Stormfur stared in amazement1. The cavewas at least as broad as the waterfall that screened it from the outside world, and stretched far back into the mountainside, until the farthest recesses2 were lost in shadow. He could just make out a narrow passage leading off on either side of the wall opposite the sheet of water. The roof, far above his head, was shadowed too; here and there, stones like fangs3 emerged to point straight down at the cave floor.
The only light came through the rushing water, pale and wavering, so that it was like standing4 in the depths of a pool. As the cats ushered5 them farther into the cave, Stormfur heard more running water beneath the roar of the falls, and saw a stream trickling6 over a mossy rock to fall into a shallow pool on the floor of the cave. Two or three cats—a skinny elder and a couple who looked young enough to be apprentices8—were crouched10 beside it to drink. All of them looked up warily11 at the arrival of the newcomers, as if they were expecting danger.
Just beyond the pool was a pile of fresh-kill and, as Stormfur watched, a couple more of the mountain cats came in and deposited prey12. It was the first thing he had seen that looked at all familiar, and his belly13 growled14 with hunger at the sight of the rabbits.
“Do you think they’ll let us eat?” Squirrelpaw muttered close to his ear. “I’m starving!”
“For all you know, they think we’refresh-kill,” Crowpaw hissed15 from Squirrelpaw’s other side.
“They haven’t done anything to harm us yet,” Brambleclaw pointed17 out.
Stormfur tried to share his optimism, but Crag and Brook18 had vanished, and for a few moments none of the other cats came up to speak to them. Instead, the cats who had been drinking sidled over to their guards, and the elder whispered something, all the while darting19 glances at him. The two apprentices murmured excitedly to each other. The roar of the waterfall drowned their voices, though Stormfur noticed that the mountain cats seemed to have no trouble hearing one another.
Trying to ignore the muttering—most of which seemed to be directed at him, though he told himself to stop being so paranoid—Stormfur identified what looked like sleeping places beside the cave walls: shallow scoops20 in the earth floor, lined with moss7 and feathers. One cluster of sleeping places lay close to the entrance and the other two were farther back, at opposite sides of the cave. He wondered if one set was for warriors22, one for apprentices, and one for elders. Spotting a couple of kits23 scuffling outside the entrance to one of the passages, he guessed that led to the nursery. Suddenly he saw the dark, noisy, frightening cave in a different way: This was a camp! The Tribe shared some of the ways of the Clans26 in the forest; Stormfur began to feel much more hopeful of getting food and rest, and help for Tawnypelt, who had sunk shivering to the floor.
Then he spotted27 Crag again, emerging from the far passage and padding across the cave floor toward the tight group of forest cats. He was followed by another cat, long-bodied and skinny as a WindClan warrior21. So much mud plastered his fur that Stormfur couldn’t make out what color it was underneath28, but his eyes were a deep and glowing green, and a few white hairs around his muzzle29 betrayed the fact that he was older than the cats they had seen so far.
“Greetings,” he meowed in a deep voice that seemed to echo around the cave. He made the odd gesture with one paw extended that Crag and Brook had used outside. “My name is Teller30 of the Pointed Stones, though you will find it easier to call me Stoneteller. I am the Healer of the Tribe of Rushing Water.”
“Healer?” Brambleclaw glanced uncertainly at his friends. “Do you mean the medicine cat? Where is the leader of your Clan25—I mean, Tribe?”
Stoneteller hesitated for a moment. “I am not sure what you mean by a medicine cat, and there is no other leader of this Tribe. I interpret the signs of rock and leaf and water, and that shows me what the Tribe should do—with the help of the Tribe of Endless Hunting.”
Stormfur picked out the bit of Stoneteller’s speech that he understood. “Then he’s medicine cat andleader,” he muttered to Brambleclaw. “That’s pretty powerful!”
In reply, Brambleclaw dipped his head politely. “We come from a forest a long way from here,” he began, repeating his own name and the names of his friends. “We have a difficult journey ahead of us, and we need food and shelter before we can go on.”
More of the Tribe cats crowded around as he spoke31, openly curious. Stormfur picked out kits and apprentices by their sizes, and noticed that the warriors seemed to divide into two groups, one with massive shoulders and powerful muscles, the other more slender, with wiry strength and long limbs for speed. He noticed too how anxious they all looked; they seemed to be on edge, as if they were poised32 to flee.
A brown tabby she-cat, her eyes fixed33 on Stormfur, murmured, “Yes! This is the one—it must be!”
Stormfur started. Brook had said something similar, when they first met beside the pool. He opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but the Tribe’s Healer had turned to the young brown tabby. “Be silent!” he hissed. More smoothly34 he went on to the Clan cats, “You are welcome to our cave. Here is caught-prey in plenty.” He flicked35 his tail toward the fresh-kill pile. “Eat your fill, and rest. We have much to say to one another.”
Brambleclaw looked at the other Clan cats. “We might as well eat,” he meowed quietly. “I don’t think they’re going to hurt us now.”
As Stormfur followed him toward the pile, he felt once more dozens of eyes burning into his fur. It wasn’t his imagination—they were definitely watching him more closely than the others. His fur prickled from nose to tail-tip as he settled down to eat.
As he bit into the rabbit he had chosen, he heard a gasp36 from somewhere behind him and a shocked voice whispering, “They don’t share!”
Glancing up, he saw a young gray cat giving him a hostile stare, while an older tabby bent37 her head to him and murmured, “Shh. It’s not their fault if they haven’t been properly taught.”
Stormfur didn’t know what they meant. Then he spotted two of the Tribe cats who were eating side by side; each of them took a bite from the piece of fresh-kill they had taken, then exchanged pieces before they settled down to finish it off. Embarrassment38 flooded over him as he realized how rude he and his friends must look to the cats of the Tribe.
“We don’t do that,” he meowed directly to the young cat who had spoken at first. “But we doshare.” He flicked his tail toward Feathertail, who was gently coaxing39 Tawnypelt to eat a mouse. “None of us would let our friends go hungry, and the hunting patrols always feed the Clan before taking food for themselves.”
The gray cat backed away a pace or two, looking confused, as if he hadn’t intended the newcomers to hear his comments. The tabby dipped her head with a friendlier look. “Your ways are strange to us,” she meowed. “Perhaps we can learn from one another.”
“Perhaps,” Stormfur agreed.
He began gulping40 down his rabbit again. After a few moments one of the bolder kits pattered right up to the group of Clan cats, urged on by his littermates. “Where do you come from?” he asked.
“A long way away,” Squirrelpaw mumbled41 with her mouth full. Swallowing the bite of prey she added more clearly, “Across these mountains and lots of fields and then a forest.”
The kit24 blinked. “What are fields?” Before Squirrelpaw could reply, he added, “I’m going to be a cave-guard.”
“That’s nice,” Feathertail mewed.
“’Course, I’ve got to be a to-be first.”
“Tooby? What’s a tooby?” asked Crowpaw.
Stormfur hid his amusement at the scornful look the kit gave the WindClan apprentice9. “To-be a cave-guard, of course. You know, training and stuff. Don’t you new cats know anything?”
“He means an apprentice,” Stormfur explained, and couldn’t resist adding, “Like you.”
Crowpaw curled his lip as the kit stared at him and exclaimed, “You’re only a to-be? You’re wayold!”
“It sounds as if they have some of the same traditions as us,” Tawnypelt murmured.
“I wonder if they believe in StarClan?” Squirrelpaw whispered.
“It’s too far for them to go to Mothermouth,” meowed Stormfur, “and no cat has ever seen them there.”
“Stoneteller mentioned the Tribe of Endless Hunting,” Feathertail remembered. “Perhaps that’s what they call StarClan.” Her blue eyes stretched wide and her voice was uneasy as she added, “Or do you think they have different warrior ancestors?”
“I don’t know,” Brambleclaw replied. “But I guess we’ll find out.”
When he finished eating, Stormfur had not felt so comfortably full since they left the woods where they said good-bye to Midnight and Purdy. He would have liked to sleep, but as he swallowed the last mouthful and swiped his tongue around his jaws42 he spotted Stoneteller making his way toward them with three other cats. One of them was Crag; the others were she-cats, though neither of them was Brook. Stormfur felt faintly disappointed. The young she-cat had shown courage and friendliness43 when they first met, and he had looked forward to seeing her again.
“You have eaten well?” Stoneteller asked as he approached.
“Very well, thanks,” Brambleclaw replied. “It’s good of you to share prey with us.”
“Why wouldn’t we?” Stoneteller sounded surprised. “The prey is not ours—it belongs to the stones and the mountain.”
He sat down in front of the forest cats, wrapping his tail neatly44 around his paws. The other three cats gathered around him, but remained standing. Brambleclaw looked expectantly at them.
“Crag you already know,” meowed Stoneteller, introducing his companions. “He is the leader of our cave-guards, the cats who protect this place,” he added, when the Clan cats looked confused. “This”—he flicked his tail toward the younger of the two she-cats—“is Mist Where Sunlight Shimmers45. She is one of our best prey-hunters.”
Mist dipped her head and blinked with friendly interest at the forest cats.
“And this,” Stoneteller went on, indicating the other she-cat, “is Star That Shines on Water. For now she is a kit-mother, though when her kits are grown she will go back to being a cave-guard.”
“You all have different duties, then?” Tawnypelt questioned, as the other forest cats murmured greetings.
“We do,” Stoneteller replied.
“Do you choose the best fighters to be cave-guards, and the fastest cats to be prey-hunters?” Stormfur asked, fascinated in spite of his wariness46.
Stoneteller twitched47 his whiskers in disagreement. “No. All the cats in our Tribe are born to their duties. That is our way. But tell us something more of yourselves,” he went on, interrupting Squirrelpaw as she was about to ask another question. “Why are you making this long journey? We have never seen cats like you before.”
Brambleclaw gave Stormfur a sideways glance and muttered, “What do you think? Do we tell them?”
“I think we have to tell them we were sent by StarClan.” Stormfur breathed his reply close to the tabby warrior’s ear, aware of how acute the mountain cats’ hearing was. “Otherwise they might think we’re outlaws48. But don’t tell them why we had to make the journey in the first place,” he added. “We don’t want to sound weak.”
Brambleclaw nodded. Clearing his throat self-consciously he began to explain about the dreams each of the four chosen cats had received from StarClan, and the saltwater signs that had led them to the sun-drown-place where they had met Midnight.
More of the Tribe cats gathered warily around to listen. Stormfur spotted admiring glances from them as Brambleclaw spoke of the dangers they had faced, but there were a few suspicious mutterings too, as if some of them found it hard to trust the strangers.
“Don’t worry,” he put in, when Brambleclaw paused in his story. “StarClan hasn’t sent us to fight you. They didn’t say anything about meeting you, in fact.”
“StarClan?” Mist echoed, glancing at Stoneteller in bewilderment. “What is StarClan?”
Stormfur heard Tawnypelt stifle49 an exclamation50 of surprise. Feathertail was right after all; these cats were not guided by StarClan. His fur prickled as he suppressed a shiver at the thought that perhaps StarClan was not watching over him and his friends in this strange place.
“Do not be troubled,” Stoneteller meowed, touching51 Mist’s shoulder with the tip of his tail in a reassuring52 gesture. “Not all cats believe as we do, and we must respect that which we do not know. Ignorance is nothing to be afraid of. Please”—he gestured toward Brambleclaw with one paw—“continue.”
“So at last we came to the sun-drown-place and discovered that Midnight is a badger,” Brambleclaw explained. “She told us the meaning of StarClan’s prophecy, and now we’re going home to tell our Clans.”
“A prophecy?” Stoneteller meowed. His green gaze was fixed on Stormfur in a stare of eerie53 intensity54. “Then you too have visions of what is hidden?”
“Well, sometimes we have dreams,” Tawnypelt explained. “But mostly our medicine cats interpret signs for us—clouds, the flight of birds, the fall of leaves. . . .”
“This I do also,” Stoneteller mewed.
He broke off as a group of cats appeared in the cave entrance. Rising to his paws, he murmured, “Forgive me. These are cave-guards, returning from patrol. I must hear what they have to tell me.” Dipping his head, he walked off to meet the leader of the group.
Mist and Star stayed with the forest cats. Stormfur was struck again by how anxious the Tribe cats looked, and he realized that so far he had not seen any of them enjoying themselves: no apprentices play-fighting, no warriors sharing tongues, or elders gathering55 to exchange gossip and stories. The whole Tribe seemed to live in an atmosphere of suppressed fear.
“Are you okay?” Tawnypelt meowed to Mist, echoing Stormfur’s thoughts. “You look worried. Is something wrong?”
“Are you being attacked by another Tribe?” Squirrelpaw added.
“No, there are no cats to attack us,” Star replied. “There are no others in the mountains that we know of. How could there be another Tribe when we guard the Cave of the Pointed Stones?”
“What’s that?” meowed Crowpaw.
His question was ignored.
Mist exchanged a swift glance with Star and murmured, “Should we tell them?” Stormfur barely caught the words and realized that he had not been meant to hear.
A hiss16 came from one of the Tribe cats who had crept closer to listen to the conversation. More than one of them looked scared or angry with Mist.
“What are you afraid of?” Stormfur persisted, his fur beginning to prickle with dread56 of the unknown.
“Nothing,” Star replied. “Or nothing we may speak of.” Rising to her paws, she dipped her head and began to walk away, gesturing with her tail for Mist to follow her. Mist gave the forest cats a backward glance, her eyes filled with fear, before she vanished into the shadows at the back of the cave. The other cats too began to creep away.
Mystified, Stormfur turned to Brambleclaw, and saw his own apprehension57 reflected in the ThunderClan cat’s amber58 eyes. “What was all that about?” he muttered.
Brambleclaw shook his head. “StarClan knows. But whatever it is, it’s obvious that something is frightening them. I wonder why they don’t want to tell us what it is.”
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1
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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3
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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trickling
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| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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warily
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| adv.留心地 | |
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12
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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13
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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14
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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15
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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scoops
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| n.小铲( scoop的名词复数 )；小勺；一勺[铲]之量；（抢先刊载、播出的）独家新闻v.抢先报道( scoop的第三人称单数 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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kits
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| 衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件 | |
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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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teller
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| n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员 | |
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31
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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35
flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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36
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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37
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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38
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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39
coaxing
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应 | |
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40
gulping
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的现在分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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41
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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43
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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44
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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45
shimmers
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| n.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的名词复数 )v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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46
wariness
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| n. 注意,小心 | |
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47
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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48
outlaws
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| 歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯 | |
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49
stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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50
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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51
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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52
reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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53
eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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54
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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55
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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56
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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57
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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58
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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