The Halloween Tree

When Tom wonders why they can’t summon Pipkin with a whistle as they did the gargoyles, Moundshroud laughs and replies that Pipkin is already there. Looking up to the parapet, the boys see Pipkin, frozen in stone as an angel-devil creature jutting out from the side of the cathedral.

Pipkin has difficulty speaking through his stone mouth at first, but when rain starts to fall it enables him to speak freely. He explains that he was in the mummy’s tomb and the scared dog that the boys witnessed earlier and that now he has been transformed into a stone ornament; part of him is also in a hospital back home. Scared, Pipkin begins to cry tears of raindrops. Suddenly lightning strikes Pipkin, causing his face to tumble to the ground and disintegrate. As the wind carries the stone dust away, Moundshroud explains that it is being carried to Mexico, their last stop on the night’s journey.

The boys reassemble the kite and set sail. As they do, they hear the far-off sound of people in Ireland begging for food. Even farther still, they hear coffin makers in Mexico tapping out a new coffin, which they realize is meant for Pipkin.