noon
The two men did not speak , did not so much as lift a hand in greeting . The weather is changing again , the wind is getting up . Axel marks it , but goes on with his work . It is long past noon , and he has not yet eaten . Then , felling a big fir , he manages to get in the way of its fall , and is thrown to the ground . He hardly knew how it happened -- but there it was . A big fir swaying from the root : a man will have it fall one way , the storm says another -- and the storm it is that wins .