CHAPTER18
Dovepaw felt her pelt1 stand onend with excitement as she looked at her mentor2, his eyes glimmering3 in the moonlight that shone through the cleft4 in the hollow tree.
“What can you sense?” he asked in a murmur5 low enough not to wake the sleeping cats, or to reach Petalfur on watch outside.
Dovepaw closed her eyes. “Scraping sounds through the ground,” she whispered. “The sound of teeth gnawing6 wood…and the crash of trees falling! The brown animals are dragging the trees to the stream and setting them in place, lodged8 tightly together like a wall.” She took a deep breath. “Oh—I can sense the water! It’s trapped behind the trees…. What are these creatures?”
She opened her eyes again to see Lionblaze looking alarmed, though his expression quickly changed to a look of determination when he saw she was watching him. “How many animals are there?” he meowed.
“I’m not sure….” Dovepaw tried to concentrate on the brown animals as they moved among the fallen trees, but she couldn’t get the picture clear enough to count them all. “Fewer than our patrol, I think.”
Dovepaw couldn’t share his confidence. What she hadn’t told her mentor was that these animals wouldn’t be easy to fight. They were much heavier than cats, dense11 and low to the ground, so it would be hard to flip12 them onto their bellies13. They had long, sharp teeth and powerful clawed feet; she shivered at the thought of the wounds they could inflict14. The fear that she could be leading the patrol into a battle they couldn’t win weighed in her belly15 like a stone.
Lionblaze crept out of the hollow tree to relieve Petalfur on her watch. Dovepaw had already done her shift, so she settled down to sleep, but she couldn’t block out the sounds from further upstream. She jerked back into wakefulness every time a tree crashed down, or a branch grated harshly as it was dragged across another. She was still trying to rest when pale dawn light filtered into the hollow tree and the other cats began to stir around her.
“Great StarClan!” Tigerheart exclaimed, sitting up and shaking dead leaves from his pelt. “Dovepaw, you’re wrigglier than a pile of worms!”
“Sorry,” Dovepaw muttered.
Tigerheart pushed his nose briefly17 into her fur to show that he hadn’t meant to be unkind, before squeezing through the cleft and out into the open. Dovepaw and the other cats followed him out, and they finished off the rest of the fresh-kill pile. Dovepaw noticed that Rippletail and Petalfur didn’t look so hollow and frail18 anymore.
They must be really starving in RiverClan if they’re fattening19 up on what we’ve managed to catch out here!
Above the trees, the sky was milky-pale. A cold wind drove gray clouds across the sky, ruffling20 the cats’ fur the wrong way.
“It’s moons since it’s been as cold as this,” Petalfur meowed, shivering. “Maybe the weather is changing at last.”
When the cats had finished eating, Lionblaze took the lead, waving his tail for the others to follow him. “It’s not far now,” he encouraged them. “We’re really close to the brown animals.”
“How do you know?” Toadfoot demanded, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“The dream from StarClan said that they were just beyond the Twolegplace,” Lionblaze explained, with a discreet22 nod to Dovepaw.
Even though she was worried about what other cats would say if they knew about her abilities, Dovepaw found she was annoyed by her mentor’s secrecy23. He’s willing enough to use my power, so why is he treating it like it’s some sort of embarrassment24 for ThunderClan?
“Don’t forget to watch out for falling trees,” she warned them. “And when we get to the place, the water will be really deep, so be careful not to fall in.”
“All this was in your dream?” Toadfoot asked, sounding as if he didn’t believe her.
“That’s right.” Lionblaze paused to give his chest fur a couple of licks, as if he was thinking fast. “She saw the brown animals pushing trees over, and—and StarClan warned her about the water, isn’t that right, Dovepaw?”
Reluctantly Dovepaw nodded.
“That was some dream!” Rippletail exclaimed. “Firestar never said anything about that at the Gathering25.”
“Yeah, well, he didn’t need to,” Lionblaze mewed uncomfortably, with a glare at Dovepaw.
Dovepaw met his glare innocently. You got yourself into this mess, so get yourself out of it!
As the patrol made its way along the streambed, up the gently sloping valley, the rush of the rising wind in the trees made it hard for Dovepaw to hear what was up ahead. She strained to make out the sounds of the brown animals, and she jumped when she heard Tigerheart’s voice close beside her.
“Isn’t this cool?” he mewed. “We’re going to find these animals, and then—pow!Give us back our water! They won’t refuse. If they do—well…” He crouched27 down, then sprang into the air, swiping his forepaws in a strong clawing move.
Dovepaw didn’t think it would be as easy as that, and she wished that the chatty young warrior28 would just shut up. She stifled29 a sigh as Sedgewhisker came bounding up on her other side.
“Boasting—just like ShadowClan!” she meowed. “Watch this.” Turning to face Tigerheart so the young warrior nearly tripped over her, she launched herself into the air with a terrifying shriek30, twisting as she leaped and landing just behind him.
“Ha—missed!” Tigerheart exclaimed.
“I wasn’t trying to grab you,” Sedgewhisker retorted. “You’d know about it if I was.”
“Oh, would I? Try it, then, and see!”
Dovepaw dodged31 aside as Tigerheart launched himself at the WindClan she-cat and cuffed32 her around the head, with his claws sheathed33. Sedgewhisker let herself fall on one side, hooking Tigerheart’s paws out from under him so that he lost his balance. The two young cats rolled over and over in the narrow streambed; Petalfur had to scramble34 up the bank so she wouldn’t be squashed.
“Stop that right now!” Lionblaze growled35, wading36 into the middle of the fight. “Mouse-brains! Do you want to get hurt before we even arrive?”
The two young cats broke apart and sat up; their fur was sticking out all over the place and coated with dust.
“I’d have won with the next move,” Tigerheart muttered.
“In your dreams!” Sedgewhisker gave him a parting flick37 over the ear with her tail before drawing back.
Dovepaw spotted38 Lionblaze giving Sedgewhisker a worried look; she seemed to be moving awkwardly, as if she’d wrenched39 her shoulder again. Then his gaze swiveled back to Tigerheart; the look he gave the younger warrior was unreadable.
Now what’s on his mind?Dovepaw wondered.
At the top of the valley, the land opened out into flatter, sparser40 woodland. The wind had dropped, and Dovepaw could hear the scraping and gnawing of the brown animals even more clearly than before. Her sense of urgency seemed to spread to the others, and Toadfoot, who was in the lead, picked up the pace until the cats were almost running along the stream bottom.
Lionblaze jumped onto the bank of the stream to look ahead and halted, his tail flicking41 up in surprise. “Look at that!”
“What?” Whitetail called up to him.
Lionblaze didn’t reply; he just signaled with his tail for the rest of the patrol to join him on the bank.
As she scrambled42 up beside him and looked, Dovepaw felt her heart start to pound. She had known from the beginning of their journey what they would find, and yet it was all so much clearer and more frightening now that she was faced with it.
Ahead of them, the stream led through a stretch of patchy woodland. Several of the trees had been lopped off neatly43 about two tail-lengths from the ground, the top of the stump44 rising to a sharp, splintered point. It looked as if an enormous animal had crashed along the streambed, flattening45 the trees on either side.
But that wouldn’t look so…so deliberate
Stretching across the stream, clearly visible above the fallen trees, was an enormous barrier of logs. It rose in a curve like a hill, almost as big as a Twoleg nest.
Dovepaw shrank down, closing her eyes and pressing herself to the ground. The noise that surged through her was deafening46: grunts47 and scratches, gnawing and scraping, the thump48 of heavy paws on wood. It took all the strength she had to control the sounds until she could cope with them and still stay aware of what was going on around her.
“So that’s what’s blocking the stream,” Rippletail whispered.
A moment of shocked quiet followed his words; it was broken by Petalfur. “We’ll have to push the logs away.”
“No, better drag them out of the stream,” Toadfoot argued. “Otherwise who knows where they’ll end up?”
“Whatever, as long as we let the water out,” meowed Lionblaze.
“Wait.” Dovepaw’s voice was a hoarse50 croak51 as she struggled to her paws again. “The brown animals are still here. Theybuiltthat barrier deliberately52 to trap the water.”
Another shocked silence greeted her words. Then Toadfoot shrugged53. “We’ll just have to chase them away, then.”
Dovepaw was sure it wouldn’t be as easy as that, but she couldn’t think of anything helpful to say.
“Don’t be scared,” Tigerheart whispered, padding up to stand beside her, with his pelt brushing hers. “I’ll look after you.”
Dovepaw felt too shaken to protest. She followed Lionblaze as he beckoned54 the rest of the patrol back into the cover of the streambed.
“I suggest that we wait until after dark before we attack,” he meowed. “First we need to scout55 around on both sides of the logs, because right now the brown animals have the advantage of knowing the territory much better than we do.”
“That’s a good idea,” Whitetail commented.
“I’m confident of my strength, Lionblaze,” Toadfoot interrupted. “You just worry about yours.”
Lionblaze held the ShadowClan warrior’s gaze for a couple of heartbeats, but he didn’t rise to the veiled challenge. Dovepaw was unnerved by the tension between the two cats, as well as the anxiety she could sense from the rest of the patrol. They couldn’t argue now! More than ever, they needed to work together to free the water.
Whitetail took the lead as the cats crept out of the streambed and up a slope through the trees, circling around the fallen logs. She paused at the first of the lopped-off trees and gave it a curious sniff56. “Big teeth,” she murmured to Lionblaze, angling her ears toward the spiky57 top of the stump, where the jaw58 marks of the brown animals were clearly visible.
Lionblaze replied with a cautious nod, while Dovepaw’s belly churned at the thought of those teeth meeting in her pelt. The scent59 of the brown animals was everywhere; Dovepaw had been aware of it before now, but the reek60 here was much stronger, a mixture of musk61 and fish.
“Hey, they smell a bit like RiverClan!” Tigerheart whispered with a playful gleam in his eyes.
“Don’t let Rippletail or Petalfur hear you say that,” Dovepaw warned him, in no mood for jokes.
Following Whitetail up the slope, she gradually became aware of something else up ahead. Twolegs!She nearly called out the word, but she realized that she would be in trouble again, trying to explain how she knew. There are green pelt-dens, too, like the ones on the ShadowClan border
“Really?” The white she-cat halted and opened her jaws64 to taste the air. “Yes, I think you might be right.” Turning to the rest of the patrol, she added, “Twolegs up ahead. Be careful.”
The cats padded on more slowly, using the logs and stumps65 for cover. At the top, Whitetail signaled with her tail for the others to crouch26 down, and they crawled the last few tail-lengths on their bellies. Gazing out from the shelter of a clump66 of grass, Dovepaw made out several pelt-dens in the clearing ahead. A full-grown Twoleg was sitting outside the entrance to one of them, while two others were examining something on the ground a few fox-lengths away. There didn’t seem to be any of the young Twolegs playing about, like the ones in the other clearing.
Just as well, Dovepaw thought with a sigh of relief.
“What do you think the Twolegs are doing here?” Rippletail asked, getting up to pad a little farther forward. “Do you think they have anything to do with the brown animals?”
“Maybe they’ve come to watch them,” Petalfur guessed.
Around the edges of the open space were hard, black Twoleg things, with long black tendrils trailing along the ground. More of the Twolegs were gathered around them, muttering and occasionally touching67 the black things, which made sharp clicking sounds. Dovepaw bent68 down to lick one of the tendrils that was snaking past her, and jumped back at the bitter taste, which was similar to the stench on the Thunderpath.
“Hey, look!” Tigerheart padded up to her. “Some of those Twolegs have fur on their face! They look weird69.”
“Twolegs are weird,” Toadfoot pointed out sourly from just behind him. “We don’t have to go on about it.”
“I wonder what they have in that den10,” Sedgewhisker murmured, peering around the trunk of a tree. “It smells so good!”
Dovepaw gave a long sniff, her nose twitching70 as she picked up the scent from the farthest pelt-den. It smelled like some sort of fresh-kill, though it was mixed up with Twoleg scents71 as well. Her belly rumbled72. She was hungry enough to eat anything.
“I’m going to check it out,” Sedgewhisker announced, bounding into the clearing toward the pelt-den.
“Hey, wait!” Whitetail called, but her Clanmate didn’t reappear.
“I’ll get her,” Petalfur meowed, heading off in the WindClan cat’s paw steps.
Dovepaw watched, holding her breath. Sedgewhisker was heading straight for the pelt-den; Petalfur followed, but she was focused so closely on the WindClan warrior that she didn’t spot the Twoleg moving toward her.
“Oh, no!” Dovepaw whispered. She didn’t want to see what happened next, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away.
The Twoleg yowled something, bent down, and scooped74 up Petalfur in its huge paws. Petalfur let out a startled squeal75 and began wriggling76, but the Twoleg held her firmly. The Twoleg was meowing something to her; Dovepaw didn’t think it sounded hostile.
“I’ll claw its ears off!” Toadfoot hissed, bunching his muscles to leap out into the clearing.
“No, wait.” Lionblaze blocked the ShadowClan warrior with his tail. “Look.”
Petalfur had stopped struggling. Instead, she pushed her face up to the Twoleg’s, and batted gently at its ear with one paw. Dovepaw could hear her purring as the Twoleg stroked one paw down her back.
“I don’t believe I’m seeing this,” Tigerheart meowed gleefully. “Wait till I tell them back home.”
The Twoleg put Petalfur down and made patting motions at her with its paws, as if it was telling her to stay where she was. Petalfur sat down, still purring. The Twoleg strode across to the pelt-den, passing Sedgewhisker, who was watching, frozen with horror, near the entrance.
The Twoleg ducked inside and reappeared a moment later with something in its paw; the Twoleg carried the object over to Petalfur and put it down in front of her. Petalfur picked it up and rubbed herself against the Twoleg’s leg, then darted77 away, back to the edge of the clearing.
“What are you all staring at?” she demanded, dropping the thing the Twoleg had given her.
“Er…you, being so friendly with that Twoleg,” Toadfoot replied.
“So?” Petalfur challenged him. “It got us out of trouble, didn’t it? Oh, yuck!” she added, scraping herself against the nearest tree. “I’m going to stink78 of Twoleg for a moon!”
“I’m so sorry!” The undergrowth rustled79 as Sedgewhisker bounded up to them. “I didn’t think they’d be bothered about us.”
“No harm done,” Lionblaze murmured, while Petalfur was still trying to get the Twoleg scent off. “But let’s be a bit more careful from now on.”
Dovepaw curiously80 sniffed81 the Twoleg thing. It smelled like fresh-kill, mixed with Twoleg scents and herb scents, and it was shaped like a fat twig82. “I’ve never seen an animal like that before,” she meowed.
“It must be Twoleg prey,” Tigerheart suggested. “Hey, Petalfur, can I have some?”
“You all can,” Petalfur replied. “I don’t know what it is, but it smells tasty.”
Dovepaw crouched down to eat her share. Petalfur was right; it was tasty and felt warm in her belly after the scant83 pickings that morning.
“Too bad there’s no more,” Tigerheart announced, swiping his tongue over his jaws and looking out into the clearing with a speculative84 gleam in his eyes.
“If you go out there, Tigerheart,” Toadfoot growled, “I will personally shred85 your ears and feed them to the brown animals.”
“I never said—”
“You didn’t have to,” Whitetail interrupted, sounding concerned. “The Twolegs already know we’re here, and that’s bad enough without looking for trouble.”
“I wouldn’t worry.” An unfamiliar86 voice spoke87 behind them. “The Twolegs are far more interested in the beavers89.”
Every cat spun90 around. Dovepaw found herself staring at a long-legged tom with shaggy brown fur. He looked them over with sharp yellow eyes, his gaze flicking from one cat to the next
“So who are you?” he asked eventually.
“We could ask you the same thing,” Toadfoot replied, his neck fur beginning to bristle91. “And what do you know about these Twolegs?”
The cat seemed unimpressed with Toadfoot’s show of hostility92. “My name’s Woody,” he replied. “I’ve been getting food from the Twolegs for the last few moons.”
With a warning glance at Toadfoot, Lionblaze stepped forward and dipped his head. “We haven’t come to steal food from you or the Twolegs,” he meowed. “We’re here because of the blocked stream.”
“Beavers?” Whitetail echoed. “Are those the brown animals? Is that what they’re called?”
The loner nodded. “Big, mean animals with sharp teeth,” he mewed, confirming the impression Dovepaw had received through her senses. “I came across some of them once before, when I was traveling.”
“Have you ever fought one?” Toadfoot demanded.
The brown tom stared at him as if he had taken leave of his senses. “No way! Why would I need to? What do I want with a bunch of fallen trees?”
“We need the trapped water to fill the lake,” Rippletail explained.
Woody looked completely baffled. “Lake? What lake?”
“The lake where we live,” Lionblaze explained. “A couple of days’ journey downstream.”
“And you came all this way to find it?” Woody’s ears twitched94. “Why not just go to a different lake?”
Dovepaw examined the cat curiously. He didn’t smell like a kittypet, and he didn’t have the soft, groomed96 look that the cats in the Twolegplace had. Was he a loner? He seemed quite confident to be in these woods, even though he was badly outnumbered by the patrol. He seemed to know a lot about the brown animals, too. Maybe he’ll help us free the water
“You don’t understand,” Lionblaze replied to Woody, waving his tail to draw all the cats deeper into the undergrowth, well out of sight of the Twolegs. “There are a lot of us by the lake—far too many to give up our homes and find somewhere else to live.”
“And StarClan told us to come here and find what’s blocking the stream!” Tigerheart put in.
Mouse-brain!Dovepaw thought. Woody won’t understand about StarClan. She was surprised to see that the brown tom just nodded briefly, as if he understood very well. Maybe he’s heard of Clan cats before?
“We’ve got to chase these…these beavers away,” Whitetail meowed determinedly97. “Then we can get rid of the blockage98 and we’ll have our water again.”
Woody shook his head. “Bees in your brain,” he muttered.
“Then you won’t help us?” Lionblaze asked.
“I didn’t say that. I’ll take you down to the river and show you the dam—that’s what they built to block the stream and make a pool deep enough for their den. You might change your mind when you’ve had a good look at it up close.”
“Thanks,” Rippletail purred; he was working his claws in the leaf-mold, as if he couldn’t wait to get close to the sound and scent of water again.
“There’ll be Twolegs around,” Woody warned them, turning to lead the way down the hill. “But you don’t need to worry about them. They’re only interested in watching the beavers. In fact, the Twolegs brought them here.”
“What?” Toadfoot halted, his jaws gaping99 in astonishment100. “Twolegsbrought them? In StarClan’s name, why?”
Woody shrugged. “How do I know? Maybe they wanted some trees chopped down.”
The brown tom led them around more of the black Twoleg things with the trailing tendrils, down into the valley, and across the dry streambed just below the wall of logs. This, then, was the beavers’ dam; the reason the water had stopped flowing into the lake. Dovepaw looked up at the looming101 pile of tree trunks as she padded past. It’s so big! Can we really shift something that size?
On the other side, Woody led them in a circle through the woodland until they approached the stream again. “There are no Twolegs on this side,” he explained. “But watch out for the beavers. You won’t be welcome here, you know.”
He stopped halfway102 down the slope, in a patch of fallen trees, and the cats lined up beside him to stare across the trapped stream above the dam. It had overflowed103 the riverbank on this side and spread out into a wide, flat pool, reflecting the gray sky. Here and there circles appeared, spiraling outward as if a fish had risen to take a fly.
Toward the upstream edge of the pool was a mound104 of mud, twigs105, and bark, jutting106 out from the bank but not blocking the stream like the dam. Dovepaw detected strong beaver88 scent coming from it.
“What’s that?” Whitetail asked Woody, flicking her tail toward it.
“Oh, look!” Petalfur interrupted, her voice rising to the squeak107 of an excited kit95. “So much water…it’s wonderful!”
Before any cat could stop her she bounded down to the water’s edge, with Rippletail hard on her paws, and she plunged108 in, splashing her paws rapturously and ducking her head under the water.
“They’re like furry109 fish,” Tigerheart grumbled110, padding up to stand beside Dovepaw and Sedgewhisker. “Say what you like, it’s not right for cats.”
“They look as if they’re having fun.” Dovepaw felt a little wistful.
She was so busy watching the two RiverClan cats play in the water that she stopped remaining alert to her surroundings. Suddenly she sensed movement on top of the dam. Spinning around, she saw that two heavy brown shapes had appeared on the logs. Their bodies were sleek111 and rounded like a bird’s egg, with tiny black eyes and ears like furled leaves. Their tails spread out behind them, broad and flat like a solid wing. They were much bigger than a cat, and as broad and sturdy-looking as the logs that they stood on.
“Beavers!” she yowled. “Look—up there!”
“Oh, great StarClan!” Tigerheart muttered. His neck fur fluffed up and his tail bristled112 to twice its size. “They’re weird!”
Still happily swimming in the pool, the RiverClan cats didn’t notice the two animals, even when they clambered down the dam and slipped into the water, slapping the surface hard with their tails and sending up a shower of drops.
“Rippletail! Petalfur!” Dovepaw screeched113, hurling114 herself down to the edge of the pool. “Beavers! Get out now!”
The beavers glided115 across the pool, their huge bodies making scarcely any ripples116. Dovepaw could hear their paws churning through the water and felt their massive tails steering117 them toward the cats.
Rippletail and Petalfur spotted them and began splashing madly toward the edge of the pool. The beavers swerved118 effortlessly in pursuit, lifting their heads to avoid the waves behind the cats. Dovepaw dug her claws into the ground as she watched the gap between them grow smaller and smaller.
Oh, StarClan, help them!
The two RiverClan cats scrambled out of the water just ahead of the beavers’ noses. Their fur was dripping and plastered to their sides, and their eyes were wild with fear.
“Run!” Lionblaze yowled.
Every cat bolted for the trees at the top of the slope. Glancing back, Dovepaw saw the beavers haul themselves out of the water, raising their muzzles119 and baring long yellow teeth. On land they were much clumsier than they were in the water; Dovepaw realized the cats could easily outstrip120 them if they gave chase.
But the beavers stayed where they were on the bank of the pool, gazing after the cats and not making any move to follow them. The patrol gathered close together under the trees, Petalfur and Rippletail shivering and shaking water from their pelts121.
“That was close,” Rippletail muttered. “Thanks for warning us.”
“Oh, StarClan,” Toadfoot breathed. “This isn’t going to be as easy as we thought.”
Dovepaw caught Lionblaze’s gaze on her. He didn’t speak, but she could guess what he was thinking.
Why didn’t you tell us it was going to be this hard?
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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mentor
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| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
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glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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flip
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| vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的 | |
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bellies
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| n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的 | |
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inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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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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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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fattening
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| adj.（食物）要使人发胖的v.喂肥( fatten的现在分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值 | |
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ruffling
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| 弄皱( ruffle的现在分词 )； 弄乱； 激怒； 扰乱 | |
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grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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23
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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24
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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25
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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26
crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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27
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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29
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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30
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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31
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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32
cuffed
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| v.掌打，拳打( cuff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
sheathed
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| adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的；覆盖的；铠装的；装鞘了的v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 )；包，覆盖 | |
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34
scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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35
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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36
wading
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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37
flick
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| n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动 | |
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38
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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39
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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40
sparser
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| adj.稀疏的，稀少的( sparse的比较级 ) | |
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41
flicking
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的现在分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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42
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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43
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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44
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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45
flattening
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| n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词 | |
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46
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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47
grunts
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈 | |
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48
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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49
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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50
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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51
croak
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| vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚 | |
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52
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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53
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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54
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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56
sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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57
spiky
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| adj.长而尖的，大钉似的 | |
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58
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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59
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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60
reek
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| v.发出臭气；n.恶臭 | |
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61
musk
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| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫 | |
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62
spurt
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| v.喷出；突然进发；突然兴隆 | |
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63
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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64
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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65
stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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66
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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67
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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68
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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69
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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70
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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71
scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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72
rumbled
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| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
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73
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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74
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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75
squeal
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| v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音 | |
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76
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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77
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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78
stink
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| vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭 | |
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79
rustled
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| v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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80
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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81
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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82
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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83
scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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84
speculative
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| adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的 | |
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85
shred
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| v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少 | |
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86
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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87
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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88
beaver
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| n.海狸，河狸 | |
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89
beavers
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| 海狸( beaver的名词复数 )； 海狸皮毛； 棕灰色； 拼命工作的人 | |
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90
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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91
bristle
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| v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发 | |
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92
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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93
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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94
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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95
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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96
groomed
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| v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗 | |
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97
determinedly
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| adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地 | |
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98
blockage
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| n.障碍物；封锁 | |
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99
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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100
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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101
looming
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| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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102
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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103
overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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104
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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105
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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106
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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107
squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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108
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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109
furry
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| adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的 | |
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110
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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111
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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112
bristled
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| adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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113
screeched
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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114
hurling
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| n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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115
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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116
ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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117
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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118
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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119
muzzles
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| 枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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120
outstrip
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| v.超过，跑过 | |
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121
pelts
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| n. 皮毛，投掷, 疾行 vt. 剥去皮毛，（连续）投掷 vi. 猛击，大步走 | |
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