Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 What was that? Every hair on Stormfur's pelt shot up in fear. He and his friends were trapped in this dark hole; whoever had just spoken was blocking the entrance, and there was nowhere else to go. Desperately he tasted the air and picked out the scents of several cats, all of them smelling of Tribe, and yet not Tribe. "Who are you?" he demanded. For an answer he felt a powerful shoulder thrusting him aside as the strange cat entered the cave. There was the soft sound of pawsteps as the others followed. Then he heard Brambleclaw's voice, tense but still calm. "We are traveling to our home far from here and we took shelter only for the night. We have no quarrel with you." The strange cat spoke again. "This is our place." "Then we'll leave," Tawnypelt mewed. She padded toward the entrance, and the other cats shuffled around to follow her. Stormfur felt his fur begin to lie flat again.

第十九章 那是什么声音？ 暴风毛吓得浑身毛发都竖了起来。 他和朋友们被困在了这个黑洞里； 刚才说话的家伙堵住了洞口，他们无路可逃。 他急切地嗅了嗅空气，分辨出好几只猫的气味，这些气味都带着部落的气息，却又不是部落的味道。 "你是谁？" 他喝问道。 那只陌生猫没有回答，只是用强壮的肩膀一把将他撞到一旁，走进了洞穴。 其他猫跟了进来，响起轻柔的脚步声。 接着他听到了棘爪的声音，语气紧绷却依旧镇定。 "我们要赶回远方的家，只是在这里借住一夜。 我们和你们无冤无仇。" 那只陌生猫又开口了。 "这是我们的地盘。" "那我们这就走。"褐皮轻声说。 她朝洞口走去，其他猫转身跟在她身后。 暴风毛感觉自己的毛发渐渐平复了下来。

With any luck they could get out of here without a fight. These cats couldn't have come from the Tribe of Rushing Water, or they would have known who he and his companions were. Yet they carried the Tribe's scent; Stormfur was puzzled, but he was content to leave the mystery behind him if they could just get away safely. "Not so fast," the newcomer growled. "How do we know you're telling the truth? I don't know you, and I don't know your scent." "Talon, we should take them prisoner." A soft hiss came from one of the other cats. "We might be able to use them as bait for Sharptooth." "You know about Sharptooth?" Stormfur exclaimed. "Of course we know about Sharptooth," rumbled the first voice, the one called Talon. "Every cat in these mountains knows about Sharptooth." As he spoke, Stormfur realized that the darkness was no longer unbroken. Gradually the shapes of the strange cats were outlined in faint gray light as dawn filtered down the tunnel. Every hair on Stormfur's pelt prickled with fear

运气好的话，他们就能不发生冲突就离开这里。 这些猫肯定不是急水部落的，不然他们肯定认识他和他的同伴。 可他们身上确实带着部落的气味； 暴风毛满心疑惑，但只要能安全离开，他不在乎这团谜团。 "没那么容易走。"新来的猫低吼道。 "我们怎么知道你们说的是真话？ 我不认识你们，也没闻过你们的气味。" "利爪，我们应该把他们抓起来。" 另一只猫发出一声轻轻的嘶嘶声。 "我们说不定可以把他们当诱饵引尖牙出来。" "你们知道尖牙？" 暴风毛惊叫道。 "我们当然知道尖牙。"那个叫利爪的声音隆隆地说道。 "这山里每只猫都知道尖牙。" 他说话的时候，暴风毛发现洞里不再是一片漆黑。 黎明的光透过隧道照进来，淡淡的灰光里，陌生猫的轮廓渐渐显现了出来。 暴风毛吓得浑身每根毛发都因恐惧发麻

as he looked at them. The first of them, Talon, was one of the biggest cats he had ever seen, a dark brown tabby with massive shoulders and huge paws. His ragged pelt was bristling with hostility, and a deep scar stretched across one side of his face, curling his lip in a frozen snarl. His amber eyes were narrowed, his gaze flicking suspiciously over the forest cats. Behind him were two other cats, a scrawny black tom whose tail was little more than a jagged stump, and a gray-brown she-cat. Both of them flexed their claws as if they could hardly wait to sink them into the Clan cats" fur. Although the Clan cats outnumbered the strangers two to one, Stormfur didn't like their chances in a fight. They certainly wouldn't get away without serious injuries. He could see his friends were thinking the same; even the aggressive Crowpaw was silent, his gaze fixed warily on the strangers. "We have seen Sharptooth and we know how savage he is." Brambleclaw was still trying to keep the exchange peaceful. "But we're on an urgent

看清他们的模样后。 领头的利爪是暴风毛见过的体型最大的猫之一，他是一只深棕色虎斑猫，肩膀宽厚，爪子硕大。 他粗乱的毛发充满敌意地炸着，一道深疤横过半张脸，把嘴唇扯得歪歪扭扭，永远像在龇牙怒吼。 他琥珀色的眼睛眯着，目光满怀疑虑地扫过这群森林猫。 他身后还有两只猫：一只瘦骨嶙峋的黑色公猫，尾巴只剩一截参差不齐的残桩，还有一只棕灰色的母猫。 两只猫都活动着爪子，恨不得马上把爪子插进这群族群猫的皮毛里。 尽管族群猫的数量是陌生猫的两倍，暴风毛还是觉得他们打赢的把握不大。 他们想要脱身，肯定免不了受重伤。 他看得出来，朋友们也都是这么想的； 就连好斗的鸦爪都沉默着，警惕地盯着这群陌生猫。 "我们见过尖牙，知道他有多凶残。" 棘爪还在试着让这场对话保持平和。 "但我们有要紧的

mission and we have to leave." "You'll go when I say you can," Talon growled. "You can't keep us here!" Stormfur winced as Squirrelpaw spoke up, her green eyes blazing. There was nothing wrong with her courage, but sometimes she hadn't the sense of a mayfly. "We've already escaped from the Tribe of Rushing Water." Crowpaw let out a furious hiss, and for once Stormfur sympathized with him. Squirrelpaw needed to be a lot more careful about what she told these terrifying cats. But to Stormfur's surprise, the suspicion in Talon's gaze seemed to fade. "You have been with the Tribe?" "That's right," meowed Brambleclaw. "You know of them, then?" "We know much, and too much," Talon replied, and the tabby she-cat added, "We were once Tribe cats too." Stormfur stared at her in astonishment; he had assumed that these cats were homeless rogues. It would explain the puzzling scent, if

任务，必须马上离开。" "我说你们能走你们才能走。"利爪低吼道。 "你们不能把我们困在这儿！" 松鼠爪站出来说话，绿色眼睛怒火熊熊，暴风毛听得心里一紧。 她的勇气没话说，但有时候她实在太没脑子了。 "我们已经从急水部落逃出来了。" 鸦爪愤怒地嘶了一声，这一次暴风毛完全赞同他的反应。 松鼠爪真该在这些可怕的猫面前说话更小心点。 但让暴风毛惊讶的是，利爪眼中的怀疑似乎消退了。 "你们去过部落？" "没错。"棘爪说道。 "那么说你们认识他们？" "我们知道得很多，太多了。"利爪回答，那只虎斑母猫补充道："我们以前也是部落猫。" 暴风毛惊讶地盯着她，他原本以为这些猫都是无家可归的流浪猫。 那就能解释这股奇怪的气味了，如果

they had once belonged to the Tribe, but he remembered how the Tribe had refused to turn the Clan cats out at night in case they met Sharptooth. If they had been that concerned about strangers, it seemed odd that they would let their own Tribemates live outside the cave. Unless they had committed a crime that outweighed the threat of Sharptooth.... "Did the Tribe make you leave?" he asked. "As good as," Talon grunted. Slowly his bristling fur began to lie flat. He flicked his tail at his two companions, which they seemed to take as an order to guard the entrance, for they settled down one on either side of it. "Sit," Talon said to the forest cats. "Sit and we will talk. But don't try to leave, unless you want to lose your ears." Stormfur believed that he meant the threat. Cautiously he sat down; his friends did the same, making themselves as comfortable as they could on the bare sandy floor. As the light strengthened Stormfur made out his surroundings more clearly: The roof of the cave was thickly interlaced with roots, stretching above earth walls, with more roots and stones jutting out here

它们曾经也曾属于那个部落，可他记得，部落当初不肯放族群猫在夜里进山洞，就怕遇上尖牙。 如果他们这么担心外来者，那允许自己的族人住在山洞外就太奇怪了。 除非这些族人犯了比尖牙的威胁还要严重的罪过…… “是部落赶你出来的吗？”他问道。 “差不多。”利爪闷声咕哝道。 他炸开的被毛渐渐平复下去了。 他冲两个同伴甩了甩尾巴，它们明白这是守入口的命令，于是一左一右在入口边伏了下来。 “坐下。”利爪对这群森林猫说。 “坐下咱们好好聊聊。 “但别想逃跑，除非你不想要耳朵了。” 风皮知道这个威胁不是闹着玩的。 他小心翼翼地坐了下来； 他的朋友们也跟着照做，在光秃秃的沙地上尽量坐得舒服些。 随着光线越来越亮，风皮慢慢看清了四周：洞顶缠满交错的粗树根，在土墙上方延展，还有更多树根和石块从这里凸出来

and there. He could not see any bedding, any fresh-kill pile, or any other sign that these three cats lived here permanently. Yet Talon had said it was where they regularly came to shelter. It must be a harsh life that they led here. "My name is Talon of Swooping Eagle," the huge tabby began, raising one paw to the scar on his face. "An eagle's talon did this when I was a kit, and gave me my name as well as a mark to remind me how close I came to losing my life. This is Rock Where Snow Gathers and Bird Who Rides the Wind." He pointed his tail at the black tom and the she-cat in turn. Stormfur's fear began to ebb. Somehow knowing the strangers" names made them seem less like enemies. "Many seasons ago," Talon went on, "the Tribe of Endless Hunting sent a sign to Stoneteller. They chose six cats to leave the shelter of the caves and go out into the mountains to face Sharptooth and kill him. We are three of that six." "What happened to the others?" Crowpaw put in.

和那里。 他看不到任何窝垫、任何猎物堆，也没有任何迹象说明这三只猫长期住在这里。 可利爪早就说过，他们常来这里躲避歇息。 他们在这里的生活肯定十分艰难。 “我叫翔鹰利爪，”大块头虎斑开口说道，抬起一只爪子指了指脸上的伤疤。 “我还是幼崽的时候，被鹰抓伤了这里，不光留下伤疤，还给了我这个名字，提醒我当年差点丢了命。 这两位是积雪岩和乘风鸟。” 他依次甩尾巴指向那只黑色公猫和那只母猫。 风皮的恐惧渐渐退去了。 知道了这些陌生人的名字，不知怎么的，他们看起来就没那么像敌人了。 “很多个季节之前，”利爪接着说道，“无尽狩猎部落给石先知传来了一个征兆。 他们选出六只猫，离开山洞的庇护，进山对抗尖牙、杀掉它。 我们六个里就有我们三个。” “其他的猫怎么样了？” 鸦爪插嘴问道。