Chapter 13
Ivypool stared at her littermate in astonishment1. She dropped her vole and hastily scraped earth over it.
“He can’t do that!” she exclaimed.
“He can,” Dovewing replied grimly. “Enough of our cats wil fol ow him. Come with me—and hurry!” Together the warriors3 raced back to the top of the stone hol ow. But while they were stil scrambling4 up the path, they met Hazeltail, closely fol owed by Mousewhisker, Rosepetal, and Blossomfal .
“Yeah, thanks for scaring al the prey7 away,” Mousewhisker added. “Trampling through the bushes like a herd8 of badgers9!”
Ivypool exchanged a frustrated10 glance with her sister. “Have you seen Sol?” she asked.
“No.” It was Blossomfal who replied. “Did you want him?”
Dovewing twitched11 her whiskers at Ivypool, a tiny gesture warning her to hide the fact they’d been eavesdropping12. She could see her own anger glittering in her sister’s eyes. They’re supposed to be our Clanmates—and they’re lying to us! “No, we just hadn’t seen him for a while,” she responded.
Dovewing and Ivypool had to step back and let their Clanmates go on their way. Ivypool was tempted15 to tel them that if they wanted to pretend to be a hunting patrol, they should at least catch something before they returned to camp. Once they were out of sight, Dovewing waved her tail at Ivypool for silence, then stood alert; Ivypool guessed she must be sending out her senses.
After a few heartbeats, Dovewing shook her head.
“I can’t pick up any signs of Sol,” she mewed. “That’s real y weird16. He was there with the others.”
“Should we go and search?” Ivypool suggested.
“No, we can’t do any more now,” Dovewing replied. “We have to get back to the hunt.” Ivypool nodded, though every hair on her pelt17 was prickling with anxiety. “What if they’re going to attack right now?”
“Four cats aren’t enough to launch an attack on WindClan. They’l have to convince a few more of our Clanmates to join them.”
“I can’t believe ThunderClan cats would do this,” Ivypool meowed. “Dovewing, are you sure about what you heard? I mean, your hearing hasn’t been great since—”
“My hearing is fine now,” Dovewing snapped. “And I know what I heard. Except . . .” Her voice trailed off.
“Wel ?”
“I didn’t hear Sol say very much,” Dovewing confessed. “I thought he was putting ideas into our Clanmates’ heads, but maybe . . . maybe it was just the usual sort of warrior2 boasting.”
“Maybe.” Ivypool ducked under a low hazel branch.
“But we can’t be sure of that.”
“There’s no scent20 of Sol around here,” Dovewing went on, “so he didn’t come this way. I wish I knew where he was now.” She shook her head. “Let’s get back to our patrol.”
Dovewing thought for a heartbeat, then shook her head. “I don’t want to get our Clanmates into trouble when I can’t be sure exactly what was going on. And it’s al Sol’s fault, anyway. You can bet that I’l keep a close watch on him from now on,” she added more forceful y as she bounded away.
Ivypool fol owed, her bel y stil churning. Even if Dove-wing doubted what she had overheard, Ivypool was convinced that her sister’s first instincts had been right.
Something’s going on, and Sol is at the bottom of it.
Ivypool woke with a start. Dovewing was curled up close beside her, while at the opposite side of the den23 Molepaw was snoring softly and Cherrypaw’s tail was twitching24 as if she were deep inside a dream.
I wish the warriors’ den weren’t so crowded, Ivypool thought. We’re warriors; we shouldn’t be stuck in here with the apprentices25!
But there was no time to worry about that now.
Somehow in her sleep an idea had come to her, and she knew she had to check it out right away. She gave Dovewing a gentle prod26.
“Wake up,” she breathed into her sister’s ear.
“And keep quiet. We don’t want to wake the apprentices.”
Dovewing sat straight up, instantly alert. “Is something happening in the Dark Forest?” Ivypool shook her head, relieved that her dreams hadn’t taken her there that night. “No, this is about Sol,” she replied in a whisper. “I think I know where he vanished to today.”
The visiting cat hadn’t returned to the camp before dark, and no cat had seemed to know where he was.
Ivypool had heard Dustpelt muttering, “Good riddance. I never trusted him anyway.” Cloudtail had agreed with a lash27 of his tail. “That cat is trouble wherever he goes.”
Now Ivypool leaned even closer to murmur28 into Dove-wing’s ear. “Come with me. We have to go right away, or it might be too late.” Side by side, the two she-cats slipped out of their den. Clouds drifted across the moon; its light was faint and uneven29. Here and there a warrior of StarClan glittered frostily. Graystripe was on watch; they waited until his head was turned the other way, then raced across the camp and plunged31 into the dirtplace tunnel. Heartbeats later they were once more climbing the path that led to the top of the hol ow.
“Take me to the place where you heard Sol,” Ivypool meowed.
She fol owed Dovewing until they reached a bramble thicket32 near the edge of the cliff. Jaws33 parted to pick up Sol’s scent, Ivypool began to search, poking34 among the bramble tendrils, crouching35 low so that she could see underneath36 them.
“I don’t think Sol would hide under there,” Dovewing objected. “He likes to be comfortable.”
“I’m not looking for a cozy37 hiding place,” Ivypool replied. She knew exactly what she was looking for. It has to be here somewhere.
At last she spotted38 what she was searching for; her paws tingled39 with a mixture of fear and excitement as she clawed aside a pawful of bramble tendrils to reveal a dark hole leading deep into the ground.
“Sol went down there?” Dovewing asked, sounding incredulous
“It’s a tunnel,” Ivypool explained. “The hil side is ful of them. Remember when Icecloud fel into one, when we were doing our assessment40? Wel . . .” She went on more hesitantly as Dovewing flicked42 her ears. “Blossomfal and I . . . er . . . went down there, too. We walked underground for ages.”
“You never told me!” Dovewing exclaimed indignantly.
Ivypool shrugged, unwil ing to get into an argument. “If Sol knows about these tunnels,” she pointed43 out, “then he could have gone down one and be anywhere by now.”
“Sol’s scent is here,” she meowed. “It’s faint, but it’s definitely his.” She paused for a heartbeat, then added, “What do we do now?”
“Fol ow him,” Ivypool declared. She was half-scared by her own suggestion, but she didn’t see any other option. They couldn’t accuse a cat who was considered a hero by half her Clanmates of plotting with WindClan—not unless they had real evidence.
Dovewing’s eyes stretched wide, but she didn’t argue, just gave her sister a brief nod. “Lead on,” she mewed.
Ivypool squeezed into the tunnel. It was so narrow that her fur brushed the wal s on either side, and their bodies blocked the dim light from outside. Her heart began to pound as she walked into the dark, but she made herself keep going.
“This shouldn’t be as bad as last time I was underground,” she whispered after a few moments, trying to reassure18 herself as much as Dovewing.
“With your special senses, you should be able to work out where we’re going, just as easily as if we could see.”
“I’m not sure.” Dovewing’s voice quivered. “It’s al so strange down here . . . so confusing . . . Give me a moment to get used to it.”
To Ivypool’s relief, she felt her sister’s fear begin to ebb45 as they padded forward. She lost count of how much time had passed before she sensed that the passage was growing wider. She couldn’t feel the wal s any longer, and the steep downward slope leveled out. There was hard stone beneath her paws, not close-packed earth, and the smal sounds of their movement echoed eerily46 around them.
“Let’s stop a moment,” Dovewing mewed. “I think I can reach out now.”
Ivypool halted. Al she could hear was the sound of their breathing, and the occasional drip of water, but she knew that the whole of this strange underground world would be open to Dovewing.
“Voices!” Dovewing whispered after a long, tense silence. “I can hear voices.”
“Where?” Ivypool asked.
“Let me go in front.”
There was enough space in the tunnel now for Dovewing to slip past her sister, and lead the way farther into the depths. Ivypool couldn’t see or hear anything; al she could do was fol ow her sister’s scent and the sound of her paw steps. The tunnel twisted in front of them, sometimes plunging47 deeper, sometimes leading upward again. Sometimes it felt as though they were turning back to fol ow their own trail. But Dove-wing walked without hesitating, taking side tunnels that were hidden to Ivypool, skirting pools and patches of broken rock.
Ivypool was acutely aware of the weight of earth and rock above their heads, and the cats who were sleeping above, not knowing that two Clan13 warriors were so far beneath them. With a shudder48, she pushed these thoughts away.
Focus. Concentrate on what we have to do.
“You’re doing real y wel ,” she told Dovewing encouragingly. “We’l soon find out what’s going on.” At last Ivypool thought she could hear the murmur of voices some way ahead of them. At first she thought she was imagining things. But as she fol owed in Dovewing’s paw steps, the sounds grew clearer. She felt every hair on her pelt rise as she began to make out some of the words.
“WindClan!” she whispered. “And Sol!”
“Shhh.” Dovewing’s voice was no more than a breath. “If you can hear them, they can hear us.” She led the way forward more cautiously, until the voices grew clearer stil .
“I wil lead you through the tunnels,” Sol was meowing. “I can bring you out above the ThunderClan camp. Those mouse-brains won’t know what’s happening.”
Dovewing blocked her, and slapped her tail over her sister’s mouth. “Shut up and listen!”
“How do we know we can trust you?” Ivypool recognized Owlwhisker’s voice. “How do we know that you haven’t told ThunderClan to attack us?” WindClan cats aren’t completely mouse-brained, Ivypool reflected.
“Of course I have.” Sol’s tone was scornful. “How else would I get them to trust me? But it’s WindClan that I’l be leading into ThunderClan territory.” Another WindClan cat spoke51, the words too soft for Ivypool to make out. She leaned forward, and felt a pebble52 slip underneath her paw. The clinking sound it made seemed as loud as a crack of thunder
Ivypool froze, but the damage was done.
“Get us out of here!” Ivypool whispered into Dovewing’s ear.
But Dovewing didn’t move. “I fol owed the voices to get here,” she confessed. “I’m not sure of the way out.”
Ivypool heard movement from Sol and the WindClan cats. “They’re coming to look for us! We have to go.” But even as she spoke she was terrified at the thought of wandering blindly through the dark tunnels. Will we ever find our way out?
Before either of the she-cats could move, they heard paws padding toward them from the tunnel behind. Cat scent washed over Ivypool; she thought she ought to recognize it, but she was too scared to think clearly. She slid out her claws, her heart thumping55 in panic at the thought of being trapped between two enemies.
Then the newcomer spoke. “Come with me.
Quick!”
“No way!” Ivypool hissed, bunching her muscles to spring. “You could be with them.”
“I’m not,” the strange cat mewed.
“Prove it,” Dovewing chal enged her.
“I shouldn’t have to,” the newcomer replied irritably56. “For StarClan’s sake, let’s go.” Ivypool’s eyes widened in shock and she exchanged a glance with her sister, picking up the gleam of Dovewing’s eyes. “StarClan? Then you . . .”
“Do you want to get out of here or not?” the newcomer interrupted.
“Yes, we do,” Ivypool snapped back. “But how do we know you won’t lead us farther in?” The strange cat let out a hiss49 of annoyance57.
“Because I’m a ThunderClan cat like you,” she replied, a darker shadow in the darkness of the tunnel. “My name is Hol yleaf.”
Ivypool felt her mouth drop open. “Hol yleaf? But you . . . you’re dead!”
“Obviously not,” the newcomer replied, with an edge to her voice. “And we don’t have time to stand here discussing ancient history. We have to leave now.”
The paw steps of the WindClan cats were drawing closer, speeding up as they sensed their quarry58 was near. Ivypool could picture them bounding along the tunnel toward them, jaws parted to take in their ThunderClan scent.
“Okay,” Dovewing mewed. “Show us the way.” Hol yleaf spun59 around and whisked down a narrow side tunnel. Ivypool and Dovewing fol owed her, just as the first of the WindClan cats raced past. Ivypool heard their flying paw steps halt suddenly, fol owed by a murmur of confused voices.
“Where did they go?”
“They were here, I know they were.”
“Fox dung! We’ve lost them!”
Hol yleaf ignored the WindClan cats, heading deeper into the tunnels. Ivypool pressed close up behind her, terrified of losing her. She knew that she and Dovewing would never find their way out alone.
After a while Hol yleaf paused; in the pitch-blackness of the tunnels Ivypool almost barged into her.
“You can trust me, you know,” Hol yleaf meowed. “I led you out once before, remember?”
“Oh!” Ivypool gulped60, realizing why Hol yleaf’s scent had seemed familiar. “That was you?” Hol yleaf padded on without saying more. Soon Ivypool realized that a pale light was filtering into the tunnel; Hol yleaf’s head and ears were outlined against it. A moment later they emerged into a shal ow dip of tumbled rocks and fern on the hil side; Ivypool drew in the fresh night air, loaded with the scents61 of ThunderClan. She turned to their rescuer, a slender, long-legged black she-cat with piercing green eyes. “Thank you!”
“We’d never have made it without you,” Dovewing added, fol owing them out of the tunnel and giving her pelt a shake.
Hol yleaf gave her a curt nod. “Listen,” she meowed. “I’ve heard Sol plotting with the WindClan cats for the last half-moon, and—”
“What?” Ivypool interrupted. “That’s even before he came to ThunderClan.”
“They’re going to attack through the tunnels,” Hol yleaf continued, as if Ivypool hadn’t spoken.
“Then we have to warn the others,” Dovewing mewed, her eyes wide with dismay. “Come on, Ivypool!”
“Wait.” Hol yleaf raised her tail as Dovewing spun around to head for the camp. “It’s not going to happen yet. Sol wants to win more support from your Clanmates first. The WindClan cats know that he’s winning ThunderClan’s friendship so he can betray you.” A soft growl53 rumbled62 in her throat. “You should never have let him come back!”
“It wasn’t up to us,” Ivypool pointed out. “And he did save the apprentices from a fox.”
“Sol didn’t save them,” Hol yleaf hissed scornful y.
“That was me.”
Shock kept Ivypool silent for a moment. Before she could recover, she saw Dovewing’s ears flick41 up, and a heartbeat later she heard voices coming from the direction of the camp.
“Dovewing! Ivypool!”
“Mouse dung!” she muttered. “They’re looking for us.”
“Why not?” Dovewing asked. “Why can’t you come home? You belong here!”
“You don’t understand,” Hol yleaf whispered, beginning to back away toward the tunnel opening. “I have to go!”
But before she could plunge30 back into the darkness, a shaft64 of moonlight broke through the clouds, fixing al three cats in a pool of silver light. At the same moment Lionblaze appeared on a rock at the edge of the dip, and stood looking down at them.
“No!” His voice rang out in the night air. “Hol yleaf, I won’t let you run away again.”
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1
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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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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4
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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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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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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badgers
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| n.獾( badger的名词复数 )；獾皮；（大写）獾州人（美国威斯康星州人的别称）；毛鼻袋熊 | |
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10
frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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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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eavesdropping
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| n. 偷听 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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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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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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reassure
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| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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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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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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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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twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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prod
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| vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励 | |
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lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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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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uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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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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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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poking
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| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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cozy
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| adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的 | |
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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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tingled
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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assessment
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| n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额 | |
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41
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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42
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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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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44
sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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45
ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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eerily
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| adv.引起神秘感或害怕地 | |
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47
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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48
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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49
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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50
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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51
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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52
pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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53
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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54
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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55
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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56
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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57
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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58
quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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59
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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60
gulped
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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61
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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62
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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63
Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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