Awed by the sudden force of Nature that pinions them under
the branches of a huge beech tree, Ulrich von Gradwitz, "the inheritor of the
quarrel," and Georg Znaeym, "the tireless game-snatcher and raider of the disputed
border-forest," join together in prayful thanks and curses. Caught in this precarious
position, the men arrive at a new perspective regarding their lives: Neither of them
may survive.
...in the pain and laguor that Ulrich himself was
feeling the old fierce hatred seemed to be dying
down.
Ulrich tells his old
enemy that he has concluded that they have been "rather fools"; for, there is much in
life better than feuding over a property border. Von Gradwitz entreats his old enemy to
let him bury the old quarrel. With nothing to do but ponder von Gradwitz's words, Georg
Znaeym considers how the whole region would be shocked if the two men end their feud.
Then, each of the men generously offers the other "honorable attention." Unfortunately,
there are interlopers to themen's promises of generosity and friendship arrived at in
the "moment of truth" as they have considered their chances for
survival.
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