Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 A terrible shrieking broke out in the cave, slicing through the sound of the rain pattering around them and even the noise of the falls. Feathertail sprang to her paws; every hair on her pelt told her to flee as far from the cave as she could. Only the thought of the danger that Stormfur was in made her stay where she was. "Come on!" Brambleclaw's voice was tense. The rest of the cats stared at him in disbelief. "Down there?" Crowpaw demanded. "Are you mouse-brained?" "Think!" Brambleclaw was already bounding toward the cave entrance; he paused and swung around to face the apprentice. "With Sharptooth in the cave, no cat will notice us. This might be our only chance to get Stormfur out." Without waiting to see if the others were following he leaped down the rocks toward the path. "I still think he's crazy!" muttered Crowpaw, but he followed all the same. Feathertail scrambled down after them, her

第15章 洞里突然响起一阵可怕的尖叫，盖过了周遭淅沥的雨声，甚至盖过了瀑布的轰鸣。 羽尾一下子站起身； 她浑身每根毛发都在催促她，逃得离这个洞穴越远越好。 只有想到暴风毛正身陷险境，才让她留在了原地。 “快来！” 黑莓掌的声音紧绷着。 其余的猫都难以置信地盯着他。 “去下面？” 鸦爪质问道。 “你疯了吗？”“想想看！” 黑莓掌已经朝着洞口奔去了； 他停下脚步，转过身面向这位学徒。 “利齿在洞里的时候，不会有猫注意到我们。 这说不定是我们救暴风毛出去的唯一机会了。” 没等确认其他猫有没有跟来，他就顺着岩石跳向了小路。 “我还是觉得他疯了！” 鸦爪嘟囔着，可还是跟了上去。 羽尾跟着他们往下爬，她的

paws sliding on the wet rocks, her claws scraping painfully as she tried to keep her balance. She ran along the ledge behind the falls with barely enough time to be afraid of slipping and falling into the turbulent pool below. The screeching grew louder. Terror surged through Feathertail as she imagined what they would find inside the cave; Sharptooth might be sinking his fangs into Stormfur's neck at that very moment, clawing her brother's pelt and turning him into fresh-kill. She skidded into the cave and halted just behind Brambleclaw. For a moment she could hardly make sense of what she was seeing. With the moon covered by clouds, the cave was almost dark; the huge shape of Sharptooth seemed to be everywhere at once, massive paws pounding on the floor as he sprang from wall to wall, blood spattered against his flanks and saliva dripping from his jaws. This was more terrible than Feathertail had ever imagined—there was no way Stormfur could challenge this beast and survive. The Tribe cats scattered, scrambling blindly out of their sleeping hollows. Feathertail caught a glimpse of Brook, hustling a kit down the tunnel

爪子在湿滑的岩石上打滑，她拼命稳住平衡，爪子磨得生疼。 她沿着瀑布后的窄道奔跑，根本没工夫害怕自己会滑倒，掉进下方翻涌的水潭。 那阵尖叫越来越响。 恐惧席卷了羽尾，她忍不住猜测进洞会看到什么； 说不定利齿此刻正咬着暴风毛的喉咙，把她哥哥撕成新鲜猎物。 她滑进洞里，在黑莓掌身后停了下来。 有那么一瞬间，她几乎看不清眼前的景象。 月亮被乌云遮住，洞里几乎一片漆黑； 利齿庞大的身躯仿佛无处不在，它踩着巨爪重重跺地，在洞壁间扑来扑去，侧腹溅着鲜血，口水顺着下颌往下滴。 这比羽尾预想的还要可怕——暴风毛绝不可能对抗这只巨兽还活下来。 部落猫四散奔逃，慌慌张张从自己的睡洞里挤出来。 羽尾瞥见了溪儿，正赶着一只幼崽往通道

that led to the nursery, with another dangling from her jaws. Near the other tunnel, a cave- guard was clinging to the huge lion-cat's neck, only to be thrown off and flung against the wall with a sickening thud. The cave-guard slid to the floor and lay still, a trickle of blood running from its mouth. While Feathertail stared in horror, two or three cats fled past her with shrill cries, blundering against the Clan cats without realizing who they were. "This way!" Brambleclaw ordered. He looked at each Clan cat in turn, his gaze resting longest on Squirrelpaw. "We have to do this for Stormfur," he reminded them. Sharptooth had pounded across to leap up the far wall of the cave, trying to reach a Tribe cat who cowered on a ledge just above the vicious claws. Skirting the cave walls, clinging to the darkest corners, Brambleclaw headed for the tunnel leading to the Cave of Pointed Stones. Feathertail and the others followed. In the blackness they stumbled against Tribe cats, some wounded, others frozen in fear, but the terror and blood-scent filling the cave were so strong

走去，那通道通向育儿室，另一只幼崽被她叼在嘴里。 另一条通道旁，一名洞穴守卫死死咬住这只巨狮猫的脖子，却被甩下来撞到洞壁，发出一声让人反胃的闷响。 洞穴守卫滑到地上，一动不动，一缕鲜血从他嘴角流出来。 羽尾惊恐地看着，两三只猫尖叫着从她身边跑过，慌不择路撞到族群猫身上，根本没认出他们是谁。 “这边走！” 黑莓掌下令道。 他挨个扫过每只族群猫，目光在松鼠爪身上停留得最久。 “我们得为暴风毛做这件事，”他提醒大家。 利齿已经冲过洞穴，纵身跳向对面洞壁，想要扑杀缩在高台上的部落猫，那猫离它的凶爪近在咫尺。 黑莓掌贴着洞壁走，躲在最暗的阴影里，朝通向尖石山洞的通道走去。 羽尾和其他猫跟了上去。 黑暗中他们撞到了不少部落猫，有的受了伤，有的吓僵了，可洞里弥漫的恐惧和血腥味浓烈到

that no cat recognized them. At the tunnel entrance, two cave-guards still held their positions, their fur standing on end and their eyes stretched wide. Feathertail felt a flash of respect for their courage, to stay there when all their Tribemates were running for their lives. "Now!" Brambleclaw and Crowpaw launched themselves at the cave-guards, their claws slashing and their teeth bared. Squirrelpaw was only a heartbeat behind them. Feathertail heard an exclamation of astonishment from one of the guards, and recognized Crag's voice. She saw Brambleclaw bowl him over and fasten his teeth in the cave-guard's neck fur, while Crowpaw cuffed the other guard on both ears, drawing him away from the tunnel entrance. Squirrelpaw sank her teeth into Crag's tail and held on. With the entrance clear, Feathertail and Tawnypelt darted down the tunnel. Before they reached the Cave of Pointed Stones they met two other cats, barely visible in the darkness. With a surge of relief and joy Feathertail recognized Stormfur's scent. The other cat was Stoneteller; she glimpsed his blazing eyes as he pelted past

没有猫认出他们。 通道入口，还有两名洞穴守卫坚守岗位，他们毛发倒竖，眼睛瞪得大大的。 看到所有族人都在逃命，他们却还留在这里，羽尾不由得涌起一股敬佩。 “动手！” 黑莓掌和鸦爪扑向两名洞穴守卫，利爪挥舞，露出尖牙。 松鼠爪紧随其后，只慢了一步。 羽尾听见其中一个守卫惊讶地叫出声，听出那是岩石的声音。 她看见黑莓掌把他撞倒，死死咬住他颈侧的毛，鸦爪则扇了另一个守卫好几下，把他引出了通道入口。 松鼠爪一口咬住岩石的尾巴，死不松口。 入口清空后，羽尾和褐皮冲进了通道。 她们还没到尖石山洞，就遇到了另外两只猫，黑暗里只能勉强看清轮廓。 闻到暴风毛的气味，羽尾一下子涌起释然和狂喜。 另一只猫是尖石巫师；他冲过去的时候，羽尾瞥见了他炽烈的眼睛

her and launched himself into the outer cave. "Quick!" the Tribe leader yowled to Stormfur. "Your time has come. Oh, Tribe of Endless Hunting, help us now!" "Feathertail!" Stormfur exclaimed. "What's happening?" For a moment Feathertail was content just to drink in his scent and twine her tail with his. She had been afraid they'd find the Cave of Pointed Stones empty, that Stormfur would have already been sent out to do battle with the lion-cat, and that his body had been one of those bleeding in the corners of the cave. "There's no time for that!" Tawnypelt snapped. "Head for the entrance. Don't stop for anything." She dashed back down the tunnel, and Feathertail and Stormfur followed. As they reached the outer cave, a shriek ripped through the darkness, louder than thunder. A flash of lightning revealed Sharptooth backing toward the entrance. His jaws were clamped around a Tribe cat; with a shudder of pure horror Feathertail recognized Star, the kit-mother who had spoken

他朝着她冲过去，一头扎进了外面的洞穴。 “快！” 部落首领对着暴风毛吼道。 “该你上场了。 哦，永猎部落，快来救救我们吧！” “羽尾！” 暴风毛惊呼道。 “出什么事了？” 有一小会儿，羽尾只满足地嗅着他的气味，把自己的尾巴缠在他的尾巴上。 她之前一直害怕，怕他们找到尖石洞穴时里面空无一人，怕暴风毛已经被派去和狮猫战斗，怕他早就倒在洞穴角落流血死去了。 “没时间磨蹭了！” 藤爪厉声说道。 “往洞口走。 不管发生什么都别停下。” 她顺着通道往回狂奔，羽尾和暴风毛跟在了她身后。 他们刚到外洞，一声尖叫刺破黑暗，声响比雷声还要大。 一道闪电闪过，露出利牙正朝着洞口后退。 他的 jaws 紧紧叼着一只部落猫； 羽尾吓得浑身发抖，她认出这是星，那只之前开口说话的育儿母猫

to them when they first arrived. Her mouth was open in a desperate wordless yowl, and her claws scored the earth floor as she fought vainly to free herself. Then all was dark again; Feathertail saw the faint outline of the lion-cat against the sheet of water as it whipped around and vanished through the entrance. For a heartbeat a shocked silence filled the cave. Then a shrill wail of loss rose all around. Feathertail felt a cat nudge her roughly and spun around to see Brambleclaw. "Out—now!" he rasped. He bounded toward the entrance with Squirrelpaw and Tawnypelt hard on his paws. Crowpaw thrust Feathertail after him, though she did not move until she was sure Stormfur was following too. No cat tried to stop them; all the Tribe were still gripped by terror, crouched low on the cave floor or gazing after Sharptooth with bristling fur and their eyes glazed with fear. At the entrance Brambleclaw paused, sniffed the air, and then led the way along the path. Feathertail detected Sharptooth's scent, mingled with Star's fear-scent and the reek of blood, but

就是当初他们刚到这里时和他们说话的。 她大张着嘴，绝望得发不出声音，爪子抓挠着泥地，徒劳挣扎着想挣脱。 接着四周又变回了一片漆黑； 羽尾看见这只狮猫的模糊轮廓贴着水幕一扭身，就从洞口消失了。 有那么一瞬间，整个洞穴都被震惊的沉默笼罩着。 接着，四面八方响起了悲痛欲绝的哀号。 羽尾感觉到有只猫粗鲁推了她一把，她转过身，看到了黑莓掌。 “出去——马上！” 他粗声说道。 他朝洞口奔去，松鼠爪和藤爪紧跟在他身后。 鸦爪推着羽尾跟上，不过羽尾直到确认暴风毛也跟来了才动身。 没有猫试图阻拦他们； 所有部落猫都还深陷恐惧，要么低伏在洞穴地面，要么毛发倒竖、眼神呆滞地望着利牙离去的方向。 到了洞口，黑莓掌停下来嗅了嗅空气，接着沿着小路带头出发。 羽尾闻到了利牙的气味，混着星的恐惧气息和浓重的血腥味，但是