Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25 Cloudtail and Sandstorm carried Brindleface's body back to the camp, but there was no time for the mourning rituals. Apparently she had gone out hunting alone very early, and the other cats had only just noticed that she was taking a long time to return. Her burial was a hurried affair, carried out by Cloudtail and her two kits, Fernpaw and Ashpaw, while Fireheart summoned the Clan together. They returned as Fireheart stood at the foot of the Highrock waiting for the rest of the cats to gather. Cloudtail paced back and forth, his tail lashing fiercely. "I'll flay Tigerstar!" he vowed. "I'll scatter his entrails from here to Highstones. He's mine, Fireheart, and don't you forget it." "And don't you forget that you're under my orders," Fireheart told him. "Right now we have to deal with the dog pack. We'll worry about Tigerstar later." Cloudtail bared his teeth with a hiss of frustration, but did not argue. Meanwhile the rest of the Clan were huddling

第二十五章云尾和沙暴把斑脸的尸体抬回营地，但没有时间举行哀悼仪式。 显然，她很早就独自出去打猎了，其他的猫只是刚刚注意到她过了很长时间才回来。 她的葬礼进行得非常匆忙，由云尾巴和她的两个随从芬爪和阿什爪负责，而火心则召集了氏族。 他们回来时，火心站在海岩山脚下，等着其他猫集合。 云尾巴来回踱步，尾巴猛烈地甩动着。 “我要剥老虎星的皮！”他发誓。 “我要把他的内脏从这儿撒到海斯通去。 他是我的，火心，别忘了这一点。” “别忘了你是听我指挥的。”火心对他说。 “现在我们必须对付狗群。 虎星的事以后再说。” 云尾巴露出牙齿，沮丧地发出嘶嘶声，但没有争辩。 与此同时，氏族的其他成员都挤在一起

in a shocked and silent crowd around Fireheart. Cinderpelt appeared from Bluestar's den and limped rapidly across to him. "Bluestar's asleep," she meowed. "Better to tell her about this when we've worked out a plan, don't you think?" Fireheart nodded, wondering how his leader would react when she found out that all her fears about Tigerstar were true. Would the dreadful knowledge drive her into madness once and for all? Pushing his fear aside, Fireheart turned to address the Clan. "Cats of ThunderClan," he began. "This morning we discovered that there's a pack of dogs on our territory, living in the caves at Snakerocks." Murmuring broke out among the assembled cats, along with a few yowls of defiance. Fireheart guessed that they scarcely believed him, but there was worse news to come. He couldn't help staring at Darkstripe, but the dark warrior's expression was unreadable, and Fireheart had no idea how much he already knew. "Tigerstar has been feeding the dogs," he went on, struggling to keep his voice calm, "and he has

火心周围的人群震惊而沉默。 灰姑娘从蓝星的窝里出来，一瘸一拐地快步走到他跟前。 “蓝星睡着了。”她喵喵叫道。 “等我们制定出一个计划再告诉她，你不觉得吗？”火心点点头，想知道当他的领导发现她对虎星的恐惧都是真的时，她会有什么反应。 这可怕的消息会把她彻底逼疯吗？ 火心把恐惧抛在一边，转身向氏族喊话。 “雷霆家族的猫，”他开始说。 “今天早上，我们发现有一群狗在我们的领土上，住在蛇岩洞里。” 聚集在一起的猫们发出了窃窃私语，伴随着几声蔑视的嚎叫。 火心猜他们几乎不相信他，但更糟糕的消息还在后头。 他忍不住盯着暗条，但黑暗战士的表情让人难以理解，火心也不知道他已经知道了多少。 “虎星一直在喂狗，”他继续说，努力使自己的声音保持平静，“他确实喂了狗

laid a trail of dead rabbits to lead them right into our camp. You all know what lay at the end of that trail." He dipped his head toward the place outside the camp where Brindleface had been buried. He had to signal with his tail for silence as a chorus of wailing broke out. He couldn't help noticing Goldenflower crouched with her head down as she listened to what Tigerstar had done, and he looked instinctively for the two newest apprentices. Tawnypaw was staring at him with horror in her face, but Bramblepaw's face was hidden. Fireheart wondered if he was equally shocked, or if part of him admired his father for carrying out such a bold plan. When he could make himself heard again, Fireheart went on: "We have tried to break the trail, but the rabbits have lain there all night, and the pack will follow the scent they left behind. We must all leave—elders, kits, everyone. If the dogs come to the camp they must not find us here." More sounds of dismay, this time a low, anxious murmuring. Dappletail, an aged, once

放了一串死兔子引他们进入我们的营地。 你们都知道那条小路尽头是什么。” 他把头探向营地外布林德尔脸被埋的地方。 他不得不用尾巴示意大家安静下来，这时一片哀号声爆发了。 他注意到金花低着头蹲在那里听虎星讲了些什么，他本能地寻找那两个新徒弟。 紫婆一脸惊恐地盯着他，而蓝爪的脸却被遮住了。 火心不知道他是否也同样感到震惊，还是有点钦佩父亲能实施这样一个大胆的计划。 当火心又能听见他说话时，他继续说：“我们试图打破这条线索，但兔子在那里呆了一整夜，狼群会跟着它们留下的气味走的。 我们都必须离开——长辈，孩子，每个人。 如果狗跑到营地来，一定找不到我们。” 又传来了沮丧的声音，这次是低沉而焦虑的喃喃声。 斑尾，一个老的，曾经

pretty tortoiseshell she-cat, called out, "Where shall we go?" "To Sunningrocks," Fireheart replied. "Once you're there, climb the tallest trees you can find. If the dogs follow you, they'll think they lost the scent on the rocks, and they won't look for you." To his relief, the Clan grew quieter now that he had given them definite orders, though the cats still crouched in grief for Brindleface. Her kits, the apprentices Fernpaw and Ashpaw, were pressed close together with looks of stunned horror on their faces. Fireheart thanked StarClan that the day, although gray and chilly, was dry, and that there were no sick cats or very young kits to make the journey. "And what about the pack?" Dustpelt asked. "What are we going to do about them?" Fireheart hesitated. He knew the pack was too strong for his warriors to attack directly. Tigerstar would never have led them to the camp unless he had been certain of that. StarClan help me, he prayed silently. As though his warrior ancestors had heard him, an idea flashed into his mind. "That's it!" he whispered. "We'll steal the trail."

漂亮的玳瑁母猫喊道：“我们该去哪里？”“去太阳岩。”火心回答。 “一旦你到了那里，爬上你能找到的最高的树。 如果狗跟着你，它们会以为在岩石上失去了气味，就不会去找你了。” 让他松了一口气的是，既然他已经给了他们明确的命令，氏族们就安静下来了，尽管猫们仍然蹲在那里为布林德尔脸悲伤。 她的两个学徒Fernpaw和Ashpaw紧紧地挤在一起，脸上带着震惊和恐惧的表情。 火心感谢星族，那天虽然又冷又灰，但很干燥，而且没有生病的猫或非常小的小猫来参加这次旅行。 “那狼群怎么办？”Dustpelt问道。 “我们该拿他们怎么办？”Fireheart犹豫了。 他知道狼群太强大了，他的战士无法直接攻击。 除非虎星对这一点有把握，否则他是决不会把他们带到营地的。 星族帮帮我吧，他默默地祈祷着。 仿佛他的战士祖先听到了他的话，一个念头闪过他的脑海。 “就是这样！”他低声说。 “我们去偷小路。”

As the cats close by stared at him, he repeated more loudly, "We'll steal the trail!" "What do you mean?" Sandstorm asked, her green eyes wide. "Just what I say. Tigerstar wants to lead the dogs right to our camp. Fine. We'll let him do that. And when they arrive, we'll be waiting—to take them to the gorge." Not far from Fourtrees, on the far side of ThunderClan's territory, the river foamed between sheer-sided cliffs. The current was fast and strong, and there were sharp rocks concealed just under the surface. If cats had drowned there, why not dogs? "We'll need to lure the dogs over the edge," Fireheart went on, the details of the plan taking shape in his mind as he spoke. "I'll need warriors who can run fast." His dark green gaze swept the cats around him. "Graystripe. Sandstorm. Mousefur and Longtail. Dustpelt. And I'm going myself. That should be enough. The rest of you gather by the camp entrance, ready to move out." As the cats he had not named began to obey his orders, Fireheart saw Fernpaw and Ashpaw

当附近的猫盯着他看时，他更大声地重复着：“我们要偷走小路！”“你是什么意思？”沙暴睁着绿色的眼睛问道。 “我就是这么说的。虎星想把狗引到我们的营地。 很好。我们会让他这么做的。 等他们到了，我们就等着——带他们去峡谷。” 离四树村不远，在雷族领地的另一边，河水在陡峭的悬崖间翻滚。 水流又快又猛，水面下隐藏着尖锐的岩石。 如果猫在那里被淹死，为什么狗不能呢？ “我们得把狗引到悬崖边去。”火心接着说，计划的细节在他的脑海里逐渐成形。 “我需要跑得快的战士。” 他深绿色的目光扫过他周围的猫。 “Graystripe。沙尘暴。鼠毛和长尾巴。 Dustpelt。我自己也要去。 这应该足够了。其余的人聚集在营门口，准备出去。” 当他没有给猫起名字的猫开始服从他的命令时，火心看到了芬爪和阿什爪

pushing their way to the front of the crowd. "Fireheart, we want to help," Fernpaw begged, fixing her shocked, pleading eyes on Fireheart. "I said warriors," Fireheart reminded her gently. "But Brindleface was our mother," protested Ashpaw. "Please, Fireheart. We want to do it for her." "Yes, take them with you," Whitestorm put in, his voice grave. "Their anger will make them fearless." Fireheart hesitated, then saw the intensity in the white warrior's eyes and nodded. "All right." "And what about me?" Cloudtail demanded, his tail beginning to lash again. "Listen, Cloudtail," Fireheart meowed. "I can't take all my best warriors to lure the dogs. Some of you have to look after the rest of the Clan." Cloudtail opened his mouth to argue, but Fireheart went on quickly: "I'm not giving you an easy job. If we fail, you're likely to find yourself fighting the dogs—and maybe ShadowClan as well. Think, Cloudtail," he urged as the warrior still looked unconvinced. "What better revenge

挤到人群的前面。 “火心，我们想帮忙。”Fernpaw恳求道，用她那震惊而恳求的眼睛盯着火心。 “我说的是战士。”火心温柔地提醒她。 “可斑脸是我们的母亲啊。”阿什帕抗议道。 “请Fireheart。我们想为她做这件事。” “是的，把他们带走。”怀特风暴语气严肃地说。 “他们的愤怒会让他们无所畏惧。” 火心犹豫了一下，然后看到白衣战士眼中的紧张，便点了点头。 “好吧。”“那我呢？”云尾巴问道，它的尾巴又开始抽动起来。 “听着，云尾巴。”火心叫道。 “我不能带着我最好的战士去引诱狗。 你们中的一些人必须照顾氏族的其他成员。” 云尾巴张开嘴想争辩，但火心很快地接着说：“我不是在给你轻松的工作。 如果我们失败了，你很可能会发现自己在和狗战斗，也许还有影子氏族。 云尾巴，你想想。”他催促道，因为勇士仍然显得不服气。 “还有比这更好的报复吗？