Not long after taking legal possession of the Laird's house, Wringham enters an unconscious delirium (132). When he wakes up he is informed that he had a mistress and that he killed both her and his mother (143). He concludes that he was "possessed by a spirit" of which he "was entirely unconscious" and whose actions he could not control (136). He ultimately decides that Gil-Martin influenced these murders and fears him "more than hell" (141). The end of the second narrative focuses heavily on the theme of the Devil. Wringham attempts to escape from Gil-Martin in the physical world but ultimately kills himself, preventing himself from saving himself but also preventing Gil-Martin from using him as a vessel to harm the mortal world. Although the two narratives are often contradictory, when put together they fully develop the theme of the Devil, highlighting it as the main conflict and focus of the action.