He saw her approach every possible part of the body, seeking to find even a minute spot that was not barred by the pepper. She searched long and anxiously, but in vain; and in despair they went and hid herself in a wood-pile at the back of one of the village huts, waiting in terror for some possible escape.
All this the husband saw silently. When morning light finally came, he knew that this wife was dead, for her life-spirit had not succeeded in returning to its body within the specified time. It was therefore a dead body. But he said nothing about it to any one, and went off fishing.
As the morning hours were passing while he was away and the woman’s door of her hut was still closed, his children began to wonder and to say, “What is this? What is the matter? Since morning light our father’s wife has not come out into the street.” After waiting awhile longer, their anxiety and curiosity overcame them, and they broke in the door. There they saw the woman lying dead. They fled in fear, saying, “What is this that has killed our father’s wife?” They went down to the beach to meet him as he returned from fishing, and excitedly told him, “Father, we have found your Boheba wife dead!” The man, to their surprise, did not seem grieved. He simply said, “Let another one of my wives cook for me; I will first eat.” Still more to their surprise, he added, “And you, my children, and all people of the village, do not any of you dare even to touch the body. Only, at once, send word to her Boheba relatives to come.”
This warning he gave his people, lest any of them should sicken by coming close to the atmosphere that the witch had possibly brought back with her from her play.
By the time he had finished eating, the woman’s relatives had arrived. They were all heavily armed with guns and spears and knives, and were threatening revenge for their sister’s death.
The man quietly bade them delay their anger till they had heard what he had to say; and took them to the woman’s hut, that they themselves might examine the corpse, leaving to them the chance of contamination.
They examined; they lifted up the body of their sister, and searched closely for any sign of wound or bruise. Finding none, but still angry, they were mystified, and exclaimed, “What then has killed her?” And they seated themselves for a verbal investigation. But the man said, “We will not talk just yet. First stand up, and you shall see for yourselves.” As they arose, the man said, “Remove all those sticks in that wood-pile. You will find the woman there.” So they pulled away the sticks; and there they found Three-Things. “There!” said the husband, “see the reason why your sister is dead!” At that the relatives were ashamed, and said, “Brother-in-law! we have nothing to say against you, for our eyes see what our sister has done. She has killed herself, and she is worthy to be punished by fire.” (Burning was a common mode of execution for the crime of witchcraft.)
In her terror at being unable to get back into her mortal body, the Three-Things, all the while she was hidden in the wood-pile, had shrivelled smaller and smaller until what was left were three deformed crab-shaped beings, a few inches long, with mouths like frogs. These, paralyzed with fear, could not speak, but could only chatter and tremble.
So the relatives seized these Three-Things, and also carried away the body; and, followed by all the people of the village, they burnt it and them on a large rock by the sea.