Chapter 25

CHAPTER 26 Firestar wondered if the rest of his Clan had noticed his absence, and if they were worrying about him. He knew that he should go back to the camp, but for a short time he stayed where he was on top of the rock, watching the dawn light spread above the forest. The territory on the far side of the river was still and silent. Firestar tried to imagine how Leopardstar was coping. He guessed that the ShadowClan warriors who had fled into her territory would be unwelcome guests, with no prey to spare through the harsh moons of leaf- bare. Then he sat bolt upright, fur bristling and ears pricked. Something had just occurred to him, and he couldn't think why he hadn't thought of it before. Maybe ThunderClan wasn't as outnumbered as he feared. Across the river were the warriors of two Clans, and with Tigerstar dead none of them had any reason to support BloodClan. "Mouse-brain!" he murmured aloud. There was a chance that all four forest Clans could join

第二十六章火星不知道他氏族的其他成员是否注意到他的缺席，是否在为他担心。 他知道他应该回营地去了，但他在岩石顶上呆了一会儿，看着晨光在森林上空蔓延。 河对岸的土地一片寂静。 火星试图想象豹星是如何应对的。 他猜想，逃到她领地的暗影氏族战士将是不受欢迎的客人，在光秃秃的月光下，他们没有多余的猎物。 然后他笔直地坐着，毛发竖起，耳朵刺痛。 他突然想到了一件事，他不明白为什么之前没有想到。 也许雷霆军团并不像他担心的那样寡不敌众。 河对岸是两个部落的战士，虎星死了，他们没有人有任何理由支持血族。 “鼠脑！”他大声嘟囔着。 所有四个森林氏族都有可能加入

together to drive out the lethal cats that threatened every pawstep of their lives. Four would not become two—four would become one, but not in the way that Tigerstar had intended. As the first glittering rays of the sun appeared above the horizon, Firestar leaped down from the rock and raced downstream toward the stepping- stones. "Firestar! Firestar!" The yowl brought him up short just as he came in sight of the stones. He turned to see a ThunderClan patrol emerge from the trees behind him. Graystripe was in the lead, followed by Sandstorm, Cloudtail, and Bramblepaw. "Where have you been?" Sandstorm mewed crossly as she picked her way toward him. "We've been worried sick." "Sorry." Firestar gave her ear an apologetic lick. "I needed to think a few things out, that's all." "Whitestorm said you would be okay," Graystripe meowed. "And Cinderpelt didn't seem worried. I got the feeling she knew more than she was telling." "Well, I'm here now," Firestar mewed briskly.

一起赶走威胁他们生命每一步的致命猫科动物。 四个不会变成两个，四个会变成一个，但不是虎星计划的那样。 当太阳的第一缕光芒出现在地平线上时，“火星”从岩石上跳了下来，向下游的台阶跑去。 “Firestar !Firestar !”就在他看到那些石头时，嚎叫使他停住了脚步。 他转过身来，看到一支雷霆族巡逻队从他身后的树丛中出现。 灰条领先，沙暴、云尾巴和蓝爪紧随其后。 “你上哪儿去了？”沙暴一边朝他走来，一边生气地叫着。 “我们担心得要命。” “对不起。”火星道歉地舔了一下她的耳朵。 “我需要考虑一些事情，仅此而已。” “白风暴说你会没事的，”灰条纹喵喵地说。 灰姑娘似乎并不担心。 我有一种感觉，她知道的比她说的要多。” “好了，我来了。”火星轻快地叫道。

"And I'm glad I've met you. I'm going over into RiverClan territory, and it'll look better if I take some warriors with me." "RiverClan?" Cloudtail looked amazed. "What do you want with them?" "I'm going to ask them to fight with us against Scourge tomorrow." The young warrior stared. "Are you out of your mind? Leopardstar will rip your fur off!" "I don't think she will. Now that Tigerstar's dead, she won't want BloodClan in the forest any more than we do." Cloudtail shrugged, and Graystripe was looking uncertain too, but Sandstorm's green eyes glowed with delight. "I knew you would think of a way to defeat BloodClan," she purred. "Let's go." Firestar turned to lead the way to the stepping- stones, but paused as Bramblepaw padded up to him. "Firestar, can we talk to Tawnypaw if she's there?" his apprentice asked hopefully. His voice quavered. "There might not be another chance." Firestar hesitated. "Yes, if you see her," he

“我也很高兴认识你。 我要去河族的地盘，如果我带些勇士，会比较好看。” “RiverClan ?”云尾巴看起来很惊讶。 “你要他们做什么？”“我要让他们明天和我们一起对抗天灾军团。” 年轻的战士目瞪口呆。“你疯了吗？” 豹星会把你的毛扯下来的！”“我想她不会的。 现在虎星死了，她和我们一样，也不想让血族留在森林里了。” 云尾巴耸了耸肩，灰条纹看上去也不确定，但沙暴的绿眼睛却闪烁着喜悦的光芒。 “我就知道你会想出打败血族的办法。” “我们走吧。”火星转身要带路走到台阶上，但当蓝爪朝他走来时，他停住了脚步。 “火星，如果唐婆在，我们能跟她谈谈吗？”他的徒弟满怀希望地问道。 他的声音颤抖着。“可能没有第二次机会了。” Firestar犹豫了。“是的，如果你看见她的话，”他说

meowed. "Get her side of the story. Then we'll decide what to do." "Thanks, Firestar!" Bramblepaw's eyes shone with relief. Firestar slipped down the bank to the stepping-stones with his warriors behind him. As he led the way across he kept alert for movement on the opposite side of the river, but he saw nothing. There had not even been a RiverClan patrol, though by now the sun was well above the horizon. Reaching the far bank, Firestar turned upriver toward the RiverClan camp. Before he reached it he came to the stream that led to the clearing of the Bonehill. A shudder ran through him as he remembered the last time he had been here. The reek of crowfood was fainter now, but the scent of many cats came to him on the breeze. Firestar recognized the mingled scent of TigerClan, once so ominous but now almost familiar compared with the stench of BloodClan. "I think they must be in the clearing by the Bonehill," he mewed over his shoulder. "Some of them, at least. We'll go and see—Graystripe, keep

呜呜呜。“听听她的说法。 然后我们再决定怎么做。” “谢谢,Firestar !”蓝爪的眼睛松了一口气。 火星带着他的战士们滑下河岸，来到了石阶上。 当他带路过河时，他一直警惕着河对岸的动静，但他什么也没看见。 甚至连河族的巡逻队都没有，尽管此时太阳已远高于地平线。 到达对岸后，火星向上游的河族营地驶去。 在他到达之前，他来到了一条通往骨山空地的小溪。 想起上次来这里的情景，他浑身打了个寒颤。 乌鸦食物的气味现在减弱了，但许多猫的气味在微风中向他袭来。 火星认出了虎族的混合气味，曾经是如此不祥，但现在与血族的恶臭相比，几乎是熟悉的。 “我想他们一定在骨山旁边的空地上。”他回过头来叫道。 “至少有一部分是这样。我们去看看-灰条，继续

a lookout." Graystripe fell back as Firestar followed the stream, creeping quietly through the reeds until he came to the edge of the clearing. Peering out, he saw that the Bonehill was already beginning to crumble so that it looked like nothing more than a heap of rubbish. The stream was no longer choked with rotting prey, and there was a small heap of fresh-kill, as if cats had begun to establish a new camp. Several warriors were huddled in the clearing, with ungroomed fur and dull, staring eyes. Firestar was surprised to see cats from both RiverClan and ShadowClan. He had expected to find only ShadowClan warriors setting up a camp here while RiverClan occupied their old camp on the island upriver. Leopardstar was crouched at the foot of the Bonehill. She was gazing straight in front of her, and Firestar thought she must have seen him, but she gave no sign. The ShadowClan deputy, Blackfoot, lay close by. As his initial surprise ebbed, Firestar felt relieved that he would be able to deal straightaway with Leopardstar, who was

注意。”灰条后退了，火星顺着小溪，悄悄地穿过芦苇，来到空地的边缘。 往外看，他看到骨山已经开始崩塌，看起来就像一堆垃圾。 小溪不再被腐烂的猎物堵塞，还有一小堆刚被杀死的猎物，好像猫已经开始建立一个新的营地。 几个战士挤在空地上，毛发蓬乱，呆呆地瞪着眼睛。 Firestar很惊讶地看到了RiverClan和ShadowClan的猫。 他原以为只有暗影氏族的战士在这里扎营，而河氏族则占据了他们在上游岛屿上的旧营地。 豹星蹲在骨山脚下。 她直直地盯着前方，火星以为她一定看到了他，但她没有任何迹象。 影族的副手黑脚就躺在附近。 当他最初的惊讶消退后，火星感到松了一口气，因为他可以直接与豹星打交道

obviously trying to rule both Clans. He glanced back at Sandstorm. "What's wrong with them?" he murmured. He would almost have believed that the warriors were sick, but there was no taint of sickness in the air. Sandstorm shook her head helplessly, and Firestar turned back to the clearing. He had come here looking for a fighting force, but these cats appeared to be half-dead. Still, there was no sense in going back. Signaling with his tail for his own cats to follow, he stepped into the clearing. No cat challenged him, although one or two of the warriors raised their heads and gave him an incurious stare. With a glance at Firestar, Bramblepaw slipped away to look for Tawnypaw. Leopardstar struggled to her paws. "Firestar." Her voice rasped, as if she had not used it in many days. "What do you want?" "To talk to you," Firestar replied. "Leopardstar, what's going on here? What's the matter with you all? Why aren't you in your old camp?" Leopardstar held his gaze for a long moment. "I am the sole leader of TigerClan now," she meowed at last, a spark of pride returning to her

显然是想统治两个部落。 他回头看了沙暴一眼。 “他们怎么了？”他喃喃地说。 他几乎相信战士们都生病了，但空气中没有任何疾病的痕迹。 沙暴无助地摇了摇头，火星转身回到空地上。 他是来这里寻找战斗力的，但这些猫似乎已经半死了。 不过，回去是没有意义的。 它用尾巴示意自己的猫跟在后面，然后走进空地。 没有猫向他挑战，虽然有一两个战士抬起头，用好奇的目光盯着他。 蓝爪看了一眼火星，溜出去找汤爷爷去了。 豹星挣扎着去抓她的爪子。 “Firestar。”她的声音沙哑了，好像她已经好几天没有用过了。 “你想要什么？”“跟你谈谈，”火星回答。 “豹星，这是怎么回事？” 你们都是怎么了？ 你为什么不在原来的营地？”豹星久久凝视着他。 “现在我是虎族唯一的首领了。”她终于喵喵地叫道，一丝自豪感又回到了她的身上