他用剑的手开开合合，灼烧的指头蠢蠢欲动。长爪挂在马鞍上，他很轻易就能够到这把长柄剑咆哮狼头的石圆球和柔软的皮革把手。

He flexed the burned fingers of his sword hand. Longclaw was slung to his saddle, the carved stone wolf’s-head pommel and soft leather grip of the great bastard sword within easy reach.

几小时之后，他们才赶上托蒙德的小队，雪下得正大。白灵半路离去，前往森林追踪猎物，他会在夜里扎营时分回来，最晚不过黎明。冰原狼一直都在……就和耶哥蕊特一样。

The snow was falling heavily by the time they caught Tormund’s band, several hours later. Ghost departed along the way, melting into the forest at the scent of prey. The direwolf would return when they made camp for the night, by dawn at the latest. However far he prowled, Ghost always came back … and so, it seemed, did Ygritte.

“那么，”女孩看到他便喊，“你现在信了吗，琼恩·雪诺？你看到骑长毛象的巨人了吗？”

“So,” the girl called when she saw him, “d’you believe us now, Jon Snow? Did you see the giants on their mammoths?”

“哈！不止如此，”琼恩不及回答，托蒙德便嚷嚷，“这只乌鸦还给人家看上了！多半得娶一个咧！”

“Har!” shouted Tormund, before Jon could reply. “The crow’s in love! He means to marry one!”

“娶女巨人？”长矛里克笑道。

“A giantess?” Longspear Ryk laughed.

“不，娶长毛象！”托蒙德吼回去，“哈！”

“No, a mammoth!” Tormund bellowed. “Har!”

琼恩放慢马速，耶哥蕊特跟在身旁。她自称比他大三岁，尽管身高要矮上半尺，不过不管究竟几岁，她的强韧无庸置疑。在风声峡，石蛇说她是个“矛妇”，但她其实没结婚，擅用的武器也是一把兽角和鱼梁木做的短弯弓，可琼恩觉得“矛妇”的说法很适合她。她让他想起小妹艾莉亚，尽管艾莉亚更小更瘦，耶哥蕊特则常穿许多兽毛皮革，难以判断体形。

Ygritte trotted beside Jon as he slowed his garron to a walk. She claimed to be three years older than him, though she stood half a foot shorter; however old she might be, the girl was a tough little thing. Stonesnake had called her a “spearwife” when they’d captured her in the Skirling Pass. She wasn’t wed and her weapon of choice was a short curved bow of horn and weirwood, but “spearwife” fit her all the same. She reminded him a little of his sister Arya, though Arya was younger and probably skinnier. It was hard to tell how plump or thin Ygritte might be, with all the furs and skins she wore.

“你会唱‘最后的巨人’吗？”耶哥蕊特不待回答，便道，“我的嗓音不够深沉，唱不好呢，”她唱起来，“啊啊啊啊啊啊啊，我是最后的巨人，我没有同伴。”

“Do you know ‘The Last of the Giants’?” Without waiting for an answer Ygritte said, “You need a deeper voice than mine to do it proper.” Then she sang, “Ooooooh, I am the last of the giants, my people are gone from the earth.”

巨人克星托蒙德听到歌声，也跟着唱。“最后的巨人，从大山中走来，我们曾经统治世界，”他透过大雪吼回来。

Tormund Giantsbane heard the words and grinned. “The last of the great mountain giants, who ruled all the world at my birth,” he bellowed back through the snow.

长矛里克加入进来，“啊，小人族偷走森林，偷走山脉，偷走江河。”

Longspear Ryk joined in, singing, “Oh, the smallfolk have stolen my forests, they’ve stolen my rivers and hills.”

“他们在谷地筑起巨墙，捕尽溪流所有鱼获，”耶哥蕊特和托蒙德用宏亮的声音交替合唱。

“And they’ve built a great wall through my valleys, and fished all the fish from my rills,” Ygritte and Tormund sang back at him in turn, in suitably gigantic voices.

托蒙德的儿子托雷格和多蒙德也用低沉的嗓音应和，然后是他女儿蒙妲和所有人。大家搭配节奏，用长矛敲击皮革盾牌，边行边唱：

Tormund’s sons Toregg and Dormund added their deep voices as well, then his daughter Munda and all the rest. Others began to bang their spears on leathern shields to keep rough time, until the whole war band was singing as they rode.

他们在石厅内燃起大火，

In stone halls they burn their great fires,

铸造锋利的长矛。

in stone halls they forge their sharp spears.

而我在群山中孤独，

Whilst I walk alone in the mountains,

没有同伴惟有眼泪。

with no true companion but tears.

白天被狗群追赶，

They hunt me with dogs in the daylight,

夜晚还有火炬。

they hunt me with torches by night.

只因阳光下若巨人存在，

For these men who are small can never stand tall,

小人族便寝食难安。

whilst giants still walk in the light.

啊啊啊啊啊啊，我是最后的巨人，

Oooooooh, I am the LAST of the giants,

请记住我的歌。

so learn well the words of my song.

总有一天，我将离去，歌声消逝，

For when I am gone the singing will fade,

沉寂持续，长长久久。

and the silence shall last long and long.

唱完后，耶哥蕊特脸上挂着泪珠。

There were tears on Ygritte’s cheeks when the song ended.

“你为什么哭呀？”琼恩不解地问，“只是一首歌而已。巨人还有几百个呢，我刚看见的。”

“Why are you weeping?” Jon asked. “It was only a song. There are hundreds of giants, I’ve just seen them.”

“噢，几百个！”她激动地说。“你什么都不懂，琼恩·雪诺。你——琼恩！”

“Oh, hundreds,” she said furiously. “You know nothing, Jon Snow. You—JON!”

琼恩随着突如其来的拍翅声转头。灰蓝的巨翅遮蔽视线，尖利的爪子陷进他的脸。刺痛来得猛烈而突然，鹰翼围绕脑袋拍打。他看到鸟喙，但没时间抬手阻挡或取武器。于是他向后翻转，脚从马镫上脱出，马儿惊恐地跑开，人则向下坠落。那只鹰抓住他的脸不放，用爪子撕扯，尖叫着又拍又啄。世界在混乱中上下颠倒，羽毛、马肉和血液搅成一团，随着重重的撞击，地面迎将上来。

Jon turned at the sudden sound of wings. Blue-grey feathers filled his eyes, as sharp talons buried themselves in his face. Red pain lanced through him sudden and fierce as pinions beat round his head. He saw the beak, but there was no time to get a hand up or reach for a weapon. Jon reeled backward, his foot lost the stirrup, his garron broke in panic, and then he was falling. And still the eagle clung to his face, its talons tearing at him as it flapped and shrieked and pecked. The world turned upside down in a chaos of feathers and horseflesh and blood, and then the ground came up to smash him.

他意识到的下一件事，是自己面孔朝下，嘴里满是泥土和鲜血的味道，耶哥蕊特保护性地跪在上方，手握兽骨匕首。他仍能听到翅膀的声音，那只鹰却看不见了。世界的一半都是黑暗。“我的眼睛，”他突然恐慌地喊，一边抬手摸向脸部。

The next he knew, he was on his face with the taste of mud and blood in his mouth and Ygritte kneeling over him protectively, a bone dagger in her hand. He could still hear wings, though the eagle was not in sight. Half his world was black. “My eye,” he said in sudden panic, raising a hand to his face.

“只有血而已，琼恩·雪诺，他戳破了上方的皮，没击中眼睛。”

“It’s only blood, Jon Snow. He missed the eye, just ripped your skin up some.”

脸颊阵阵悸动，他边擦左眼的血，边用右眼观察。托蒙德在上方大吼，然后传来马蹄声、喊叫声和枯骨的碰撞声。

His face was throbbing. Tormund stood over them bellowing, he saw from his right eye as he rubbed blood from his left. Then there were hoofbeats, shouts, and the clacking of old dry bones.

“骨头袋子，”托蒙德咆哮，“把你该死的乌鸦叫回去！”

“Bag o’ Bones,” roared Tormund, “call off your hellcrow!”

“该死的乌鸦在你这儿！”叮当衫指着琼恩说，“他就象一条背信弃义的狗，躺在泥浆里流血！”那只鹰拍拍翅膀飞下来，降落在他当作头盔的碎裂巨人头骨上。“我要他！”

“There’s your hellcrow!” Rattleshirt pointed at Jon. “Bleeding in the mud like a faithless dog!” The eagle came flapping down to land atop the broken giant’s skull that served him for his helm. “I’m here for him.”

“你来啊，”托蒙德道，“最好拿起剑过来，因为我会拿起我的。我要煮了你的骨头，当尿壶用。哈！”

“Come take him then,” said Tormund, “but best come with sword in hand, for that’s where you’ll find mine. Might be I’ll boil your bones, and use your skull to piss in. Har!”

“少废话！等我戳穿你这吹牛大王的身躯，你会缩得比那女孩还小！站一边去，如果不想惹恼曼斯的话。”

“Once I prick you and let the air out, you’ll shrink down smaller’n that girl. Stand aside, or Mance will hear o’ this.”

耶哥蕊特起身，“你说什么？是曼斯要找他？”

Ygritte stood. “What, is it Mance who wants him?”

“没错，耳朵生茧了吗？让这黑心肝的家伙自己起来。”

“I said so, didn’t I? Get him up on those black feet.”

托蒙德低头朝琼恩皱眉，“如果是曼斯的意思，最好快去。”

Tormund frowned down at Jon. “Best go, if it’s the Mance who’s wanting you.”

耶哥蕊特扶他站住，“他在流血耶！活象一头被宰杀的猪，看看欧瑞尔对这张漂亮脸蛋干了些什么！”

Ygritte helped pull him up. “He’s bleeding like a butchered boar. Look what Orell did t’ his sweet face.”

鸟也会记仇吗？琼恩杀死了野人欧瑞尔，但对方的一部分留在这只鹰体内，而今用金黄的眼瞳冷酷恶毒地看着他。“我就去，”他应道。血不停地流进右眼，脸颊火辣辣地痛。他触摸脸颊，黑手套成了红色，“请把马带来。”其实他想要的是白灵，不是马，但冰原狼不在身边，也许正在数里之外享用麋鹿呢。这个时候，他还是离开比较好。

Can a bird hate? Jon had slain the wilding Orell, but some part of the man remained within the eagle. The golden eyes looked out on him with cold malevolence. “I’ll come,” he said. The blood kept running down into his right eye, and his cheek was a blaze of pain. When he touched it his black gloves came away stained with red. “Let me catch my garron.” It was not the horse he wanted so much as Ghost, but the direwolf was nowhere to be seen. He could be leagues away by now, ripping out the throat of some elk. Perhaps that was just as well.

他靠近时，坐骑惊恐地闪开，无疑被他满脸鲜血吓到了，琼恩的软语使它恢复平静，任他抓住缰绳，翻身上鞍。随着动作，他的脑袋阵阵晕眩。我需要包扎伤口，但现在不必，得先让塞外之王看看他的鹰对我做了什么。他先让右手开合片刻，然后握起长爪，甩到肩头，调转马匹，朝骸骨之王和他的队伍走去。

The garron shied away from him when he approached, no doubt frightened by the blood on his face, but Jon calmed him with a few quiet words and finally got close enough to take the reins. As he swung back into the saddle his head whirled. I will need to get this tended, he thought, but not just now. Let the King-beyond-the-Wall see what his eagle did to me. His right hand opened and closed, and he reached down for Longclaw and slung the bastard sword over a shoulder before he wheeled to trot back to where the Lord of Bones and his band were waiting.

耶哥蕊特也上了马，表情严峻，“我也去。”

Ygritte was waiting too, sitting on her horse with a fierce look on her face. “I am coming too.”

“滚，”叮当衫胸部的骨甲叮当作响，“我们只要这臭乌鸦，不要别人。”

“Be gone.” The bones of Rattleshirt’s breastplate clattered together. “I was sent for the crow-come-down, none other.”

“自由民想去哪儿就去哪儿，”耶哥蕊特说。

“A free woman rides where she will,” Ygritte said.

寒风将雪花吹进琼恩的眼睛，血在脸上冻结，“我们是说废话还是走？”

The wind was blowing snow into Jon’s eyes. He could feel the blood freezing on his face. “Are we talking or riding?”

“走，”骸骨之王道。

“Riding,” said the Lord of Bones.

一路快跑，气氛阴郁。他们沿着队伍，在翻滚的雪花中骑行两里地，然后穿越一堆乱七八糟的辎重车，溅起水花跨过乳河。在这里，乳河向东绕个大弯，形成浅滩，上面覆着薄冰，任由马蹄清脆踩踏，走出十码开外，方才变深。东岸的雪下得更疾，积雪更深，风也更冷。夜晚快要降临了。

It was a grim gallop. They rode two miles down the column through swirling snows, then cut through a tangle of baggage wayns to splash across the Milkwater where it took a great loop toward the east. A crust of thin ice covered the river shallows; with every step their horses’ hooves crashed through, until they reached the deeper water ten yards out. The snow seemed be falling even faster on the eastern bank, and the drifts were deeper too. Even the wind is colder. And night was falling too.

但透过风雪，他能看见耸立在森林上方的巨大白色山丘。先民拳峰。头顶传来老鹰的尖叫，经过士卒松时，一只乌鸦从上俯瞰，发出刺耳的声音。莫非熊老开始行动了？可听不到金铁相交和弓箭弹射，惟有马蹄踩破碎冰的轻微吱嘎。

But even through the blowing snow, the shape of the great white hill that loomed above the trees was unmistakable. The Fist of the First Men. Jon heard the scream of the eagle overhead. A raven looked down from a soldier pine and quorked as he went past. Had the Old Bear made his attack? Instead of the clash of steel and the thrum of arrows taking flight, Jon heard only the soft crunch of frozen crust beneath his garron’s hooves.

他们沉默地绕到南坡，那是上山的便利途径。琼恩在山丘底部看到死马，半埋在积雪里，肠子从腹部流出，活象冻僵的蛇，一条腿也不见了。是狼干的，琼恩先这么想，随即发现不对，狼会把猎物吃掉。

In silence they circled round to the south slope, where the approach was easiest. It was there at the bottom that Jon saw the dead horse, sprawled at the base of the hill, half buried in the snow. Entrails spilled from the belly of the animal like frozen snakes, and one of its legs was gone. Wolves, was Jon’s first thought, but that was wrong. Wolves eat their kill.

更多马尸散布在山坡，腿脚奇异地扭曲，无神的眼睛空洞地睁开。野人们象苍蝇一样附在它们身上，剥下鞍子、缰绳、包裹和甲胄等，用石斧将它们切开。

More garrons were strewn across the slope, legs twisted grotesquely, blind eyes staring in death. The wildlings crawled over them like flies, stripping them of saddles, bridles, packs, and armor, and hacking them apart with stone axes.

“上去，”叮当衫告诉琼恩，“曼斯在山顶。”

“Up,” Rattleshirt told Jon. “Mance is up top.”

他们在环墙外下马，挤过石头间歪扭的通道。一匹毛发蓬松的棕色战马戳在一根削尖木桩上，熊老在每个入口内都放置了这样的木桩。这马是想冲出去，不是闯进来。没有骑手的踪迹。

Outside the ringwall they dismounted to squeeze through a crooked gap in the stones. The carcass of a shaggy brown garron was impaled upon the sharpened stakes the Old Bear had placed inside every entrance. He was trying to get out, not in. There was no sign of a rider.

里边有更多马尸和更糟糕的情形在等着他——琼恩从没见过粉红色的雪。朔风在周围涌动，拉扯厚重的羊皮白斗篷，乌鸦拍着翅膀在死马间飞来飞去。这是野生乌鸦还是我们的信鸦？琼恩无法判断。他不知可怜的山姆现在在哪儿，成了什么东西。

Inside was more, and worse. Jon had never seen pink snow before. The wind gusted around him, pulling at his heavy sheepskin cloak. Ravens flapped from one dead horse to the next. Are those wild ravens, or our own? Jon could not tell. He wondered where poor Sam was now. And what he was.

冻结的血在靴下“嘎吱”一声碎裂。野人们扒下马尸上每片钢铁和皮革，甚至蹄铁也不放过。有些人在翻查包裹，寻找武器与食物。琼恩经过齐特的一条狗，或者说这条狗剩下的部分，它还活着，躺在一滩泥泞、半冻结的血里。

A crust of frozen blood crunched beneath the heel of his boot. The wildlings were stripping the dead horses of every scrap of steel and leather, even prying the horseshoes off their hooves. A few were going through packs they’d turned up, looking for weapons and food. Jon passed one of Chett’s dogs, or what remained of him, lying in a sludgy pool of half-frozen blood.

有些帐蓬仍矗立在营地远端，他们便在那儿找到了曼斯·雷德。在那红丝线缝补的羊毛黑斗篷下，他穿了黑色环甲和粗糙的毛皮马裤，头戴一顶铜铁巨盔，两侧各有鸦翼作装饰。贾尔和狗头哈犸跟他在一起，斯迪也在，还有六形人瓦拉米尔跟他的狼与影子山猫。

A few tents were still standing on the far side of the camp, and it was there they found Mance Rayder. Beneath his slashed cloak of black wool and red silk he wore black ringmail and shaggy fur breeches, and on his head was a great bronze-and-iron helm with raven wings at either temple. Jarl was with him, and Harma the Dogshead; Styr as well, and Varamyr Sixskins with his wolves and his shadowcat.

曼斯阴沉冰冷地看着琼恩，“你的脸怎么了？”

The look Mance gave Jon was grim and cold. “What happened to your face?”

耶哥蕊特道：“欧瑞尔想挖他的眼睛。”

Ygritte said, “Orell tried to take his eye out.”

“我在问他。难道他舌头丢了？也许真该丢了，免得再向我们撒谎。”

“It was him I asked. Has he lost his tongue? Perhaps he should, to spare us further lies.”

斯迪马格拿抽出长匕首，“这小子用不着两只眼睛，留一只也许更识时务。”

Styr the Magnar drew a long knife. “The boy might see more clear with one eye, instead of two.”

“你想保住眼睛吗，琼恩？”塞外之王问，“想的话，赶紧招供，他们有多少人。这次试着说实话，临冬城的杂种。”

“Would you like to keep your eye, Jon?” asked the King-beyond-the-Wall. “If so, tell me how many they were. And try and speak the truth this time, Bastard of Winterfell.”

琼恩喉咙干涩，“大人……怎么……”

Jon’s throat was dry. “My lord … what …”

“我不是什么大人，”曼斯说，“而这个‘怎么’再明白不过。你的弟兄们死了，我问你，他们究竟有多少人？”

“I am not your lord,” said Mance. “And the what is plain enough. Your brothers died. The question is, how many?”

琼恩的脸阵阵悸动，雪一直下，很难静心思考。不管要你做什么，都不准违抗，统统照办，这是科林的吩咐。话语卡在喉咙，他逼自己说出来，“我们共有三百人。”

Jon’s face was throbbing, the snow kept coming down, and it was hard to think. You must not balk, whatever is asked of you, Qhorin had told him. The words stuck in his throat, but he made himself say, “There were three hundred of us.”

“我们？”曼斯尖刻地反问。

“Us?” Mance said sharply.

“他们……他们有三百人。”不管要你做什么，都……这明明是断掌的命令，可我为什么觉得自己如此怯懦？“两百来自黑城堡，一百来自影子塔。”

“Them. Three hundred of them.” Whatever is asked, the Halfhand said. So why do I feel so craven? “Two hundred from Castle Black, and one hundred from the Shadow Tower.”

“你在我帐蓬里讲的故事可不一样。”曼斯望向狗头哈犸，“找到多少马？”

“There’s a truer song than the one you sang in my tent.” Mance looked to Harma Dogshead. “How many horses have we found?”

“一百多，”大个子女人回答，“将近两百。东边还有死马，在积雪下面，我没算在内。”她身后站着她的掌旗官，举一根狗头杆子，那狗头新鲜得渗出血来。

“More’n a hundred,” that huge woman replied, “less than two. There’s more dead to the east, under the snow, hard t’ know how many.” Behind her stood her banner bearer, holding a pole with a dog’s head on it, fresh enough to still be leaking blood.

“你不该向我撒谎，琼恩·雪诺，”曼斯道。

“You should never have lied to me, Jon Snow,” said Mance.

“我……我明白。”还能怎么说呢？

“I … I know that.” What could he say?

塞外之王仔细端详他的脸，“谁是这里的头？说实话，莱克？斯莫伍德？威勒斯？不，他太软弱……这是谁的帐蓬？”

The wildling king studied his face. “Who had the command here? And tell me true. Was it Rykker? Smallwood? Not Wythers, he’s too feeble. Whose tent was this?”

我已经说得太多。“您没发现他的尸体？”

I have said too much. “You did not find his body?”

哈犸轻蔑地哼了一声，鼻孔里喷出霜气，“蠢蛋乌鸦！”

Harma snorted, her disdain frosting from her nostrils. “What fools these black crows be.”

“你再用提问作回答，我就把你交给骸骨之王，”曼斯·雷德边向琼恩保证，边走过来，“谁是这里的头？”

“The next time you answer me with a question, I will give you to my Lord of Bones,” Mance Rayder promised Jon. He stepped closer. “Who led here?”

再近一步，琼恩心想，再近一步。他摸向长爪的剑柄。只要我不说……

One more step, thought Jon. Another foot. He moved his hand closer to Longclaw’s hilt. If I hold my tongue …

“敢拔剑，我会在它出鞘之前让你这杂种人头落地，”曼斯道，“我快对你失去耐心了，乌鸦。”

“Reach up for that bastard sword and I’ll have your bastard head off before it clears the scabbard,” said Mance. “I am fast losing patience with you, crow.”

“说吧，”耶哥蕊特催促，“反正不管是谁，都已经死了。”

“Say it,” Ygritte urged. “He’s dead, whoever he was.”

他皱紧眉头，脸颊上伤口开裂。这太难了，琼恩绝望地想，可若要扮演变色龙又怎能不成为变色龙呢？科林没告诉他怎么做，好歹第二步比第一步容易。“熊老。”

His frown cracked the blood on his cheek. This is too hard, Jon thought in despair. How do I play the turncloak without becoming one? Qhorin had not told him that. But the second step is always easier than the first. “The Old Bear.”

“老头子亲自出马？”哈犸并不相信，“真的？那黑城堡由谁指挥？”

“That old man?” Harma’s tone said she did not believe it. “He came himself? Then who commands at Castle Black?”

“波文·马尔锡，”这次琼恩立即回答。不管要你做什么，都不准违抗，统统照办。

“Bowen Marsh.” This time Jon answered at once. You must not balk, whatever is asked of you.

曼斯哈哈大笑，“如果真是这样，那我们已经不战而胜。波文这家伙数剑比用剑在行。”

Mance laughed. “If so, our war is won. Bowen knows a deal more about counting swords than he’s ever known about using them.”

“熊老亲自坐镇于此，”琼恩说，“原本地势就险峻坚固，而他继续加强防备，设陷坑，插木桩，储存食水，以对付……”

“The Old Bear commanded,” said Jon. “This place was high and strong, and he made it stronger. He dug pits and planted stakes, laid up food and water. He was ready for …”

“……我？”曼斯替他说完。“哼，他想得倒美。假如我笨到猛攻的话，至少五比一的伤亡，那还算走运。”他抿紧嘴唇。“但当死人出没，环墙、木桩和宝剑都变得毫无意义。人是无法跟死者作战的，琼恩·雪诺，没有谁比我更清楚。”他抬头凝望渐暗的天空，“这群乌鸦似乎在不经意间帮了我们的大忙，我一直纳闷为何队伍没遭攻击呢。好，还有一百里格的路，天气越来越冷。瓦拉米尔，派你的狼去嗅嗅，追踪尸鬼的行藏，以防他们偷袭。骸骨之王，将巡逻人数加倍，并确保人人都带有火炬和打火石。斯迪，贾尔，你们天亮就出发。”

“… me?” finished Mance Rayder. “Aye, he was. Had I been fool enough to storm this hill, I might have lost five men for every crow I slew and still counted myself lucky.” His mouth grew hard. “But when the dead walk, walls and stakes and swords mean nothing. You cannot fight the dead, Jon Snow. No man knows that half so well as me.” He gazed up at the darkening sky and said, “The crows may have helped us more than they know. I’d wondered why we’d suffered no attacks. But there’s still a hundred leagues to go, and the cold is rising. Varamyr, send your wolves sniffing after the wights, I won’t have them taking us unawares. My Lord of Bones, double all the patrols, and make certain every man has torch and flint. Styr, Jarl, you ride at first light.”

“曼斯，”叮当衫道，“我想要这乌鸦的骨头。”

“Mance,” Rattleshirt said, “I want me some crow bones.”

耶哥蕊特踏步上前，挡住琼恩，“他只是保护过去的兄弟，你不能为这个就杀他。”

Ygritte stepped in front of Jon. “You can’t kill a man for lying to protect them as was his brothers.”

“我瞧他还把他们当兄弟，”斯迪宣称。

“They are still his brothers,” declared Styr.

“不是的，”耶哥蕊特坚持，“他没照他们的命令杀我，反而毙了断掌，大家都知道。”

“They’re not,” insisted Ygritte. “He never killed me, like they told him. And he slew the Halfhand, we all saw.”

琼恩的吐息在空气中结霜。我瞒不过他。他望进曼斯·雷德的眼睛，灼伤的五指开开合合。“我穿着您给的斗篷，陛下。”

Jon’s breath misted the air. If I lie to him, he’ll know. He looked Mance Rayder in the eyes, opened and closed his burned hand. “I wear the cloak you gave me, Your Grace.”

“一件羊皮斗篷！”耶哥蕊特道，“每天夜里，我们都在它底下跳舞！”

“A sheepskin cloak!” said Ygritte. “And there’s many a night we dance beneath it, too!”

贾尔咧嘴大笑，狗头哈犸也讪笑起来。“是这样吗，琼恩·雪诺？”曼斯·雷德温和地问，“她和你？”

Jarl laughed, and even Harma Dogshead smirked. “Is that the way of it, Jon Snow?” asked Mance Rayder, mildly. “Her and you?”

长城之外难辩是非。琼恩不知自己还能不能区分荣誉与耻辱，正确和错误。愿天父原谅我。“是的，”他说。

It was easy to lose your way beyond the Wall. Jon did not know that he could tell honor from shame anymore, or right from wrong. Father forgive me. “Yes,” he said.

曼斯点点头，“很好，那你俩明天跟贾尔和斯迪一起出发，参加行动。我绝不会把两颗跳动如一的心分开。”

Mance nodded. “Good. You’ll go with Jarl and Styr on the morrow, then. Both of you. Far be it from me to separate two hearts that beat as one.”

“我们去哪里？”琼恩问。

“Go where?” said Jon.

“去长城。是你证明忠诚的时候了，行胜于言，琼恩·雪诺。”

“Over the Wall. It’s past time you proved your faith with something more than words, Jon Snow.”

马格拿不大高兴。“我要个乌鸦做什么？”

The Magnar was not pleased. “What do I want with a crow?”

“他不仅了解守夜人，了解长城，”曼斯说，“而且对黑城堡的熟悉程度超过你手下任何一个掠袭者。你会发现他的用处，否则你就是个笨蛋。”

“He knows the Watch and he knows the Wall,” said Mance, “and he knows Castle Black better than any raider ever could. You’ll find a use for him, or you’re a fool.”

斯迪皱起眉头，“我认为他是个黑心肝的家伙。”

Styr scowled. “His heart may still be black.”

“是吗？到时候挖出来不就得了。”曼斯转向叮当衫。“骸骨之王，不惜一切代价保持队伍的行进速度，只要赶在莫尔蒙之前抵达长城，我们便胜券在握。”

“Then cut it out.” Mance turned to Rattleshirt. “My Lord of Bones, keep the column moving at all costs. If we reach the Wall before Mormont, we’ve won.”

“是，”叮当衫含糊而恼怒地回答。

“They’ll move.” Rattleshirt’s voice was thick and angry.

曼斯点头离开，哈犸和六形人瓦拉米尔紧跟上去，他的狼和影子山猫也走在后面。琼恩、耶哥蕊特、贾尔、叮当衫和马格拿留在原地。两个年长的野人用难以掩饰的恨意瞪着琼恩，而贾尔开口道：“你听到曼斯的吩咐了，我们天亮出发，多带食物，路上没时间打猎。还有啊，乌鸦，把脸料理料理，血淋淋的简直一团糟。”

Mance nodded, and walked away, Harma and Sixskins beside him. Varamyr’s wolves and shadowcat followed behind. Jon and Ygritte were left with Jarl, Rattleshirt, and the Magnar. The two older wildlings looked at Jon with ill-concealed rancor as Jarl said, “You heard, we ride at daybreak. Bring all the food you can, there’ll be no time to hunt. And have your face seen to, crow. You look a bloody mess.”

“我会的，”琼恩答应。

“I will,” said Jon.

“你千万别撒谎，小妹妹，”叮当衫恶狠狠地对耶哥蕊特说，眼睛在巨人头骨后闪闪发光。

“You best not be lying, girl,” Rattleshirt said to Ygritte, his eyes shiny behind the giant’s skull.

琼恩拔出长爪，“离我们远点，否则科林的下场就是榜样！”

Jon drew Longsclaw. “Get away from us, unless you want what Qhorin got.”

“现在可没有狼护着你，小子。”叮当衫摸向自己的剑。

“You got no wolf to help you here, boy.” Rattleshirt reached for his own sword.

“哦，你很肯定哟？”耶哥蕊特笑道。

“Sure o’ that, are you?” Ygritte laughed.

白灵正蹲伏在环墙顶端，雪白的毛发直立。他没发出半点声音，只是睁大血红的眼睛。骸骨之王缓缓放开剑柄，退后一步，诅咒着走了。

Atop the stones of the ringwall, Ghost hunched with white fur bristling. He made no sound, but his dark red eyes spoke blood. The Lord of Bones moved his hand slowly away from his sword, backed off a step, and left them with a curse.

随后，琼恩和耶哥蕊特骑下先民拳峰，白灵在旁跟随。“我不要你为我撒谎，”走到乳河中央，琼恩觉得安全了，方才开口道。

Ghost padded beside their garrons as Jon and Ygritte descended the Fist. It was not until they were halfway across the Milkwater that Jon felt safe enough to say, “I never asked you to lie for me.”

“我没撒谎，”她说，“只是没说完整。”

“I never did,” she said. “I left out part, is all.”

“你说——”

“You said—”

“——每天夜里，我们都在你的斗篷底下作爱。是的，我没说从什么时候开始。”她有些羞赧地朝他笑笑。“今晚给白灵找个别的地方睡吧，琼恩·雪诺，诚如曼斯所说，行胜于言。”

“—that we fuck beneath your cloak many a night. I never said when we started, though.” The smile she gave him was almost shy. “Find another place for Ghost to sleep tonight, Jon Snow. It’s like Mance said. Deeds is truer than words.”