The Cats of Roxville Station (Excerpt IX)《罗克斯维尔火车站的猫》（节选九）

琼·克雷格黑德·乔治/文 吴文安/译

Mike went outside and was shoveling the walk when suddenly he wondered if Rachet and the other cats in his basement had enough food. He wasnt worried about water. They would eat the snow. Hurried to finish the walk， then plowed through the snow to the rear of the house. The snow was four feet deep above the stone foundation. No cat could get out to eat snow， much less catch mice. He shoveled furiously， found Rachets foundation passageway， and dug a path between it and the porch. The cats could jump to it and probably find a mouse among the old shutters and screens there.

Worried that the mice on the porch might not be enough， he dug a path from the porch to the plowed street. He dared not put down cat food for fear Mrs. Dibber would see it and ask questions. With a way to the road cleared， he was satisfied that Rachet and that other cat could get to the station. He hoped the sidewalks around the housing project were cleared so that the Bent Lady could get to the station with her cans of cat food. He did not know about Queenellas window well with the broken window—so he did not dig it out.

Down in the basement Rachet sat on her heating duct， dozing and waiting patiently for the world to change and the snow to disappear like the rain. She was hungry and thirsty， but she had been hungry and thirsty before. From her past experience she knew that if she moved as little as possible she saved her body fluids and energy. But Queenella had not learned that lesson， and when Mike opened Rachets passageway Queenella sped with all her cat vigor to claim it.

Seeing her property threatened， Rachet suddenly felt ownership fury. Queenella was on her territory. Despite the fact that Queenella was top cat， Rachet gracefully jumped down from the heating duct. Crouching behind a bucket of dried paint， her haunches high， she got in springing position. This was her domain—her territory. She would defend it. She growled deep in her throat. Queenella heard， stopped， and looked away. Rachet growled again and looked away from Queenella when she looked back.

Rachet tilted her head. Queenella tilted her head， the movement to protect their throats in a fight. Queenella turned her eyes away from Rachet， very aware of her whether she looked at her or not. After long minutes of pretending to ignore each other， they flattened their ears back and down aggressively.

Queenella hissed. She pulled back her lips and uncovered her sharp white canine teeth， a statement to Rachet to take warning. Queenella had made this gesture of battle with her before and won. She was sure the young cat， Rachet， would not challenge her， but to make certain， she growled.

邁克走到屋外，铲除步道上的雪。他突然想起，不知道住在地下室的拉齐特和别的猫咪有没有足够的食物。他不担心水的问题。他们可以吃雪解渴。迈克匆忙地打扫完步道，然后一路扫雪到了房子后边。石头地基之上，积雪有四英尺深。猫咪们不可能出来吃雪，更不能抓老鼠。迈克拼命铲雪，找到了拉齐特穿过地基的通道，就在通道和门廊之间挖了一条路。猫咪们可以跳到路上，也许还可以在门廊的旧百叶窗和纱门那里找到老鼠。

迈克担心门廊的老鼠不够吃，就又挖了一条路，从门廊通到铲过雪的大街上。他不敢在家里放猫食，怕迪波夫人看到后问他。迈克清理好了通往大路的通道，感到心满意足，这样拉齐特和另外那只猫咪就可以去火车站了。迈克希望住宅区周边的人行道有人打扫，这样驼背夫人就可以带着她的猫食罐头去火车站。迈克不知道女王艾拉常走那个带破窗户的窗户井，所以他没有为那个出口挖一条路。

地下室里，拉齐特坐在自己的暖气管上，一边瞌睡一边耐心地等待世界发生变化，等待大雪跟大雨一样消失无踪。她又饿又渴，不过她以前也曾经又饿又渴过。拉齐特根据以前的经验知道，尽量少动，可以节省体液和能量。可是女王艾拉不懂这个道理，迈克一打开拉齐特的通道，女王艾拉就用尽全力飞快占据了这个通道。

拉齐特看到自己的领地被威胁，突然因为主权受到侵犯而感到愤怒。女王艾拉是在拉齐特的地盘上。尽管女王艾拉确属猫老大，拉齐特还是优雅地从暖气管上跳了下来。拉齐特蹲伏在一个干漆桶的后面，背部高高拱起，摆好了弹跳的姿势。这是她的领地——她的地盘。她会守卫这个地盘。她从喉咙深处发出低吼。女王艾拉听见了，停下来，看往别处。拉齐特再一次低吼，女王艾拉回看的时候，拉齐特看往别处。

拉齐特歪一下脑袋。女王艾拉歪一下脑袋。这个动作是用来在打斗中保护喉咙的。女王艾拉把目光从拉齐特那里移开，不管看不看拉齐特，都能清楚地觉察到她。有长长的几分钟，她们彼此装作视而不见，之后，全都气势汹汹地把耳朵朝后折下去。

女王艾拉嘶嘶叫着。她咧开嘴，露出白白尖尖的犬牙，这是警告拉齐特小心点儿。女王艾拉以前曾经向拉齐特摆过这个战斗姿态，而且取胜了。她确信拉齐特这只小猫不会挑战她，但为保险起见，她发出了低吼。