However，hisjuvenilecuriositysoonrosesuperiortothesepleasantthoughtsandfeelings；hewaseagertoknowwhatsortofdeadlymischiefthewomanandthelittlegirlcouldhavebeenabout；
so，byhiscommandthetwoterrifiedandsobbingcreatureswerebroughtbeforehim。
’Whatisitthatthesehavedone？’heinquiredofthesheriff。
’Pleaseyourmajesty，ablackcrimeischargeduponthem，andclearlyproven；whereforethejudgeshavedecreed，accordingtothelaw，thattheybehanged。Theysoldthemselvestothedevil—suchistheircrime。’
Tomshuddered。Hehadbeentaughttoabhorpeoplewhodidthiswickedthing。Still，hewasnotgoingtodenyhimselfthepleasureoffeedinghiscuriosity，forallthat；soheasked：