The Interlopers

The Interlopers by Saki
Imagine you are in a dark forest on a winter night, hunting an enemy_who

just happens to be your neighbor. Now suppose that your neighbor is hunting
you, too. What makes people who should be friends become fierce enemies?
Who is the loser in this story’s deadly fight? The answer may shock you.
LITERARY FOCUS: OMNISCIENT NARRATOR

A story’s omniscient narrator knows everything that happens, and why. This
type of narrator is not a character in the story but an outside observer who
can tell you what each character is thinking and feeling.
• As you read “The Interlopers,” pay special attention to the information

the narrator gives you about the two characters’ pasts.
• The narrator of “The Interlopers” makes us think that events are leading
one way_up until the story’s very end. Prepare to be surprised.
READING SKILLS: MONITORING YOUR READING

Some of the words and sentences in “The Interlopers” may seem difficult.
The following tips will help you understand this classic story.
• Look for context clues that can help you figure out the meaning of
unfamiliar words.
• Break down long sentences into shorter ones.
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

• Look for the subject and verb in confusing sentences.
• Stop to summarize important passages or scenes.
• Re-read tough passages. Some passages are hard to understand the first
time.
• Try to visualize, or picture, the events that are happening.
Literary Skills
Recognize an
omniscient
narrator (or
point of view).
Reading
Skills
Monitor your
reading.
Vocabulary
Skills
Understand and
use context
clues.
80 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice

PREVIEW SELECTION VOCABULARY
Preview the following words from “The Interlopers.” Study the words before you begin the story.
precipitous (pr≤·sip√¥·t¥s) adj.: very steep. retorted (ri·tôr√tid) v.: replied in a sharp or witty
way.
The wooded slope was precipitous—a vertical
cliff—and hard to climb. Feeling insulted, he retorted angrily.
acquiesced (ak≈w≤·est√) v. (used with in): accept- condolences (k¥n·d£√l¥ns·iz) n.: expressions of
ed; agreed; consented. sympathy.
They never acquiesced in the judgment of the When he heard about his enemy’s death, he sent
court; instead, they bitterly opposed it. condolences to the widow.
marauders (m¥·rôd√·¥rz) n.: people who roam languor (la«√g¥r) n.: weakness; weariness.
around in search of loot, or goods to steal.
After hours of hard work, he felt a great
The man kept a sharp lookout for marauders languor, and this exhaustion lasted all day.
who might be prowling through the woods.
reconciliation (rek≈¥n·sil≈≤·†√◊¥n) n.: friendly end
exasperation (eg·zas≈p¥r·†√◊¥n) n.: great to a quarrel.
annoyance.
The fight could end in one of two ways—
His exasperation at being captured was so great reconciliation or death.
that he cursed aloud.
succor (suk√¥r) n.: help given to someone in
pious (p¢√¥s) adj.: showing religious devotion. distress; relief.
Although not religious, his words were pious. Unable to free themselves, they waited for
rescuers to give them succor.
CONTEXT CLUES: SOLVING Type of

Example
WORD MYSTERIES Context Clue
Successful readers are like detec- Definition Tito’s languor, his complete weariness,
tives looking for clues. When or restatement came when the danger was over.
good readers see an unfamiliar Example Tito’s languor was like the feeling you
word, they look at the context— get after defeat in a basketball game.
the words and sentences around
Antonym His cousin was full of pep, but Tito had
the word_for clues to its mean-
a feeling of languor.
ing. Look at these examples to
learn more. Cause and effect Because of his languor, Tito slept all day.
The Interlopers 81
The Interlopers Saki
Michael Busselle/Getty Images.
In a forest of mixed growth somewhere on the eastern spurs of

the Carpathians,1 a man stood one winter night watching and
Which character are you listening, as though he waited for some beast of the woods to
introduced to in the first
paragraph? What is he look-
come within the range of his vision and, later, of his rifle. But
ing for in the forest? the game for whose presence he kept so keen an outlook was

none that figured in the sportsman’s calendar as lawful and
proper for the chase; Ulrich von Gradwitz patrolled the dark
forest in quest of a human enemy.
The forest lands of Gradwitz were of wide extent and well
10 stocked with game; the narrow strip of precipitous woodland
that lay on its outskirt was not remarkable for the game it har-
precipitous (pr≤·sip√¥·t¥s) bored or the shooting it afforded, but it was the most jealously
adj.: very steep.
guarded of all its owner’s territorial possessions. A famous law-
acquiesced (ak≈w≤·est√) v. suit, in the days of his grandfather, had wrested it from the ille-
(used with in): accepted;
agreed; consented. gal possession of a neighboring family of petty landowners; the
dispossessed party had never acquiesced in the judgment of the
Acquiesce has the same Latin
origin as quiet. Someone courts, and a long series of poaching affrays2 and similar scan-
who acquiesces agrees
quietly and without 1. Carpathians (kär·p†√‚≤·¥nz): mountain range that starts in Slovakia
excitement. and extends through Poland, Ukraine, and Romania.
2. poaching affrays (¥·fr†z√): noisy quarrels or brawls about poaching,
which means “fishing or hunting illegally on private property.”

dals had embittered the relationships between the families for
three generations. The neighbor feud had grown into a personal
20 one since Ulrich had come to be head of his family; if there was Re-read lines 19-31.
Underline what you learn
a man in the world whom he detested and wished ill to, it was
about why the two men con-
Georg Znaeym, the inheritor of the quarrel and the tireless game tinue the fight between the
neighboring families. Whom
snatcher and raider of the disputed border forest. The feud is Ulrich feuding with?
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 marauders (m¥·rôd√·¥rz) n.:
people who roam around in
to watch the dark forest, not in quest of four-footed quarry, but search of loot, or goods to
steal.
30 to keep a lookout for the prowling thieves whom he suspected of
being afoot from across the land boundary. The roebuck,3 which
usually kept in the sheltered hollows during a storm wind, were
running like driven things tonight, and there was movement and In lines 44-45, underline the
compound word_a word
unrest among the creatures that were wont to sleep through the that is made up of two
dark hours. Assuredly there was a disturbing element in the for- words. What does this com-
pound word mean?
est, and Ulrich could guess the quarter from whence it came.
He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had
placed in ambush on the crest of the hill and wandered far down
the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering

40 through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and
skirling4 of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for
sight or sound of the marauders. If only on this wild night, in
this dark, lone spot, he might come across Georg Znaeym, man
to man, with none to witness—that was the wish that was upper-
most in his thoughts. And as he stepped round the trunk of a
huge beech he came face to face with the man he sought.
The two enemies stood glaring at one another for a long
silent moment. Each had a rifle in his hand, each had hate in his
heart and murder uppermost in his mind. The chance had come
In lines 48-49, circle the sen-
tence in which the omnis-
cient narrator tells you what
3. roebuck (r£√buk≈) n.: male (or males) of the roe deer, small deer that each character is thinking
live in Europe and Asia. and feeling.
4. skirling (sk∞rl√i«) v. used as n.: shrill, piercing sound.
The Interlopers 83
50 to give full play to the passions of a lifetime. But a man who has
been brought up under the code of a restraining civilization
Circle the important event cannot easily nerve himself to shoot down his neighbor in cold
that happens to the two
blood and without a word spoken, except for an offense against
enemies (lines 56-59).
his hearth and honor. And before the moment of hesitation had
given way to action, a deed of Nature’s own violence over-
whelmed them both. A fierce shriek of the storm had been
Draw lines to break down answered by a splitting crash over their heads, and ere they
the long sentence in lines could leap aside, a mass of falling beech tree had thundered
69-72 into shorter units of
thought. Then, paraphrase down on them. Ulrich von Gradwitz found himself stretched on
the sentence. 60 the ground, one arm numb beneath him and the other held
almost as helplessly in a tight tangle of forked branches, while
both legs were pinned beneath the fallen mass. His heavy shoot-
ing boots had saved his feet from being crushed to pieces, but if
his fractures were not as serious as they might have been, at least
it was evident that he could not move from his present position
till someone came to release him. The descending twigs had
slashed the skin of his face, and he had to wink away some drops
of blood from his eyelashes before he could take in a general
view of the disaster. At his side, so near that under ordinary cir-
70 cumstances he could almost have touched him, lay Georg

Znaeym, alive and struggling, but obviously as helplessly pin-
ioned5 down as himself. All round them lay a thick-strewn
wreckage of splintered branches and broken twigs.
Relief at being alive and exasperation at his captive plight
brought a strange medley of pious thank offerings and sharp
curses to Ulrich’s lips. Georg, who was nearly blinded with the
blood which trickled across his eyes, stopped his struggling for a
moment to listen, and then gave a short, snarling laugh.
“So you’re not killed, as you ought to be, but you’re caught,
80 anyway,” he cried, “caught fast. Ho, what a jest, Ulrich von
exasperation
Gradwitz snared in his stolen forest. There’s real justice for you!”
(eg·zas≈p¥r·†√◊¥n) n.: great
annoyance. And he laughed again, mockingly and savagely.
pious (p¢√¥s) adj.: showing
religious devotion.
5. pinioned (pin√y¥nd) v. used as adj.: pinned, as if chained or tied up.

“I’m caught in my own forest land,” retorted Ulrich.
“When my men come to release us, you will wish, perhaps, that
you were in a better plight than caught poaching on a neighbor’s retorted (ri·tôr√tid) v.: replied
land, shame on you.” in a sharp or witty way.
Georg was silent for a moment; then he answered quietly: condolences (k¥n·d£√l¥ns·iz)
n.: expressions of sympathy.
“Are you sure that your men will find much to release? I Condolence comes from two
have men, too, in the forest tonight, close behind me, and they Latin words: com-, a prefix
meaning “with,” and dolere,
90 will be here first and do the releasing. When they drag me out meaning “to grieve.”
from under these branches, it won’t need much clumsiness on
their part to roll this mass of trunk right over on the top of you.
Your men will find you dead under a fallen beech tree. For Re-read lines 82-94. What do
the enemies threaten to do
form’s sake I shall send my condolences to your family.”
to each other once they are
“It is a useful hint,” said Ulrich fiercely. “My men had rescued?
orders to follow in ten minutes’ time, seven of which must have

gone by already, and when they get me out—I will remember
the hint. Only as you will have met your death poaching on my
lands, I don’t think I can decently send any message of condo-
100 lence to your family.”
“Good,” snarled Georg, “good. We fight this quarrel out to
the death, you and I and our foresters, with no cursed inter-
lopers to come between us. Death and damnation to you, Ulrich
von Gradwitz.”
“The same to you, Georg Znaeym, forest thief, game
snatcher.”
Both men spoke with the bitterness of possible defeat
before them, for each knew that it might be long before his men
would seek him out or find him; it was a bare matter of chance
110 which party would arrive first on the scene.
Both had now given up the useless struggle to free them-
selves from the mass of wood that held them down; Ulrich lim-
ited his endeavors to an effort to bring his one partially free arm
near enough to his outer coat pocket to draw out his wine flask.
Even when he had accomplished that operation, it was long
before he could manage the unscrewing of the stopper or get In line 113, circle the word
that restates the meaning of
endeavors.
The Interlopers 85
any of the liquid down his throat. But what a heaven-sent draft6
it seemed! It was an open winter7, and little snow had fallen as
yet, hence the captives suffered less from the cold than might
Re-read the long sentence in
120 have been the case at that season of the year; nevertheless, the
lines 118-124. Then, summa-
rize the sentence. wine was warming and reviving to the wounded man, and he
looked across with something like a throb of pity to where his
enemy lay, just keeping the groans of pain and weariness from
crossing his lips.
“Could you reach this flask if I threw it over to you?” asked
Ulrich suddenly. “There is good wine in it, and one may as well
be as comfortable as one can. Let us drink, even if tonight one of
us dies.”
“No, I can scarcely see anything; there is so much blood
130 caked round my eyes,” said Georg; “and in any case I don’t drink
wine with an enemy.”
Ulrich was silent for a few minutes and lay listening to the
weary screeching of the wind. An idea was slowly forming and
growing in his brain, an idea that gained strength every time that
he looked across at the man who was fighting so grimly against
pain and exhaustion. In the pain and languor that Ulrich himself
Read the boxed passage was feeling, the old fierce hatred seemed to be dying down.
aloud several times. Focus on

conveying the different atti- “Neighbor,” he said presently, “do as you please if your men
tudes of Ulrich and Georg. come first. It was a fair compact. But as for me, I’ve changed my
140 mind. If my men are the first to come, you shall be the first to be
helped, as though you were my guest. We have quarreled like
languor (la«√g¥r) n.: weak- devils all our lives over this stupid strip of forest, where the trees
ness; weariness.
can’t even stand upright in a breath of wind. Lying here tonight,
thinking, I’ve come to think we’ve been rather fools; there are
better things in life than getting the better of a boundary dis-
In lines 132-137, the narra- pute. Neighbor, if you will help me to bury the old quarrel, I—I
tor reveals an important
change in Ulrich’s attitude. will ask you to be my friend.”
Circle the important change Georg Znaeym was silent for so long that Ulrich thought
the narrator tells you about.
perhaps he had fainted with the pain of his injuries. Then he
150 spoke slowly and in jerks.
6. draft n.: drink.

7. open winter: mild winter.

Notes
Dudley Dana/Nonstock.
“How the whole region would stare and gabble if we rode

into the market square together. No one living can remember
seeing a Znaeym and a von Gradwitz talking to one another in
friendship. And what peace there would be among the forester reconciliation
(rek≈¥n·sil≈≤·†√◊¥n) n.: friendly
folk if we ended our feud tonight. And if we choose to make
end to a quarrel.
peace among our people, there is none other to interfere, no succor (suk√¥r) n.: help given
interlopers from outside. . . . You would come and keep the to someone in distress; relief.
Sylvester night8 beneath my roof, and I would come and feast on

some high day at your castle. . . . I would never fire a shot on
160 your land, save when you invited me as a guest; and you should
Pause at line 175. Earlier in
come and shoot with me down in the marshes where the wild-
the story (lines 83-100), why
fowl are. In all the countryside there are none that could hinder did each man hope that his
friends would be the first to
if we willed to make peace. I never thought to have wanted to do arrive? What has changed?
other than hate you all my life, but I think I have changed my
mind about things too, this last half-hour. And you offered me
your wine flask. . . . Ulrich von Gradwitz, I will be your friend.”
For a space both men were silent, turning over in their
minds the wonderful changes that this dramatic reconciliation
would bring about. In the cold, gloomy forest, with the wind
170 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 succor to both parties. And each
prayed a private prayer that his men might be the first to arrive,
so that he might be the first to show honorable attention to the
enemy that had become a friend.
8. Sylvester night: feast day honoring Saint Sylvester (Pope Sylvester I,

d. 335), observed on December 31.
The Interlopers 87
Presently, as the wind dropped for a moment, Ulrich broke
the silence.
Pause at line 203. The narra- “Let’s shout for help,” he said; “in this lull our voices may
tor doesn’t reveal who is carry a little way.”
coming toward the men.
What effect does this lack of 180 “They won’t carry far through the trees and undergrowth,”
information create?
said Georg, “but we can try. Together, then.”
The two raised their voices in a prolonged hunting call.
“Together again,” said Ulrich a few minutes later, after lis-
tening in vain for an answering halloo.
“I heard something that time, I think,” said Ulrich.
“I heard nothing but the pestilential9 wind,” said Georg
Read to the end of the story.
Underline the one word that hoarsely.
reveals the story’s surprise
There was silence again for some minutes, and then Ulrich
ending.
gave a joyful cry.
190 “I can see figures coming through the wood. They are fol-
lowing in the way I came down the hillside.”
Why is it fitting that the two
men, who were hunting each Both men raised their voices in as loud a shout as they
other in the forest that win- could muster.
ter night, are discovered
by wolves rather than by “They hear us! They’ve stopped. Now they see us. They’re
rescuers?
running down the hill toward us,” cried Ulrich.
“How many of them are there?” asked Georg.

“I can’t see distinctly,” said Ulrich; “nine or ten.”
“Then they are yours,” said Georg; “I had only seven out
with me.”
200 “They are making all the speed they can, brave lads,” said
Ulrich gladly.
“Are they your men?” asked Georg. “Are they your men?” he
repeated impatiently, as Ulrich did not answer.
“No,” said Ulrich with a laugh, the idiotic chattering laugh
of a man unstrung with hideous fear.
“Who are they?” asked Georg quickly, straining his eyes to
see what the other would gladly not have seen.
“Wolves.”
9. pestilential (pes≈t¥·len√◊¥l) adj.: Strictly speaking, pestilential means

“deadly; causing disease; harmful.” Here, Georg uses the word to
mean “cursed.”

The Interlopers
Narrator Questionnaire This story is told by an omniscient narrator, who
knows all the story’s secrets. Fill out this chart to examine the way point of view
affects the plot and characters of “The Interlopers.”
1. Does the narrator reveal the thoughts and feelings of the two men? Explain.
2. How would the story be different if it were told from the point of view of one of the
men?
3. How might the story be different if it were told from the point of view of the wolves?
The Interlopers 89
Skills Review
The Interlopers
Complete the sample test item below. Then, read the explanation at right.
Sample Test Question Explanation of the Correct Answer
Who is the story’s narrator?

The correct answer is D.
A Georg Znaeym
A and C are not correct, because the
B Saki
story is told from the omniscient point
C Ulrich von Gradwitz of view, not the point of view of just
D an unnamed, all-knowing storyteller one character. B is not correct; Saki is
the author.
DIRECTIONS: Circle the letter of each correct response.
1. Which passage reveals that the narra- 3. The two men decide to become
tor is omniscient? friends because_
A “Both men spoke with the bitter- A their men have ordered them to
ness of possible defeat, for each B they hate the neighbors
knew that it might be long before
C they have become tired of being
his men would seek him out.”

enemies
B “The forest lands of Gradwitz
D they hope to save themselves by
were of wide extent and well
working together
stocked with game.”
C “The two raised their voices in a 4. The narrator creates suspense by
prolonged hunting call.” waiting until the end to_
D “‘No,’ said Ulrich with a laugh, F reveal what is approaching the
the idiotic chattering laugh of a men
man unstrung with hideous fear.”
G tell which man dies first
H explain what the men were fight-
2. The narrator tells us the two men—
ing about
F are hunting wolves
J warn readers against hunting at
G don’t go hunting at night
night
H want to kill each other
Literary Skills
Analyze use of J go to hunting parties together
the omniscient
narrator (or
point of view).

Skills Review
The Interlopers
Context Clues
DIRECTIONS: Read the passage, using context clues to identify the meaning
of the boldface word. Then, circle the letter of the definition of that word.
1. The hunter examined his quarry 3. They heard the loud sound when
after it had been shot. the tree thundered down on them.
A rifle C enemy A fell from the sky Vocabulary
Skills
B land D hunted animal B was split by lightning Analyze context
clues to identify
C fell with a roaring noise word meaning.
2. No one could stop the bitter feud Use words in
D yelled context.
between the two neighbors.
F ongoing argument 4. He felt no pain in his right arm,
G broken fence which was now numb.
H agreement F bandaged H painful
J flooded lands G without J foolish
feeling
Vocabulary in Context
DIRECTIONS: Complete the paragraph below by writing the correct word

from the box in each blank. Not all words from the box will be used.
Word Box The two enemies stared at each other. The gray-haired one
precipitous laughed. “What are you laughing at?” the brown-haired one asked in
acquiesced (1) . “I am laughing at two helpless men caught in
marauders a trap,” the other (2) in anger. “Shall we become
exasperation
friends? No, (3) is not in my plans. I will never
pious
make up with you. And don’t give me any (4)
retorted
words about what religion has taught us. We will always be enemies. Our
condolences
widows can send each other (5) if they wish.”
languor
reconciliation
succor
The Interlopers 91
42
The Interlopers by Saki
PREVIEW SELECTION VOCABULARY
Imagine you are in a dark forest on a winter night, hunting an enemy_who
Preview the following words from “The Interlopers.” Study the words before you begin the story.
just happens to be your neighbor. Now suppose that your neighbor is hunting
you, too. What makes people who should be friends become fierce enemies? precipitous (pr≤·sip√¥·t¥s) adj.: very steep. retorted (ri·tôr√tid) v.: replied in a sharp or witty
Who is the loser in this story’s deadly fight? The answer may shock you. way.
The wooded slope was precipitous—a vertical
cliff—and hard to climb. Feeling insulted, he retorted angrily.
LITERARY FOCUS: OMNISCIENT NARRATOR
A story’s omniscient narrator knows everything that happens, and why. This acquiesced (ak≈w≤·est√) v. (used with in): accept- condolences (k¥n·d£√l¥ns·iz) n.: expressions of
type of narrator is not a character in the story but an outside observer who ed; agreed; consented. sympathy.
The Holt Reader: Teacher’s Manual

can tell you what each character is thinking and feeling. They never acquiesced in the judgment of the When he heard about his enemy’s death, he sent
• As you read “The Interlopers,” pay special attention to the information court; instead, they bitterly opposed it. condolences to the widow.
the narrator gives you about the two characters’ pasts. marauders (m¥·rôd√·¥rz) n.: people who roam languor (la«√g¥r) n.: weakness; weariness.
• The narrator of “The Interlopers” makes us think that events are leading around in search of loot, or goods to steal.
one way_up until the story’s very end. Prepare to be surprised. After hours of hard work, he felt a great
The man kept a sharp lookout for marauders languor, and this exhaustion lasted all day.
READING SKILLS: MONITORING YOUR READING who might be prowling through the woods.
reconciliation (rek≈¥n·sil≈≤·†√◊¥n) n.: friendly end
Some of the words and sentences in “The Interlopers” may seem difficult. exasperation (eg·zas≈p¥r·†√◊¥n) n.: great to a quarrel.
The following tips will help you understand this classic story. annoyance.
The fight could end in one of two ways—
• Look for context clues that can help you figure out the meaning of His exasperation at being captured was so great reconciliation or death.
unfamiliar words. that he cursed aloud.
succor (suk√¥r) n.: help given to someone in
• Break down long sentences into shorter ones.
pious (p¢√¥s) adj.: showing religious devotion. distress; relief.
• Look for the subject and verb in confusing sentences.
• Stop to summarize important passages or scenes. Although not religious, his words were pious. Unable to free themselves, they waited for
• Re-read tough passages. Some passages are hard to understand the first rescuers to give them succor.
time.
• Try to visualize, or picture, the events that are happening.
CONTEXT CLUES: SOLVING Type of

Example
WORD MYSTERIES Context Clue
Literary Skills Successful readers are like detec- Definition Tito’s languor, his complete weariness,
Recognize an
omniscient tives looking for clues. When or restatement came when the danger was over.
narrator (or
point of view). good readers see an unfamiliar Example Tito’s languor was like the feeling you
Reading word, they look at the context— get after defeat in a basketball game.
Skills the words and sentences around
Monitor your Antonym His cousin was full of pep, but Tito had
reading. the word_for clues to its mean-

a feeling of languor.
Vocabulary ing. Look at these examples to
Skills
Understand and learn more. Cause and effect Because of his languor, Tito slept all day.
use context
clues.
80 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice The Interlopers 81

Student pages 80–81
Collection 3
dals had embittered the relationships between the families for
three generations. The neighbor feud had grown into a personal
20 one since Ulrich had come to be head of his family; if there was Re-read lines 19-31.
Underline what you learn
a man in the world whom he detested and wished ill to, it was
about why the two men con-
The Interlopers Saki Georg Znaeym, the inheritor of the quarrel and the tireless game tinue the fight between the
neighboring families. Whom
snatcher and raider of the disputed border forest. The feud is Ulrich feuding with?
might, perhaps, have died down or been compromised if the Georg Znaeym
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 marauders (m¥·rôd√·¥rz) n.:
people who roam around in
to watch the dark forest, not in quest of four-footed quarry, but search of loot, or goods to
steal.
30 to keep a lookout for the prowling thieves whom he suspected of
being afoot from across the land boundary. The roebuck,3 which
usually kept in the sheltered hollows during a storm wind, were
Michael Busselle/Getty Images. running like driven things tonight, and there was movement and In lines 44-45, underline the
compound word_a word
In a forest of mixed growth somewhere on the eastern spurs of unrest among the creatures that were wont to sleep through the that is made up of two
the Carpathians,1 a man stood one winter night watching and dark hours. Assuredly there was a disturbing element in the for- words. What does this com-
pound word mean?
Which character are you listening, as though he waited for some beast of the woods to est, and Ulrich could guess the quarter from whence it came.
introduced to in the first highest; most
paragraph? What is he look-
come within the range of his vision and, later, of his rifle. But He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had
ing for in the forest? the game for whose presence he kept so keen an outlook was important
placed in ambush on the crest of the hill and wandered far down
Ulrich von Gradwitz; none that figured in the sportsman’s calendar as lawful and the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering
he is hunting a human proper for the chase; Ulrich von Gradwitz patrolled the dark 40 through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and
forest in quest of a human enemy. skirling4 of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for
enemy.
The forest lands of Gradwitz were of wide extent and well sight or sound of the marauders. If only on this wild night, in
10 stocked with game; the narrow strip of precipitous woodland this dark, lone spot, he might come across Georg Znaeym, man
that lay on its outskirt was not remarkable for the game it har- to man, with none to witness—that was the wish that was upper-
precipitous (pr≤·sip√¥·t¥s) bored or the shooting it afforded, but it was the most jealously most in his thoughts. And as he stepped round the trunk of a
adj.: very steep.
guarded of all its owner’s territorial possessions. A famous law- huge beech he came face to face with the man he sought.
acquiesced (ak≈w≤·est√) v. suit, in the days of his grandfather, had wrested it from the ille- The two enemies stood glaring at one another for a long
(used with in): accepted;
agreed; consented. gal possession of a neighboring family of petty landowners; the silent moment. Each had a rifle in his hand, each had hate in his
dispossessed party had never acquiesced in the judgment of the heart and murder uppermost in his mind. The chance had come
Acquiesce has the same Latin

origin as quiet. Someone courts, and a long series of poaching affrays2 and similar scan- In lines 48-49, circle the sen-
who acquiesces agrees tence in which the omnis-
quietly and without 1. Carpathians (kär·p†√‚≤·¥nz): mountain range that starts in Slovakia cient narrator tells you what
excitement. and extends through Poland, Ukraine, and Romania. 3. roebuck (r£√buk≈) n.: male (or males) of the roe deer, small deer that each character is thinking
2. poaching affrays (¥·fr†z√): noisy quarrels or brawls about poaching, live in Europe and Asia. and feeling.
which means “fishing or hunting illegally on private property.” 4. skirling (sk∞rl√i«) v. used as n.: shrill, piercing sound.
Student Pages with Answers

Collection 3
43
44
50 to give full play to the passions of a lifetime. But a man who has “I’m caught in my own forest land,” retorted Ulrich.
been brought up under the code of a restraining civilization “When my men come to release us, you will wish, perhaps, that
Circle the important event cannot easily nerve himself to shoot down his neighbor in cold you were in a better plight than caught poaching on a neighbor’s retorted (ri·tôr√tid) v.: replied
that happens to the two in a sharp or witty way.
blood and without a word spoken, except for an offense against land, shame on you.”
enemies (lines 56-59).
his hearth and honor. And before the moment of hesitation had Georg was silent for a moment; then he answered quietly: condolences (k¥n·d£√l¥ns·iz)
n.: expressions of sympathy.
given way to action, a deed of Nature’s own violence over- “Are you sure that your men will find much to release? I Condolence comes from two
whelmed them both. A fierce shriek of the storm had been have men, too, in the forest tonight, close behind me, and they Latin words: com-, a prefix
meaning “with,” and dolere,
Draw lines to break down answered by a splitting crash over their heads, and ere they 90 will be here first and do the releasing. When they drag me out meaning “to grieve.”
the long sentence in lines could leap aside, a mass of falling beech tree had thundered from under these branches, it won’t need much clumsiness on
69-72 into shorter units of
thought. Then, paraphrase down on them. Ulrich von Gradwitz found himself stretched on their part to roll this mass of trunk right over on the top of you.
the sentence. 60 the ground, one arm numb beneath him and the other held Your men will find you dead under a fallen beech tree. For Re-read lines 82-94. What do

At Ulrich’s side, so the enemies threaten to do
almost as helplessly in a tight tangle of forked branches, while form’s sake I shall send my condolences to your family.”
to each other once they are
near that Ulrich . . . both legs were pinned beneath the fallen mass. His heavy shoot- “It is a useful hint,” said Ulrich fiercely. “My men had rescued?
could almost have ing boots had saved his feet from being crushed to pieces, but if orders to follow in ten minutes’ time, seven of which must have Each threatens to have
his fractures were not as serious as they might have been, at least gone by already, and when they get me out—I will remember the other killed.
touched him, lay
it was evident that he could not move from his present position the hint. Only as you will have met your death poaching on my
Georg Znaeym. Georg till someone came to release him. The descending twigs had lands, I don’t think I can decently send any message of condo-
was alive and strug- slashed the skin of his face, and he had to wink away some drops 100 lence to your family.”
gling. But Georg was of blood from his eyelashes before he could take in a general “Good,” snarled Georg, “good. We fight this quarrel out to
view of the disaster. At his side, so near that under ordinary cir- the death, you and I and our foresters, with no cursed inter-
as helplessly pinned
70 cumstances he could almost have touched him, lay Georg lopers to come between us. Death and damnation to you, Ulrich
down as Ulrich was. Znaeym, alive and struggling, but obviously as helplessly pin- von Gradwitz.”
ioned5 down as himself. All round them lay a thick-strewn “The same to you, Georg Znaeym, forest thief, game
wreckage of splintered branches and broken twigs. snatcher.”
Relief at being alive and exasperation at his captive plight Both men spoke with the bitterness of possible defeat
brought a strange medley of pious thank offerings and sharp before them, for each knew that it might be long before his men
curses to Ulrich’s lips. Georg, who was nearly blinded with the would seek him out or find him; it was a bare matter of chance
blood which trickled across his eyes, stopped his struggling for a 110 which party would arrive first on the scene.
moment to listen, and then gave a short, snarling laugh. Both had now given up the useless struggle to free them-
“So you’re not killed, as you ought to be, but you’re caught, selves from the mass of wood that held them down; Ulrich lim-
80 anyway,” he cried, “caught fast. Ho, what a jest, Ulrich von ited his endeavors to an effort to bring his one partially free arm
exasperation
Gradwitz snared in his stolen forest. There’s real justice for you!” near enough to his outer coat pocket to draw out his wine flask.
(eg·zas≈p¥r·†√◊¥n) n.: great

annoyance. And he laughed again, mockingly and savagely. Even when he had accomplished that operation, it was long
pious (p¢√¥s) adj.: showing before he could manage the unscrewing of the stopper or get In line 113, circle the word
religious devotion. that restates the meaning of
endeavors.
5. pinioned (pin√y¥nd) v. used as adj.: pinned, as if chained or tied up.

Collection 3
any of the liquid down his throat. But what a heaven-sent draft6
it seemed! It was an open winter7, and little snow had fallen as Notes
yet, hence the captives suffered less from the cold than might
Re-read the long sentence in
120 have been the case at that season of the year; nevertheless, the
lines 118-124. Then, summa-
rize the sentence. wine was warming and reviving to the wounded man, and he
The winter was mild, looked across with something like a throb of pity to where his
so the trapped men enemy lay, just keeping the groans of pain and weariness from
crossing his lips.
were warmer than Dudley Dana/Nonstock.
“Could you reach this flask if I threw it over to you?” asked
usual in winter. The “How the whole region would stare and gabble if we rode
Ulrich suddenly. “There is good wine in it, and one may as well
wine warmed Ulrich be as comfortable as one can. Let us drink, even if tonight one of into the market square together. No one living can remember
us dies.” seeing a Znaeym and a von Gradwitz talking to one another in
and made him feel
“No, I can scarcely see anything; there is so much blood friendship. And what peace there would be among the forester reconciliation
better. He began to (rek≈¥n·sil≈≤·†√◊¥n) n.: friendly
130 caked round my eyes,” said Georg; “and in any case I don’t drink folk if we ended our feud tonight. And if we choose to make
end to a quarrel.
pity Georg, who was wine with an enemy.” peace among our people, there is none other to interfere, no succor (suk√¥r) n.: help given
interlopers from outside. . . . You would come and keep the to someone in distress; relief.
trying not to groan Ulrich was silent for a few minutes and lay listening to the
weary screeching of the wind. An idea was slowly forming and Sylvester night8 beneath my roof, and I would come and feast on
with pain.
growing in his brain, an idea that gained strength every time that some high day at your castle. . . . I would never fire a shot on
he looked across at the man who was fighting so grimly against 160 your land, save when you invited me as a guest; and you should
Pause at line 175. Earlier in
pain and exhaustion. In the pain and languor that Ulrich himself come and shoot with me down in the marshes where the wild-
the story (lines 83-100), why
Read the boxed passage fowl are. In all the countryside there are none that could hinder did each man hope that his
was feeling, the old fierce hatred seemed to be dying down.
aloud several times. Focus on friends would be the first to
“Neighbor,” he said presently, “do as you please if your men if we willed to make peace. I never thought to have wanted to do arrive? What has changed?
conveying the different atti-
tudes of Ulrich and Georg. come first. It was a fair compact. But as for me, I’ve changed my other than hate you all my life, but I think I have changed my Earlier, Ulrich and
140 mind. If my men are the first to come, you shall be the first to be mind about things too, this last half-hour. And you offered me
Georg each wanted his
helped, as though you were my guest. We have quarreled like your wine flask. . . . Ulrich von Gradwitz, I will be your friend.”
men to arrive first so
languor (la«√g¥r) n.: weak- devils all our lives over this stupid strip of forest, where the trees For a space both men were silent, turning over in their
ness; weariness. minds the wonderful changes that this dramatic reconciliation the other man, the
can’t even stand upright in a breath of wind. Lying here tonight,
thinking, I’ve come to think we’ve been rather fools; there are would bring about. In the cold, gloomy forest, with the wind enemy, would be
better things in life than getting the better of a boundary dis- 170 tearing in fitful gusts through the naked branches and whistling
killed. Now, Ulrich and
In lines 132-137, the narra- pute. Neighbor, if you will help me to bury the old quarrel, I—I round the tree trunks, they lay and waited for the help that
tor reveals an important would now bring release and succor to both parties. And each Georg each wants his
change in Ulrich’s attitude. will ask you to be my friend.”
Circle the important change Georg Znaeym was silent for so long that Ulrich thought prayed a private prayer that his men might be the first to arrive, men to arrive first so
the narrator tells you about.

perhaps he had fainted with the pain of his injuries. Then he so that he might be the first to show honorable attention to the his former enemy may
150 spoke slowly and in jerks. enemy that had become a friend.
be rescued as a show
6. draft n.: drink. 8. Sylvester night: feast day honoring Saint Sylvester (Pope Sylvester I, of friendship.
7. open winter: mild winter. d. 335), observed on December 31.

Collection 3
45
46
Presently, as the wind dropped for a moment, Ulrich broke
the silence. The Interlopers
Pause at line 203. The narra- “Let’s shout for help,” he said; “in this lull our voices may
tor doesn’t reveal who is carry a little way.” Narrator Questionnaire This story is told by an omniscient narrator, who
coming toward the men.
knows all the story’s secrets. Fill out this chart to examine the way point of view
What effect does this lack of 180 “They won’t carry far through the trees and undergrowth,”
information create? affects the plot and characters of “The Interlopers.”
said Georg, “but we can try. Together, then.”
It creates suspense.
The two raised their voices in a prolonged hunting call.
“Together again,” said Ulrich a few minutes later, after lis-
tening in vain for an answering halloo. 1. Does the narrator reveal the thoughts and feelings of the two men? Explain.
“I heard something that time, I think,” said Ulrich. Yes, the narrator describes how the two men hated each other since
“I heard nothing but the pestilential9 wind,” said Georg childhood and now want to kill each other; how the two men react
Read to the end of the story.

Underline the one word that hoarsely. when trapped under the tree; how their feelings change when they fear
reveals the story’s surprise
There was silence again for some minutes, and then Ulrich
ending.
that they may both die; how they both react to the wolves.
gave a joyful cry.
190 “I can see figures coming through the wood. They are fol-
lowing in the way I came down the hillside.”
Why is it fitting that the two 2. How would the story be different if it were told from the point of view of one of the
men, who were hunting each Both men raised their voices in as loud a shout as they men?
other in the forest that win- could muster.
ter night, are discovered The reader might be more sympathetic to the man from whose point of
by wolves rather than by “They hear us! They’ve stopped. Now they see us. They’re
rescuers? view the story was told; the reader might not care that the wolves
running down the hill toward us,” cried Ulrich.
The men were acting attacked the other man.
“How many of them are there?” asked Georg.
more like wolves than “I can’t see distinctly,” said Ulrich; “nine or ten.”
humans, out hunting “Then they are yours,” said Georg; “I had only seven out
with me.”
their enemies at night.
200 “They are making all the speed they can, brave lads,” said 3. How might the story be different if it were told from the point of view of the wolves?
Ulrich gladly. The reader might be sympathetic to the wolves instead of to the two
“Are they your men?” asked Georg. “Are they your men?” he
men. The story might not have the surprise ending it has.
repeated impatiently, as Ulrich did not answer.
“No,” said Ulrich with a laugh, the idiotic chattering laugh
of a man unstrung with hideous fear.
“Who are they?” asked Georg quickly, straining his eyes to
see what the other would gladly not have seen.
“Wolves.”
9. pestilential (pes≈t¥·len√◊¥l) adj.: Strictly speaking, pestilential means

“deadly; causing disease; harmful.” Here, Georg uses the word to
mean “cursed.”

Collection 3
Skills Review Skills Review
The Interlopers The Interlopers

Complete the sample test item below. Then, read the explanation at right. Context Clues
DIRECTIONS: Read the passage, using context clues to identify the meaning
Sample Test Question Explanation of the Correct Answer
of the boldface word. Then, circle the letter of the definition of that word.
Who is the story’s narrator?
The correct answer is D. 1. The hunter examined his quarry 3. They heard the loud sound when
A Georg Znaeym
A and C are not correct, because the after it had been shot. the tree thundered down on them.
B Saki
story is told from the omniscient point A rifle C enemy A fell from the sky Vocabulary
C Ulrich von Gradwitz of view, not the point of view of just Skills
B land D hunted animal B was split by lightning Analyze context
D an unnamed, all-knowing storyteller one character. B is not correct; Saki is clues to identify
C fell with a roaring noise word meaning.
the author. 2. No one could stop the bitter feud Use words in
D yelled context.
between the two neighbors.
DIRECTIONS: Circle the letter of each correct response. F ongoing argument 4. He felt no pain in his right arm,
G broken fence which was now numb.
1. Which passage reveals that the narra- 3. The two men decide to become
tor is omniscient? friends because_ H agreement F bandaged H painful
A “Both men spoke with the bitter- A their men have ordered them to J flooded lands G without J foolish
ness of possible defeat, for each feeling
B they hate the neighbors
knew that it might be long before
C they have become tired of being
his men would seek him out.” Vocabulary in Context
enemies
B “The forest lands of Gradwitz DIRECTIONS: Complete the paragraph below by writing the correct word
D they hope to save themselves by
were of wide extent and well from the box in each blank. Not all words from the box will be used.
working together
stocked with game.”
C “The two raised their voices in a 4. The narrator creates suspense by Word Box The two enemies stared at each other. The gray-haired one
prolonged hunting call.” waiting until the end to_
precipitous laughed. “What are you laughing at?” the brown-haired one asked in
D “‘No,’ said Ulrich with a laugh, F reveal what is approaching the
acquiesced (1) exasperation . “I am laughing at two helpless men caught in
the idiotic chattering laugh of a men
man unstrung with hideous fear.” marauders a trap,” the other (2) retorted in anger. “Shall we become
G tell which man dies first
exasperation reconciliation
H explain what the men were fight- friends? No, (3) is not in my plans. I will never
2. The narrator tells us the two men— pious
ing about make up with you. And don’t give me any (4) pious
F are hunting wolves retorted
J warn readers against hunting at words about what religion has taught us. We will always be enemies. Our
G don’t go hunting at night condolences
night
widows can send each other (5) condolences if they wish.”
H want to kill each other languor
Literary Skills
Analyze use of J go to hunting parties together
the omniscient reconciliation
narrator (or
point of view). succor

Collection 3
47
Name Date
Selection Title
Narrator Chart
The point of view of the narrator determines what you learn as you read a story. A third-
person-omniscient narrator knows and tells all. The third-person-limited or first-person
narrator tells only what one character knows. If the narrator is biased or unreliable, you
may not be able to believe what you read. In the chart below, fill in the point of view of the
narrator who tells the story you have just read. Then tell what you have learned from the
narrator. (You may not learn anything about an omniscient narrator.) Finally, decide if what
you learned is reliable.
Point of View:
What I Learned About

The Narrator:
Other Characters:
Events:
Is the information reliable? _____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Graphic Organizers 209

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The Interlopers by Saki

Imagine you are in a dark forest on a winter night, hunting an enemy_who

LITERARY FOCUS: OMNISCIENT NARRATOR

• As you read “The Interlopers,” pay special attention to the information

READING SKILLS: MONITORING YOUR READING

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

80 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice

pious (p¢√¥s) adj.: showing religious devotion. distress; relief.

CONTEXT CLUES: SOLVING Type of

Michael Busselle/Getty Images.

In a forest of mixed growth somewhere on the eastern spurs of

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

82 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice

the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

5. pinioned (pin√y¥nd) v. used as adj.: pinned, as if chained or tied up.

84 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice

orders to follow in ten minutes’ time, seven of which must have

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

6. draft n.: drink.

86 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice

“How the whole region would stare and gabble if we rode

Sylvester night8 beneath my roof, and I would come and feast on

8. Sylvester night: feast day honoring Saint Sylvester (Pope Sylvester I,

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

9. pestilential (pes≈t¥·len√◊¥l) adj.: Strictly speaking, pestilential means

88 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice

Sample Test Question Explanation of the Correct Answer

Who is the story’s narrator?

DIRECTIONS: Circle the letter of each correct response.

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

90 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice

DIRECTIONS: Complete the paragraph below by writing the correct word

The Holt Reader: Teacher’s Manual

CONTEXT CLUES: SOLVING Type of

reading. the word_for clues to its mean-

80 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice The Interlopers 81

Acquiesce has the same Latin

82 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice The Interlopers 83

Student Pages with Answers

The Holt Reader: Teacher’s Manual

(eg·zas≈p¥r·†√◊¥n) n.: great

84 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice The Interlopers 85

the narrator tells you about.

86 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice The Interlopers 87

Student Pages with Answers

The Holt Reader: Teacher’s Manual

9. pestilential (pes≈t¥·len√◊¥l) adj.: Strictly speaking, pestilential means

88 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice The Interlopers 89

The Interlopers The Interlopers

90 Part 1 Collection 3: Narrator and Voice The Interlopers 91

Student Pages with Answers

What I Learned About

Is the information reliable? _____________________________________________________________

Graphic Organizers 209

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