gave a quick nod. "All right, Fireheart. Wait here." He picked up his rabbit again and hurried to catch up to the two warriors. Fireheart crept deeper into the bracken and crouched there, waiting. Before long he heard another cat approach his hiding place and murmur, "Fireheart? Is that you?"

几乎和他一样大了，他停下来调整一下自己的手，落在了其他人的后面。 火心抓住了机会。 “Gorsepaw !”小猫抬起头来，耳朵都竖起来了。 “在这儿，在蕨菜里。” 戈瑟爪转过身来，看见火心从生锈的叶子里探出头来，眼睛睁得大大的。 他张大了嘴，但火心急切地示意他保持沉默。 “听着，戈瑟paw。”他叫道。 “我要你告诉一须我在这里，但别让泥巴爪知道，好吗？”徒弟犹豫了一下，看起来很困惑，火心急切地补充道：“我必须和他谈谈。 这对我们两个氏族来说都很重要。 你必须相信我。”他语气里的绝望打动了戈瑟paw，他又停顿了一会儿，然后迅速地点了点头。 “好吧，火心。在这儿等着。” 他又捡起兔子，急忙追赶那两个勇士。 火心蹑手蹑脚地深入蕨菜丛，蹲在那里等待。 没过多久，他听到另一只猫走近他的藏身之处，低语道：“火心？ 是你吗？”

To his relief, Fireheart recognized Onewhisker's voice. He peered warily out of the shelter of the bracken, and straightened up when he saw that his friend was alone. "Thank StarClan!" he exclaimed. "I thought you weren't coming." "This had better be good, Fireheart," Onewhisker meowed. He gave Fireheart a hard stare, with no trace of his usual friendliness. "It took me a while to get rid of Mudclaw. If he knew you were on our territory, you'd be crowfood, and you know it." He padded up to Fireheart. "I'm sticking my neck out for you," he growled. "I hope it's worth it." "It is, I promise. I've come to tell you something. I've got to speak to Tallstar. It's important," he added, as Onewhisker went on staring at him. For a few heartbeats he was afraid that his friend was going to refuse, or even attack him and drive him off WindClan territory. Then Onewhisker spoke, and to Fireheart's relief he sounded less hostile, as if he were beginning to realize the urgency of Fireheart's

令他松了一口气的是，火心听出了胡须的声音。 他小心翼翼地从蕨菜的遮蔽处向外窥视，当他看到他的朋友独自一人时，他直起了腰。 “谢谢StarClan!” “我还以为你不来了呢。” “这最好是好消息，火心。” 他狠狠地瞪了火心一眼，丝毫没有往常的友好。 “我花了好长时间才摆脱了泥爪。 如果他知道你在我们的地盘上，你就会成为乌鸦的食物，你自己也知道。” 他蹑手蹑脚地走到火心跟前。 “我是在为你冒险，”他咆哮道。 “我希望这是值得的。”“是的，我保证。 我来告诉你一件事。 我要和Tallstar谈谈。 这很重要。”他补充道，这时胡子继续盯着他看。 有那么一会儿，他担心他的朋友会拒绝他，甚至攻击他，把他赶出风氏族的领地。 然后一个胡须说话了，让火心松了口气的是，他听起来不那么充满敌意了，好像他开始意识到火心的紧迫性

request. "What's it all about? Tallstar will have my fur off if I take a ThunderClan cat into camp without a very good reason." "I can't tell you, Onewhisker. I can't tell any cat except Tallstar. But believe me, it's for the good of both our Clans." Once again Onewhisker hesitated. "I wouldn't do this for any cat but you, Fireheart," he meowed at last. Spinning around, he beckoned with his tail and bounded off across the moor. Fireheart sprang after him. Onewhisker halted at the top of the slope, looking down into the WindClan camp. The rays of the dying sun cast long shadows over the gorse bushes that lined the sides of the hollow. As Fireheart and Onewhisker stood there, a patrol slipped past them. Fireheart was conscious of their stares, where curiosity mingled with antagonism. "Come on," meowed Onewhisker. He led the way through the tough stems of gorse until they came to a sandy clearing in the middle of the bushes. As he emerged through a narrow gap in the thorns, Fireheart saw Tallstar crouched at one side

请求。“这是怎么回事？” 如果我没有一个很好的理由就把雷霆家族的猫带进营地，Tallstar会把我的毛剃光的。” “我不能告诉你，一须。 除了塔尔斯特，我认不出别的猫。 但请相信我，这是为了我们两个氏族的利益。” 胡子又犹豫了。 “除了你，我不会为任何猫这么做的，火心。” 他转过身来，用尾巴打了个招呼，就越过沼地跑开了。 火心追了上去。 一个胡须停在斜坡顶上，俯视着风氏族的营地。 夕阳的余晖在山谷两旁的金雀花丛上投下了长长的影子。 正当火心和一须站在那里时，一队巡逻队从他们身边溜过。 火心觉察到他们的目光，好奇中夹杂着敌意。 “来吧。”一髯叫道。 他带路穿过坚硬的金雀花茎，来到灌木丛中间的一块沙地上。 当他穿过荆棘中的一个狭窄缝隙时，火心看见高星蹲在一旁

of the clearing near a pile of fresh-kill. More WindClan warriors clustered around him. It was the Clan deputy, Deadfoot, who looked up first and then nudged his leader, mewing something rapidly into his ear. Tallstar rose and padded across the clearing to where Fireheart and Onewhisker waited. Deadfoot hovered at his shoulder, and other cats followed close behind. Fireheart recognized Barkface, the WindClan medicine cat, and Mudclaw, his lips drawn back in a snarl. "Well, Onewhisker." Tallstar's voice was level, giving nothing away. "Why have you brought Fireheart here?" Onewhisker dipped his head. "He says he has to talk to you." "And that means he can just stroll into our camp?" Mudclaw spat. "He's from an enemy Clan!" Tallstar waved his tail at Mudclaw, a sign for silence, while his eyes looked deep into Fireheart's. "I'm here," he mewed simply. "Talk." Fireheart glanced around him. The crowd was growing larger, as more WindClan cats heard

在一堆刚宰杀的动物旁边的空地上。 更多的风氏族战士聚集在他周围。 那是部落的副手死脚，他先抬起头来，然后用肘轻推了一下他的首领，在他耳边迅速地喵了几声。 高星站起来，蹑手蹑脚地穿过空地，来到火心和一须守候的地方。 “死脚”在他的肩膀上徘徊，其他的猫紧随其后。 火心认出了风氏族的药猫巴克脸和泥爪，他的嘴唇向后缩着，咆哮着。 “嗯,Onewhisker。”塔尔斯塔的声音很平稳，没有透露任何信息。 “你为什么把火心带到这里来？”一个胡须垂下头。 “他说他要和你谈谈。” “这意味着他可以随便走进我们的营地？”Mudclaw口角。 “他来自敌人的部落！”高星朝泥爪摇了摇尾巴，示意安静下来，同时眼睛深深盯着火心的眼睛。 “我在这里。”他简单地叫了一声。 “说话。”火心环顾四周。 人群越来越多，风氏族的猫也越来越多