Relationship Between the Two Men
“The feud might, perhaps, have died down or been compromised if the personal ill-will of the two men had not stood in the way; as boys they had thirsted for one another’s blood, as men each prayed that misfortune might fall on the other, and this wind-scourged winter night Ulrich had banded together his foresters to watch the dark forest, not in quest of four-footed quarry, but to keep a look-out for the prowling thieves whom he suspected of being afoot from across the land boundary.” (392)
Saki uses the language of hunting and killing to describe the dynamic between the two men. Describing Georg as "prowling" and "being afoot," he draws a comparison between the traditional animal target of a hunting quest and the human target of this particular search. This imagery sets the reader up to expect a dangerous pursuit and potential death, but not quite in the way in which it actually occurs.
Forest
“He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he head placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree-trunks and listening through the whistling and skirting of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight or sound of the marauders.” (392)
Saki’s imagery casts the forest as a dangerous and dark place for the two men. The "steep" hill and the "wild tangle" all suggest that the land is unpredictable and treacherous. Furthermore, the sound of the wind and branches creates a sense of isolation and suspense as the reader follows Ulrich deeper into the landscape.
Screech of the Wind
“In the cold, gloomy forest, with the wind tearing in fitful gusts through the naked branches and whistling round the tree-trunks, they lay and waited for the help that would now bring release and succour to both parties.” (395)
The screech of the wind repeats throughout the story; it signals the fall of the branch that originally traps the two men and limits their ability to hear or be heard. The wind persists even after the men make their dramatic reconciliation. In what could be a happy moment, descriptions of the forest remain "cold" and "gloomy." Though the two men undergo a transformation in the forest, nature remains constant in its wildness and unpredictability.
