Wells makes effective use of interior dialogue to show the thought processes Helen uses to solve the mystery and to show the terror Helen feels. Displaying the mark of a good mystery writer, Wells knows when to unexpectedly interject whistling or some other reminder of the Man in the Woods. She gives just enough information to make the reader think, but the reader does not know more than the characters in the book know; the reader solves the mystery along with Helen and Pinky.

The book contains some symbols of the mysterious, such as rain, fog, and darkness. A cat in a tree stares at Helen with "phosphorescent eyes" and later "blinked and disappeared as quickly as a magician's trick coin, as if in fear." Some of the symbolism in the book turns out to be a clue to the mystery. Helen's lost locket is returned...