The Interlopers

Hector Hugh Munro (1870 – 1916) was a British writer better known by the pen name Saki, and also frequently as H. H. Munro. The biggest population acquired by means of his witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirizing Edwardian society and culture. He is often considered a master of shirt stories and compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. Influenced by Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll and others famous writers. In his turn influenced A. A. Milne, Noel Coward and P.G. Wodehouse.


The Interlopers by Munro is a story about two men, Georg Znaeym and Ulrich von Gradwitz, whose families have fought over a forest in the eastern Carpathian Mountains for generations. Ulrich's family legally owns the land, but Georg, believing that it rightfully belongs to him, hunts there anyway. One winter night Ulrich catches Georg hunting in his forest. Neither man can shoot the other without warning, as they would soil their family’s honour, so they hesitate to acknowledge one another. As an "act of God" a tree branch suddenly falls on each of them, trapping them both under a log. Will they end their feud and stay alive?