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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the countryman say he saw happen to Tom Walker?
(a) He was flying through the air and dropped into the ocean.
(b) He was carried into the swamp by a horse just as the forest went up in flames.
(c) He was pulled down the road by an unseen hand which then drowned him in the swamp.
(d) He burst into flames and then disappeared.

2. Where is the pirate treasure buried?
(a) In an abandoned fort.
(b) On an island in the Charles Bay.
(c) Beneath a tall oak.
(d) Under a fallen hemlock.

3. What is financial speculation?
(a) Buying something with the hope that it will rapidly increase in value.
(b) A group of expert opinions about the economy.
(c) A joking term for illegal gambling.
(d) Illegal investing by people with inside information.

4. Whom does the narrator seem to blame for the situation of Tom's clients?
(a) The government and the clients.
(b) Tom and the devil.
(c) The devil and the government.
(d) The clients and Tom.

5. Tom's wife is described as a termagant--what kind of person does this mean she is?
(a) A cold-hearted woman.
(b) A person who loves luxury.
(c) A harsh-tempered woman.
(d) A person who hates to spend money.

6. What is true about the horses that draw Tom's carriage?
(a) They are starving.
(b) They are more expensive than most people's houses.
(c) They were a gift from the devil.
(d) They are stolen from a neighbor.

7. What is the second thing that Tom does in an attempt to escape his bargain?
(a) He sells his house and donates the money to charity.
(b) He asks a preacher to bless him.
(c) He begins giving refunds to old clients.
(d) He starts carrying a Bible in his pocket.

8. What tool does the devil carry?
(a) A scythe.
(b) A blacksmith's hammer.
(c) An axe.
(d) A pitchfork.

9. What is the rumor in town about Absalom Crowninshield?
(a) That he is a slave trader.
(b) That he is a money lender.
(c) That he has taken bribes.
(d) That he is a pirate.

10. Why does the devil stay away from Tom for a while after Tom's wife disappears?
(a) The devil has other business to attend to in a nearby town.
(b) The devil is trying to create a bargaining advantage.
(c) The devil is giving Tom time to get over his fear.
(d) The devil knows that Tom is furious.

11. Why does Tom Walker originally go into the swamp?
(a) He has heard a rumor about the pirate treasure.
(b) He is looking for his wife.
(c) He is trying to take a shortcut home.
(d) He is lost.

12. What mark does the devil leave on Tom?
(a) A black fingerprint.
(b) A claw mark.
(c) A red mark in the shape of an axe.
(d) An upside-down cross.

13. Why does the narrator say that only Tom Walker would have the nerve to stop at the Native stronghold in the sawmp?
(a) Other townspeople have seen the devil there.
(b) There is a rumor that the Natives worshiped the devil there.
(c) The area is still frequented by a hostile Native tribe.
(d) The area is overrun with snakes and alligators.

14. How does Tom seal his bargain with the devil?
(a) With a handshake.
(b) With a burnt offering.
(c) By cutting his thumb with the devil's knife.
(d) By signing a document.

15. Which of the following does the devil say is the name he goes by in their area?
(a) Beelzebub.
(b) The Blacksmith.
(c) The Black Woodsman.
(d) Lucifer.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is unusual about the house that Tom builds with the money he earns?

2. How does the devil say the Natives sacrificed a white man to him?

3. What happens to all of Tom's money and property at the end of the story?

4. What is the first thing that Tom does in an attempt to escape his bargain with the devil?

5. In the version of the story that the narrator says is most likely to be true, what draws Tom's attention to the tree where his wife's apron hangs?

(see the answer keys)

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