Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 "No." Graystripe's voice rasped in his throat. Firestar pressed closer to his friend, sharing his grief at Stonefur's death and his anger that the RiverClan warrior's courage had been worth nothing in an unfair fight. Blackfoot looked down at Stonefur's body in satisfaction. Darkstripe whirled to confront the two apprentices. "Tigerstar," he meowed, "let me kill them." Graystripe would have sprung forward then, in spite of anything Firestar could do, but before he could move Tigerstar shook his battle-scarred head. "Really, Darkstripe? A prisoner can defeat you, but you think you could take on two apprentices?" Darkstripe bowed his head in shame. His leader's eyes narrowed coldly as he stared at the two young cats. They were huddled together, trembling with shock. They hardly seemed to realize that their own lives were hanging by a hair. "No," Tigerstar meowed at last. "For now I will let them live. They may be useful to me alive."

第十六章“不。”灰条纹的声音在喉咙里嘶哑。 火星更靠近他的朋友，和他一起为斯通弗的死感到悲伤，也为这位河族战士的勇气在一场不公平的战斗中毫无价值而感到愤怒。 黑脚满意地低头看着斯通弗的尸体。 “暗条”转身面对两个学徒。 “虎星，”他叫道，“让我杀了他们。” 灰条本来要跳上去，不管火星怎么做，但还没等他动，虎星就摇了摇他那伤痕累累的脑袋。 “真的,Darkstripe吗?一个囚犯都能打败你，但你认为你能打败两个徒弟吗？”黑条羞愧地低下了头。 他的首领冷冷地眯起眼睛，盯着两只小猫。 他们挤在一起，吓得发抖。 他们似乎没有意识到自己的生命危在旦夕。 “不，”虎星终于喵喵叫道。 “现在我要让他们活下去。 他们活着也许对我有用。”

Firestar flashed a look at Graystripe, who returned his glance with mingled relief and apprehension in his eyes. Tigerstar summoned Jaggedtooth. "Take the apprentices back to their prison." The ShadowClan warrior dipped his head and herded the two stunned cats away through the reeds. Graystripe's hungry gaze followed them out of sight. "The meeting is at an end," Tigerstar declared. At once the cats in the clearing began to slip away. Tigerstar leaped down from the Bonehill and vanished into the reeds, flanked by Blackfoot and Darkstripe. Eventually only Leopardstar was left. She padded forward until she stood over the broken body of her former deputy. Slowly she bent her head and nosed Stonefur's torn gray pelt. If she meowed a last farewell, Firestar did not hear it, and after a moment she turned and followed Tigerstar through the reeds. "Now!" Graystripe sprang to his paws. "Firestar, we've got to rescue my kits." "Yes, but don't go rushing off," Firestar warned him. "We have to make sure all the cats have

火星瞥了灰条纹一眼，灰条纹也回望了他一眼，眼中流露出既宽慰又忧虑的神情。 虎星召唤了锯齿牙。 “把学徒们送回他们的监狱。” 暗影族的战士低下头，把两只受惊的猫赶出了芦苇丛。 灰条纹饥饿的目光跟着他们消失了。 “会议结束了，”虎星宣布。 空地上的猫立刻开始溜走。 虎星从骨丘上跳下来，消失在芦苇丛中，黑脚和黑条纹在他身边。 最后只剩下了豹星。 她蹑手蹑脚地向前走，一直走到她的前副手残破的尸体旁。 她慢慢地低下头，用鼻子嗅了嗅斯通弗撕破的灰色毛皮。 如果她发出最后的告别声，火星没有听到，过了一会儿，她转过身来，跟着虎星穿过芦苇。 “现在!”灰条纹跳到了他的爪子上。 “火星，我们得去救我的装备。” “可以，但别急着走。” “我们必须确保所有的猫都有

gone." His friend's body was quivering with suppressed tension. "I don't care!" he spat. "If they try to stop us, I'll rip them all apart." "The kits are safe for the moment," murmured Ravenpaw. "There's no need to take risks." Firestar cautiously raised his head above the level of the reeds. By now it was quite dark; the only light came from Silverpelt and a pale glow from the moon low in the sky. The ShadowClan and RiverClan scents were rapidly fading. The only sound was the dry rustle of wind in the reeds. Crouching down again, Firestar murmured, "They've gone for now. This is our chance. We've got to find where they're keeping the apprentices, and—" "And get them away," Graystripe interrupted. "Whatever it takes." Firestar nodded. "Ravenpaw, are you up for it? It will be dangerous." The loner's eyes widened. "You think I'd leave, after we saw that? No way. I'm with you, Firestar." "Good." Firestar blinked in gratitude. "I

一去不复返了。”他朋友的身体因压抑的紧张而颤抖。 “我才不管呢！”“如果他们试图阻止我们，我会把他们都撕成碎片。” “小鹰暂时是安全的。”拉文爪喃喃地说。 “没有必要冒险。” 火星小心翼翼地把头从芦苇丛中抬起。 这时天已经很黑了；唯一的光亮来自西尔弗佩尔特和低空的月亮发出的苍白的光芒。 暗影氏族和大河氏族的气味正在迅速消失。 唯一的声音是风吹过芦苇的干燥沙沙声。 火星又蹲下来，低声说：“他们暂时走了。 这是我们的机会。我们得找到他们把学徒关在什么地方，然后——”“把他们带走。” “不惜一切代价。”Firestar点点头。 “乌鸦爪，你准备好了吗？” 那会很危险的。”孤独的人睁大了眼睛。 “你认为我们看到这些之后，我会离开吗？” 不可能。我支持你，火星。” “好”。火星感激地眨了眨眼。 “我

thought you would be." Beckoning his two friends with his tail, he led the way into the clearing, his pawsteps growing hesitant as he left the shelter of the reeds. He knew what he was doing was against the warrior code, but what Tigerstar had done had left him no alternative. He did not know how his warrior ancestors could have watched the slaughter of Stonefur without doing anything to save him. Creeping close to the ground, the three cats reached the stream where rotting fresh-kill lay strewn along the bank. In the midst of his cold fury, Firestar spared a moment to be angry at the waste of prey in such a hard season. "Look at that!" he hissed. "But we could roll in it," Ravenpaw suggested. "It'll disguise our scent." Firestar gave him a brief nod, approval calming his anger. Ravenpaw was thinking like a warrior. Firestar crouched down and pressed his fur into the decaying carcass of a rabbit. Graystripe and Ravenpaw followed. The gray warrior's eyes were like chips of yellow flint. When all three cats were thoroughly covered

我以为你会的。”它用尾巴向两个朋友招了招手，领着他们走进空地，离开芦苇丛的时候，它的脚步变得犹豫起来。 他知道自己的所作所为违反了战士的准则，但虎星的所作所为让他别无选择。 他不知道他的战士祖先们怎么能眼睁睁看着斯通弗被屠杀而不采取任何措施来救他。 三只猫爬到靠近地面的地方，来到河边，腐烂的新鲜尸体散落在岸边。 在他冷酷的愤怒中，火星抽出了一点时间，对在这样一个艰难的季节浪费猎物感到愤怒。 “看那个！”他嘶嘶地说。 “但我们可以在里面打滚。”拉文爪建议道。 “它会掩盖我们的气味。” 火星朝他轻轻点了点头，表示赞同，平息了他的愤怒。 拉文爪像个战士一样思考。 火星蹲下来，把他的皮毛塞进一只腐烂的兔子的尸体里。 灰条和拉文爪跟在后面。 灰色战士的眼睛像黄色燧石的碎片。 当三只猫都被裹得严严实实时

with the scent of crowfood, Firestar headed into the reeds where he had seen Jaggedtooth disappear with the two apprentices. There was a narrow path along the frozen mud, as if cats regularly came and went that way. All Firestar's senses were alert. As they headed away from the river toward the farmland on the other side of RiverClan territory, the reeds thinned out and the ground rose. When Firestar and his friends came to the edge of the cover, they saw a grassy slope in front of them with an occasional clump of gorse and hawthorn. About halfway up a dark hole yawned in the hillside. Jaggedtooth was crouched outside it. "There are pawprints leading into that hole," Firestar murmured. Graystripe lifted his muzzle to taste the air and let out a faint sound of disgust. "Sick cats," he meowed quietly. "You're right, Firestar; this is the place." He bared his teeth. "Jaggedtooth is mine." "No." Firestar's tail whipped out, signaling his friend to stay where he was. "We can't afford a fight. The noise would bring every cat in the

带着乌鸦食的气味，火星朝他看到锯齿牙和两个徒弟消失的芦苇丛走去。 冰冻的泥地上有一条狭窄的小路，好像猫经常在这条路上来来往往。 火星的所有感官都警觉起来。 当他们离开河边，走向河族领地另一边的农田时，芦苇变得稀疏，地面上升。 当火星和他的朋友们来到掩体的边缘时，他们看到前面是一片草坡，偶尔有一丛金雀花和山楂花。 大约在半山腰上有一个黑洞。 锯齿牙蹲在门外。 “有通往那个洞的爪印。”火星喃喃地说。 灰条抬起嘴，嗅了嗅空气，发出一声淡淡的厌恶的声音。 “生病的猫，”他轻声叫道。 “你说得对，火星；就是这里。” 他露出了牙齿。“锯齿牙是我的。” “没有。”火星的尾巴一甩，示意他的朋友待在原地。 “我们打不起架。噪音会把所有的猫都吵醒

territory. We have to get rid of him another way." "I can do that." Ravenpaw's paws anxiously kneaded the ground, but his expression was determined. "He'll recognize you two, but he doesn't know me." Firestar hesitated, then nodded. "How will you do it?" "I've got a plan." Ravenpaw's eyes shone with anticipation, and Firestar realized that the loner was almost relishing the danger, as if he had missed having a chance to use his warrior skills. "Don't worry; it'll be fine," the black cat assured him. Straightening up, he strolled out of the reeds and up the slope, his head and tail held high. Jaggedtooth got up and paced forward to meet him, the tabby fur on his neck bristling. Firestar gathered himself, ready to spring if the ShadowClan warrior attacked. But though Jaggedtooth looked aggressive, he did nothing more than give Ravenpaw a suspicious sniff. "I don't know you," he growled. "Who are you and what do you want?" "Think you know all the RiverClan cats, do

领土。我们得另想办法除掉他。” “我能做到。”拉文爪焦急地揉着地面，但他的表情是坚定的。 “他会认出你们俩的，但他不认识我。” 火星犹豫了一下，然后点了点头。 “你打算怎么做呢？”“我有个计划。” 拉文爪的眼睛里闪烁着期待的光芒，火星意识到这个孤独的人几乎是在享受这种危险，好像他错过了一个施展他的战士技能的机会。 “别担心;会没事的。”黑猫向他保证。 他直起身子，昂首阔步地走出芦苇丛，爬上山坡。 锯齿牙站起身来，朝他走来，脖子上的虎斑毛竖了起来。 火星集结起来，准备在暗影族战士进攻时猛扑过去。 虽然锯齿牙看起来很有攻击性，但它只是怀疑地朝拉文爪嗅了一下。 “我不认识你。”他咆哮道。 “你是谁，你想干什么？”“我想你认识河族所有的猫吧？