The Devil and Tom Walker

The Devil and Tom Walker Summary | Detailed Summary

The story begins near Boston, Massachusetts. The narrator explains that in Charles Bay, near Boston, there is a swampy area that is heavily wooded and wild with several large, old oak trees. A local legend says that the pirate Captain Kidd buried treasure under one of those trees. The narrator explains that this site is elevated from the water and allows a lookout to make sure that no one is approaching the area where the treasure is. Furthermore, the trees are easy to find again and provide good landmarks. The narrator further explains that the devil himself guards the money. The narrator says that the devil always presides over such money, particularly when the money has been gained by stealing or other illegal means. Kidd never returned for this particular stash of money, and he was later sent to England from Boston and hanged as a pirate.

The story takes place in 1727. The narrator explains that there are earthquakes in New England around this time. Tom Walker is a resident of the area and a nasty, miserly person. His wife is also a nasty person. The two even hate one another and try to cheat each other at every opportunity. They hide money from one another, and they fight all the time about money. They live in an ill-kept house. Their land and their trees are all in bad shape, and even their horse is underfed and skinny. The two of them are known to yell at one another and even fight physically from time to time. No one attempts to interfere with them, since they are both so disliked and even feared.

One day, Tom Walker is walking through the swamp near his home on a shortcut from one place to another. The swamp is overgrown and gloomy. Many owls roost there. It is dark even in the middle of the day, and it is treacherous since it is full of pits and marshy land and weeds, often covering pools of mud. There are snakes, frogs and tadpoles all around. Trunks of rotting fallen trees lay all around the swamp. Tom carefully picks his way through this dangerous landscape, stepping carefully from one safe-looking spot to the next, and the birds and other animals make frightening noises around him. Tom comes to a sort of spit of land that runs out into the swamp. Once Indians used this land to hold off the colonists. They put up a rough fort, which has mostly fallen down by now. Most of the remains of the fort are overgrown by weeds and trees.

Tom stops to rest at the old fort. It is becoming darker. Many of the residents consider the place sort of haunted by old Indian spirits. None of this bothers Tom, however. He sits and rests against a tree for a while, absently digging at the black dirt in front of him as he rests. He strikes something hard and digs up a skull that is buried there. It has an Indian tomahawk sticking out of it. As Tom starts to kick the dirt off of it, he hears a gruff voice telling him to leave the skull alone. He looks up and sees a very large, very black man seated right in front of him on a tree stump. Tom is very surprised since he did not hear anyone approach. He is also surprised that the man seems to be neither Black nor Indian. He is dressed sort of like an Indian. He seems to be covered in soot or grime as though he works around fires. He has messy black, unkempt hair and has an axe on his shoulder. He frowns at Tom, and Tom sees that he has huge red eyes. The dark stranger asks Tom what he is doing on his land. Tom retorts that the land is not his, nor does it belong to Deacon Peabody or anyone else.

The stranger informs Tom that he has plans for Deacon Peabody and invites Tom to look over at one of the trees around them. Tom sees Peabody's name on the tree and then notices that most of the trees around have names on them. Peabody has become wealthy by cheating the Indians in various deals. Tom finds that the tree trunk he is seated on has the name of Crowninshield on it. Crowninshield is a man in the area who became wealthy by some other questionable trading activities. The dark man remarks that Crowninshield is just about ready for burning, and that he (the dark man) expects to have a good stock of firewood for winter. Tom questions him as to why he has the right to cut down the Deacon's timber, and the dark man replies that he owned the land long before white men arrived.

Tom asks the man who he is. The man says that he goes by many names. He says he is called the black miner sometimes or the black woodsman. He claims that he is the man to whom the Indians consecrated the spot where they are now. He says the Indians occasionally roasted a white man there in his honor. He also says that since the Indians are now gone, he presides over the persecutions of various religious sects, supports slave-dealers and is the master of the Salem witches. Tom replies that he must then be "Old Scratch," which is another name for the devil. The black man acknowledges that he is Old Scratch.

The narrator then writes that most men, meeting such a character in a wild and lonely place, would be frightened, but Tom is not. The narrator also points out that Tom has lived so long with his nasty wife that he "did not even fear the devil." Tom and the devil spend a long time talking together. The devil tells Tom about the money buried in the swamp by Kidd the pirate. He also tells Tom that all that area, and the money, is under his command and his protection so no one can find the money unless he wants the person to find it. He offers to allow Tom to find the money, but there are conditions on this offer. The narrator explains that Tom has never told what the conditions were, but that most of us can imagine what the devil must have asked for. Tom needs time to think the proposed bargain over, so the narrator concludes that it must have been a difficult decision, since Tom is always so willing to get money any way he can.

At one point, Tom asks the devil for some assurance that what he is offering is real. The devil touches Tom on the forehead, leaving a print, which he refers to as his signature. Then he turns away from Tom and walks off, seeming to be walking down into the ground. He disappears. When Tom gets home, he notices the print on his forehead, and it will not come off no matter what Tom does to try to remove it.

When Tom arrives home, his wife immediately tells him that Crowninshield has died. Tom now feels that what the black man told him must be true. Tom usually does not confide in his wife, but this time he tells her about the black man, since it was such an odd encounter. She immediately wants Tom to go back and do what the black man wants so they can get the gold. Even though Tom has considered selling his soul to the devil, he has resisted doing so to spite his wife. Finally, she decides to make the deal herself and keep all the money herself. She, like her husband, is not afraid of the usual things, so she sets off for the old Indian fort. She is gone a long time and is in a sour mood when she returns. She mentions meeting a black man who would not make a deal with her. She is to go back again with a kind of offering for the black man, but she will not say what the offering is.

She leaves again the next evening for the swamp. She is carrying many items in her apron. Tom waits for her return, but midnight comes and goes. All the next day, she does not return. Tom becomes uneasy, especially when he finds that she has carried off their silver in her apron as well as every other valuable item they had. Another day and night pass, and she still does not come home. A number of stories begin circulating in the community about what might have happened to her. It is also said that a great black man has been seen in the area with a bundle tied in a checked apron.

Tom starts to look for his wife and his property. He looks for them both at the Indian fort. He calls for her, but only various animals respond with their calls. He finally notices his wife's apron hung in a tree. It seems to have something tied into it. A vulture is near the bundle in the tree. Tom is very pleased and says to himself that he can easily do without his wife if he gets his property back. He climbs the tree. The vulture goes screaming off into the forest. Tom finds only a heart and liver in the apron. The narrator explains that this is all that has been found of Tom's wife. He further surmises that she must have attempted to bully the devil as she did her husband, but it didn't work. Tom notices tufts of what appear to be the black hair of the devil in the area, as well as prints of cloven feet. He surmises that his wife put up quite a fight. Tom actually thinks the devil has done him a favor, and he wants to befriend the devil.

The devil does not show up again for a good while, even though Tom wants to see him. Finally, Tom meets the black man again, walking along with his axe on his shoulder. They begin to haggle about how Tom can get his hands on the pirate treasure. Tom realizes that the devil wants his soul, so they do not discuss that. There are other conditions about which the devil is also somewhat obstinate. He says that the money Tom receives through this means should be used in the devil's service and suggests that Tom should become a slaver. Tom refuses, however. The devil suggests that Tom become a moneylender, because the devil considers moneylenders to be his kind of people. This particular line of work appeals to Tom, so he does not object.

The black man tells Tom he will be opening a "broker's shop" in Boston next month, and Tom volunteers to do it the next day. The devil says that Tom should lend money at 2% interest, and Tom volunteers to lend it at 4% if the devil desires. The devil further says that Tom should "extort bonds, foreclose mortgages, drive the merchants to bankruptcy." Tom interrupts him, saying he will drive all these unfortunate debtors to the devil as well. The devil is very pleased, and they strike a deal. In a few days, Tom is set up in business in Boston.

In these times, much business and financial speculation is going on, and Tom lends a great deal of money for a variety of shaky schemes. Once the investments collapse, Tom has many customers who are not able to repay their debts. Tom's terms are hard, however, and he accumulates a lot of wealth and property by calling his loans due and taking possession of the assets of his customers. Tom becomes a rich and mighty man. He builds a large house. His miserly ways surface once again, and he does not properly furnish the house or even completely finish it. He has a large carriage, but he nearly starves the horses he keeps to pull it. He doesn't even oil the wheels of the carriage, and they squeal loudly.

As Tom ages, he begins to worry about his bargain with the devil. He tries to think of a way to get out of the bargain. He becomes a loud and ostentatious churchgoer. He prays long and loud and criticizes his neighbors for not being as "holy" as he is. He seems to think that all their sins make him all the more righteous. Even with all these efforts, Tom feels that the devil will still win out. Tom always carries a Bible with him. He also has a large Bible in his office, and he is often found reading it when customers come to see him. He marks his place in the Bible and proceeds to drive a hard and unfair bargain with his customers.

Some say that Tom is becoming odd in his old age. He even has his horse newly saddled and has new shoes put on him. Then, he has the horse buried with his feet up. Tom supposes that on the last day of the world, the world will be turned upside down, and he wants his horse ready for him. He plans to run from the devil. The narrator comments that this story is probably an old wives' tale. Still, the narrator says that a particular event involving Tom really did happen. This is on a very hot summer afternoon. Tom is sitting in his counting house (money office) in his nightgown. He is about to foreclose on some poor family's mortgage, even though the family has begged for an extension of time. They have words, and Tom refuses, saying, "The devil take me if I have made a farthing!" Just then, there is a loud knock on the door. When Tom opens the door, the black man stands there with a black horse that is stomping and seems quite impatient to be off.

The devil announces that he is there to take Tom. Tom tries to move away, but he has left his Bibles elsewhere. The black man puts him in the saddle, and they gallop away in the middle of a thunderstorm. People stare at him from their windows. They see his white nightgown and cap and his horse seems to produce fire when its hooves hit the pavement. The black man disappears. Tom never returns. A man who lives at the edge of the swamp says he heard the horse's hooves and a great howling. Then there was a bold of lightening in the swamp, which seems to have set the trees on fire.

Tom's neighbors in Boston are accustomed to witches and goblins and other supernatural sights, so they are not particularly disturbed by this event. Trustees are appointed to handle Tom's affairs and property. They search his rooms and office, but all his deeds and money are burned up. Only ashes are left. Tom's gold and silver has turned to wood chips in his chests. Even his horses have turned to skeletons in his stable. The very next day, his house burns to the ground.

The narrator explains that this was the end of Tom Walker and all the wealth he accumulated by cheating and abusing others. The narrator says that all such money brokers should take notice of what happened to Tom. The very hole under the tree in the swamp can still be seen today, and the old Indian fort is haunted by a figure in a white nightgown and cap on a fast horse. The narrator explains that this story has actually become a proverb and is the origin of the saying, "The Devil and Tom Walker," which is common in New England.

The narrator further explains that this is the end of the story. The narrator and a companion, who tells him the story, are out fishing during the telling of this tale. It is hot, and they decide to come ashore and rest under the trees until the heat subsides. They land in an area familiar to the narrator. It is a place where he played as a child and is near the vault of an old Dutch family. This vault is built into the side of a bank and was fascinating to the children in the area when the narrator was growing up. The narrator says that he and his childhood friends once saw a coffin and bones in the vault. They associated these relics with the pirate wreck that is rotting away in another coastal area called Hell's Gate. There are also local tales and legends that this area was once the property of a very wealthy man who was reputed to have had shady dealings with people outside their area. The narrator explains that all these childhood legends sort of melded together in the minds and imaginations of he and his boyhood friends.

While the narrator is thinking about all this, his companions are enjoying a meal, and all of them lay on the rich grass in the area. The narrator tells his companions of his childhood memories about the surrounding area. When he is finished, one of his companions, John Josse Vandermoere, says he remembers a story about the same area. He says the stories he heard about treasure hunting might account for some of the stories that the narrator heard in his boyhood. The narrator and his friends then listen to the story Vandermoere has to tell, and this tale becomes the next of Washington Irving's tales, called "Wolfert Webber, Or Golden Dreams."