B. "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…"
In this quote, it states that the feud or hatred between the families may have dissipated or gone away. However, since the two men have negative personal feelings toward each other it keeps the feud going. This shows that hatred feeds on itself and keeps it going. The other options are incorrect because in A the character is changing his mind about the hate, in C it shows that they're looking for men not animals, and in D the damage the tree caused to his face is being described.
