Jaypaw lay in the moss-linednest beside Lionpaw and Hollypaw, listening to the endless thunder of the waterfall. There seemed to be voices in it, too faint for him to catch, however hard he strained his ears. Nearby, he could hear the murmuring of tired cats as they settled down for the night.
Hollypaw and Lionpaw were sleeping like hedgehogs in leaf-bare, exhausted2 from working so hard. Curled up with his tail over his nose, Jaypaw tried to sleep too, but it was no good. His paws itched3 to be up and doing something. Careful not to disturb his littermates, he slid out of the nest and padded into the center of the cave.
He was beginning to learn his way around. He could distinguish the sleeping places of the cave-guards and prey4-hunters and scent5 his own Clanmates who were sharing their space. Creeping across the cave floor with the waterfall behind him, he heard an echoing tinkle7 of water drops falling and discovered a trickle8 spilling into a pool. He crouched9 down to lap; the water was ice cold and tasted of the wind.
He found it hard to believe that the Clan6 cats would stay here in the mountains for much longer. They weren’t welcome here, whatever Stoneteller said, and it didn’t look as if forcing the Tribe to learn Clan skills would solve anything. But before they left he was determined10 to discover more about the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Rising to his paws again, he licked the last drops of water from his jaws11 and tasted the air.
Stoneteller’s scent! Jaypaw picked up the faint trace on the cave floor and followed it toward the back of the cave, where a gap opened up. He slid through it and along a narrow tunnel until the movement of air and the faint echoes of his paw steps told him that he had emerged into another cave.
A wisp of chill wind told him that it was open to the sky, at least partly. Padding forward, his paw splashed in a puddle12 of water and he drew back sharply, shaking it in disgust. He brushed against stone and explored it with one paw; it jutted13 from the cave floor like a tree trunk. The air was filled with strange, whispering echoes, voices that were too faint to make out, like those he had heard in the waterfall.
Then a clearer voice spoke15. “Jaypaw, welcome to the Cave of Pointed16 Stones.”
Jaypaw froze. He had been too intent on his investigations17 to wonder what would happen if Stoneteller found him here. This was the Healer’s private place, he could tell, like a Clan leader’s den18. But there was no point in pretending he wasn’t there.
“Thank you, Stoneteller.”
He heard the sound of paw steps and imagined the old tabby padding toward him. When Stoneteller’s voice came again it was close to his ear.
“This is where I share tongues with the Tribe of Endless Hunting. They send me signs through the shimmer19 of stars and moon in the water, the dance of light and shadow on the stones that rise from the floor and jut14 down from the roof, the echoes of wind, water, and paw steps.” His voice rose and fell, unlike normal speech, then dropped to a low murmur1. “Yet now they send no signs that promise relief for my Tribe.”
Jaypaw had lost respect for Stoneteller when the old cat had lied about the message from the Tribe of Endless Hunting. But he couldn’t ignore the Healer’s age and wisdom or the sharp sense of betrayal Stoneteller felt as he faced the destruction of his Tribe.
“Our ancestors have no help to offer,” Stoneteller went on. “It is as though they don’t care that we are dying.”
Jaypaw wasn’t sure if Stoneteller was really talking to him. He was speaking as if to a much older cat, one who might have wisdom to share with him.
“Clan cats look to StarClan,” Jaypaw began hesitantly. “Yet not even StarClan is all-powerful. Perhaps the Tribe of Endless Hunting doesn’t know how to help you.”
“Then why did they bring us here?” Stoneteller rasped. “They promised us we would be safe.”
Jaypaw’s ears pricked20. What did Stoneteller know about the beginnings of the Tribe?
“Where did you live before?” he asked. “Why did you have to leave and come here?”
Stoneteller sighed, his breath riffling Jaypaw’s whiskers. “I do not know. It was many seasons, many lifetimes ago. TheTribe of Endless Hunting has not told me this.”
Every hair on Jaypaw’s pelt21 prickled. So the Tribe hadn’t always lived in the mountains! Perhaps the Tribe of Endless Hunting was so helpless because they were convinced they had been wrong, and the mountains were not the right place to bring these cats. He clawed the damp floor with his forepaws. If only he knew the whole truth, not just these tantalizing22 scraps23!
“What do the signs say tonight?” he asked Stoneteller.
“Very little,” the Healer replied. “The moon shines on the water, but—there!—a cloud drifts over it, as if all our hopes are blotted24 out. The echoes tell me nothing, but over there wind ruffles25 the surface of a puddle, and that means change.” He sighed again, sounding unutterably weary. “What the change may be, I do not know. I will sleep now. Good night, Jaypaw.”
“Good night.” Jaypaw heard the old cat’s paw steps retreating, and then a scuffling sound as if he was making himself comfortable in a mossy nest. He stood listening as the sounds died away, trying to make some sense of the echoes in the cave, but they told him nothing.
Padding to the side of the cave, he found a dip in the ground. It was bare stone, with no comfortable lining26, but he curled up in it, knowing that only in dreams would he find the answers to his questions.
Jaypaw closed his eyes and woke once more on the jutting27 outcrop of rock with the wind flattening28 his fur along his sides. Rock sat on a boulder29 facing him. Moonlight glistened30 on his hairless body and his bulging31 sightless eyes seemed fixed32 on Jaypaw.
“These are not your ancestors,” he mewed, before Jaypaw could speak. “Be careful.”
“I amcareful,” Jaypaw retorted. “And I have to do something! The Tribe of Endless Hunting has given up on the Tribe. They’re not doing anything to help.”
“But your Clanmates are,” Rock replied.
“But that’s not right!” Jaypaw protested, twitching33 his tail tip in confusion. “Isn’t it the responsibility of warrior34 ancestors to look after their descendants? Otherwise what use are they?”
Rock said nothing, but Jaypaw sensed great sadness coming from him. Curiosity clawed at him again. Why should Rock feel so concerned about the Tribe cats? And why will no cat tell me anything?
He let out a yowl of frustration35 as he saw Rock’s figure beginning to fade. For a heartbeat Jaypaw saw him as a shimmer against the rocks; then he was gone, dissolved into wind and starlight. He bounded forward and found himself scrabbling in the hollow in the Cave of Pointed Stones, where he had fallen asleep.
“Mouse dung!” he spat36.
Scent told him that time had passed and Stoneteller had left the cave. Jaypaw rose to his paws and gave himself a quick grooming37. His dreams still clung to his mind like stubborn cobwebs, and he felt that he might be able to find his own answers once he had time to think.
But the time was not now. He could hear faint caterwauling in the distance; his muscles tensing with the anticipation38 of disaster, he located the passage and pattered down it until he reached the main cave. The noise grew louder, wails39 and yowling that almost drowned out the noise of the waterfall. As Jaypaw stepped into the cavern40, the stench of blood slapped him in the face like a damp wind.
“What’s going on?” he meowed in alarm.
He tasted the air; the first familiar scent he encountered was Tawnypelt’s. Bounding over to her, he asked, “What happened? Has there been a battle?”
“A fight.” The ShadowClan cat’s voice was terse41. “The prey-hunters went out at dawn and brought down an eagle. Then the trespassers spotted42 them on their way home and fought them for it.”
“And we lost!” an unfamiliar43 voice snarled44. “Those mange-ridden fleapelts took our prey. It’s all the fault of you Clan cats. You kept the cave-guards here, learning battle techniques.” The Tribe cat spat out the last words as if they were a curse.
“The techniques you use now wouldn’t help you fight other cats.” Brambleclaw’s voice came from behind Jaypaw and his father’s scent wreathed around him.
“They’d be better than nothing!” the Tribe cat yowled. “My mate was injured today.” His voice shook suddenly. “I don’t even know if she’ll live.”
“I’m sorry,” Brambleclaw murmured. “Jaypaw, will you go and help Stoneteller? He could use another medicine cat.”
“Sure.” Thankful to have something to do at last, Jaypaw located Stoneteller’s scent among all the others and padded across to him, weaving his way among the bodies of injured cats screeching45 in pain.
“Honestly,” he muttered to himself. “There can’t be more than about six of them, but they’re making enough racket for a whole Clan!”
“Jaypaw.” Stoneteller’s voice was calm and in control. He seemed a lifetime away from the weary, confused cat of the night before. “Chew up this tormentil root and put it on Gray’s wound.”
Jaypaw sniffed46 curiously47 at the root Stoneteller pushed against his paws. “I’ve never come across this before. What did you call it?”
“Tormentil,” Stoneteller replied. “Good for all wounds and for poison.”
“Hey, do you mind?” Gray’s voice, tight with pain, came from just beside Jaypaw. “Talk about it afterward48, okay?”
“Okay.” Jaypaw sighed. “Have you given the wound a good lick?”
“No…” Gray sounded startled, as if the thought of licking his own wound had never occurred to him.
“Then do it,” Jaypaw snapped. “What’s the good of putting a poultice on a load of drying blood and messy fur?”
He crouched down to chew up the tormentil, hearing the steady rasp of Gray’s tongue. The root had a strong aromatic49 scent and a sharp taste.
“We use wintergreen, too,” Stoneteller meowed as he worked. “And tansy. Have you heard of those?”
Jaypaw spat out the last of the chewed-up root and scooped50 up a pawful to put on Gray’s wound. “We have tansy, but mostly for coughs. Right, Gray, is that wound clean now?”
“Yes, it’s okay,” the prey-hunter replied.
“About time,” Jaypaw muttered. “It’s like dealing51 with kits52!”
“Hey, calm down.” Hollypaw pushed her muzzle53 into Jaypaw’s neck fur. “Tell me what to do. I’ve come to help.”
“The Tribe cats need to start helping54 themselves,” Jaypaw snapped at her, then felt sorry for being sharp. Hollypaw didn’t know that the Tribe’s ancestors had given up on them, and he didn’t want to tell her. But he knew that if the Tribe cats didn’tstart helping themselves, there was no hope left for them.
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1
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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itched
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| v.发痒( itch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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tinkle
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| vi.叮当作响；n.叮当声 | |
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trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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9
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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puddle
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| n.(雨)水坑，泥潭 | |
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jutted
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| v.（使）突出( jut的过去式和过去分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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jut
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| v.突出；n.突出，突出物 | |
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15
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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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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18
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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shimmer
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| v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光 | |
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20
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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tantalizing
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| adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 ) | |
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23
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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ruffles
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| 褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 ) | |
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lining
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| n.衬里，衬料 | |
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jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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28
flattening
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| n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词 | |
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29
boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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30
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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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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33
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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34
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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35
frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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36
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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37
grooming
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| n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发 | |
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38
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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39
wails
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| 痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 ) | |
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40
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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41
terse
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| adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的 | |
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42
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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43
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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44
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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45
screeching
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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46
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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47
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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48
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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49
aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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50
scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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51
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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52
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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53
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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54
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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