Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 Firestar leaped up the slope leading into WindClan territory from Fourtrees. Behind him streamed a patrol of his warriors: Graystripe, Brackenfur, Sandstorm, Cloudtail, and Dustpelt with his apprentice, Ashpaw. Firestar had not dared bring more cats to WindClan's aid; he had left Whitestorm in charge of the ThunderClan camp with every other warrior on watch, in case Tigerstar planned to attack them as well. His paws skimmed the springy moorland turf as his legs drove him toward the WindClan camp. A cold wind flattened his fur, carrying the distant scent of ShadowClan. Although Firestar knew he was still too far away, he imagined he could hear the screeches of battle as Tigerstar's warriors fell on the unsuspecting WindClan. "We'll be too late," panted Graystripe at his shoulder. "How long did it take Mudclaw to reach us, wounded like that?" Firestar did not waste breath in replying. He knew Graystripe was right. This was not the first time that ThunderClan had raced to help WindClan against an alliance of ShadowClan and

第十九章火星从四树镇跳到通往风氏族领地的斜坡上。 他身后是他的一队战士：灰条、蕨毛、沙暴、云尾巴、尘埃皮和他的徒弟阿什帕。 火星不敢带更多的猫来帮助风氏族；他让白风暴负责雷霆部落的营地，其他战士都在站岗，以防虎星也计划攻击他们。 他的爪子掠过松软的沼地草皮，朝风氏族的营地走去。 一阵冷风吹平了他的皮毛，带着远处影族的气味。 虽然火星知道他离得还太远，但他想象自己能听到虎星的战士向毫无防备的风族扑去时的战斗尖叫声。 “我们要迟到了。”灰条纹靠在他的肩膀上喘着气说。 “Mudclaw受了那样的伤，花了多长时间才找到我们？”火星没有浪费口舌回答。 他知道格雷stripe是对的。 这已经不是雷霆氏族第一次帮助风氏族对抗暗影氏族的联盟了

RiverClan. But that time they had been given more warning and they had managed to drive the attacking warriors away. Now, by the time they reached the WindClan camp, the battle could be over, and yet Firestar knew that they had to try. The warrior code, his own friendships within WindClan, and the urgency of joining together to resist TigerClan, all forced him to lead his warriors to the rescue as quickly as he could. As they drew nearer, the scent of ShadowClan was joined by a trace of RiverClan, mingling in a new scent that Firestar realized was the distinctive odor of TigerClan. They were near enough that he expected to hear the yowls of fighting cats, and the silence gripped his heart like cold claws. The battle must be over. Firestar slowed his pace as he and his patrol climbed the last slope toward the camp, his belly filling with dread at the thought of what they might find. Firestar slipped quietly up to the ridge where he could look down over the camp. There was a strong scent of WindClan in the air, along with the tang of blood and fear. A single eerie wail broke the silence as Firestar breasted the rise and

RiverClan。但这一次他们得到了更多的警告，他们成功地赶走了进攻的战士。 现在，当他们到达风氏族的营地时，战斗可能已经结束了，但火星知道他们必须尝试一下。 战士守则，他在WindClan中的友谊，以及联合起来抵抗TigerClan的紧迫性，都迫使他尽快带领他的战士去救援。 当他们走近时，影子氏族的气味与河流氏族的痕迹混合在一起，混合成一种新的气味，火星意识到这是老虎氏族的独特气味。 他们离得很近，他以为能听到猫打架的嚎叫，但这寂静却像冰冷的爪子抓住了他的心。 战斗必须结束。当他和他的巡逻队爬向营地的最后一个斜坡时，火星放慢了脚步，想到他们可能会发现什么，他的肚子里充满了恐惧。 火星悄悄地溜到山脊上，在那里他可以俯瞰营地。 空气中弥漫着强烈的风氏族的气味，伴随着血腥和恐惧的味道。 一声诡异的哀号打破了寂静，火星站在上升的地方

saw what Tigerstar had done. The hollow where the WindClan cats had their camp was lined with gorse bushes. A few yellow flowers still showed on the spiny branches. Beyond, in the center of the camp, Firestar could see cats huddled together, scarcely moving. As he watched, a tortoiseshell queen raised her head and let out another chilling wail. "Morningflower!" Firestar exclaimed. Flicking his tail for his warriors to follow him, he raced down through the bushes and into the camp. Bursting out into the open, he was confronted by the WindClan leader, Tallstar. The black-and-white tom's fur was torn and covered in dust, and his long tail drooped with exhaustion. "Firestar!" His voice was rough with pain. "I knew you would come." "Not soon enough. I'm sorry." The WindClan leader shook his head helplessly. "You did your best." He turned toward the cats who crouched on the floor of the clearing, too shocked or injured to move. "You can see what Tigerstar has done." "Tell us what happened," urged Graystripe.

看到了虎星的所作所为。 风之家族的猫们扎营的洼地两旁种满了金雀花。 多刺的树枝上还开着几朵黄花。 远处，在营地中央，火星看到几只猫挤在一起，一动也不动。 就在他看着的时候，一只龟甲皇后抬起头，发出了另一声令人毛骨悚然的哀号。 “Morningflower !”Firestar喊道。 他甩了甩尾巴，让他的战士们跟着他，然后穿过灌木丛跑进了营地。 他冲到开阔的地方，遇到了风氏族的首领Tallstar。 这只黑白相间的汤姆的皮毛被撕破了，满是灰尘，长长的尾巴因疲惫而耷拉着。 “Firestar !”他的声音因痛苦而嘶哑。 “我知道你会来的。”“还不够快。 我很抱歉。”风氏族首领无奈地摇了摇头。 “你已经尽力了。”他转向那些蹲在空地上的猫，它们要么受到惊吓，要么受伤得动弹不得。 “你可以看到虎星做了什么。” “告诉我们发生了什么事。”灰条纹催促道。

Tallstar twitched his ears. "You can see. Tigerstar and his warriors crept up on us…we had no warning, and in any case there were too many for us to fight." Firestar padded forward, feeling his stomach turn over. None of the WindClan warriors had escaped without wounds. Deadfoot, the WindClan deputy, was lying very still with blood trickling from a gash on his flank; next to him lay Runningbrook, a she-cat whose pale gray fur was hanging off her shoulder in clumps. Their eyes stared at nothing, as if they couldn't believe what had happened. Firestar could scarcely believe it either. This had been a completely unprovoked attack. There had been no warning at the last Gathering. Tigerstar had gained no extra territory for his Clan. The purpose of this attack had been nothing more than to bring fear to the WindClan cats. "Hey, Firestar!" A weak voice made Firestar turn to see his old friend Onewhisker. The brown tabby warrior was lying on his side with deep wounds to his throat and shoulder. Barkface, the WindClan medicine cat, was pressing cobwebs to

高个子扭动着耳朵。 “你可以看到。虎星和他的战士们悄悄逼近了我们……我们没有得到任何警告，而且无论如何，敌人太多了，我们打不动。” 火星向前走去，感觉他的胃在翻腾。 风氏族的战士无一幸免。 风氏族的代表死脚一动不动地躺着，血从他侧面的伤口中滴落下来。他旁边躺着一只名叫Runningbrook的母猫，浅灰色的毛一簇簇地垂在肩上。 他们的眼睛什么也没盯着，似乎不敢相信发生了什么事。 火星也几乎不敢相信。 这完全是一次无缘无故的攻击。 上次集会没有任何警告。 虎星没有为他的部落赢得额外的领土。 这次攻击的目的只不过是为了吓唬风氏族的猫。 “嘿,Firestar !”一个微弱的声音让火星转过头去看他的老朋友一须。 这只棕色虎斑猫侧身躺着，喉咙和肩膀上都有很深的伤口。 风氏族的药猫巴克脸正在把蜘蛛网挤到

them, but the blood still oozed out sluggishly. "Onewhisker…" Firestar trailed off, not knowing what to say. Onewhisker's eyes were bright with pain. "It's not as bad as it looks." He grunted. "You should have seen the other cat." "I wish we'd come in time," Firestar meowed. "I wish you had, too. Look over there." Onewhisker turned his head, and Barkface snapped, "Keep still!" Firestar followed the injured warrior's gaze. Morningflower, the tortoiseshell queen who had been wailing aloud, was crouched over the motionless body of another cat. A small body, with torn ginger-and-white fur. "No…" Firestar's throat closed so he had to choke out the words. "Not Gorsepaw." "Tigerstar killed him." Onewhisker's voice was tight with rage. "He pinned him down in the center of the clearing, with his warriors around him so none of us could get close enough to stop him. He…he said he was going to kill him to show the rest of us what we could expect if we refused to join him."

他们，但血仍然缓慢地渗出来。 “一撮胡须……”火星不知道该说什么才好。 其中一个胡须的眼睛因痛苦而发亮。 “情况并不像看上去那么糟。” 他哼了一声。“你真该看看另一只猫。” “真希望我们能及时赶到。” “我希望你也这么做了。看那边。” 一根胡须转过头来，巴克脸厉声说：“别动！”火星注视着受伤战士的目光。 Morningflower,龟甲女王曾大声哀号,蹲在另一只猫的身体一动不动。 一个小小的身体，姜黄色和白色的皮毛被撕破了。 “不……”火星的喉咙哽住了，他不得不把话说出来。 “不是Gorsepaw。”“虎星杀了他。” 有一个胡须气得声音嘶哑。 “他把他压在空地中央，他的战士们围在他身边，这样我们就没人能靠近他阻止他。 他……他说要杀了他，让我们这些人看看，如果我们拒绝加入他，会有什么后果。”

Firestar closed his eyes, unable to bear the bloodstained scene in front of him, yet all he could see was an image of the massive leader of TigerClan, paws holding down the helpless apprentice while he challenged the WindClan warriors. A shiver ran through him. He thought back to the time that he and Graystripe had traveled to find WindClan and bring them home after ShadowClan had driven them into exile. Firestar had carried Gorsepaw, then a tiny kit, back across the Thunderpath. All of that was wasted now, thanks to Tigerstar. Firestar could not help wondering if Tigerstar had deliberately chosen Gorsepaw because he knew of Firestar's bond with the young apprentice. Opening his eyes, Firestar left Onewhisker and padded softly over to Morningflower, touching her shoulder with his nose to draw her attention. She looked up, her beautiful eyes dulled with grief. "Firestar," she whispered. "I didn't ever think you'd saved my son for this. What have StarClan done to us?" Firestar crouched down beside Morningflower,

火星闭上眼睛，无法忍受眼前血淋淋的景象，但他所能看到的只有虎族的魁伟领袖的形象，他的爪子按住了无助的学徒，向风族的战士们发起挑战。 他浑身打了个寒颤。他回想起在影子氏族将风氏族驱逐出境后，他和灰条纹前往寻找风氏族并将他们带回家的时光。 火星带着Gorsepaw，然后是一个小工具，穿过雷暴之路。 多亏了虎星，这一切都白费了。 火星不禁怀疑，虎星是否因为知道火星与年轻学徒的关系而故意选择了戈瑟爪。 火星睁开眼睛，离开一须，轻轻地走到晨花身边，用鼻子碰了碰她的肩膀，想引起她的注意。 她抬起头来，美丽的眼睛因悲伤而变得迟钝。 “火星。”她小声说。 “我从没想过你会为了这个而救我儿子。 《星际战队》对我们做了什么？”火星蹲在晨花旁边，