Agaard believes Freddy has written a book, but the boy has refused to show it to him. Although Winesap encourages Freddy, the boy still refuses to reveal the book. Later Winesap half-surreptitiously presents Freddy with his paper on Jack and the Beanstalk, knowing the paper will undermine Agaard's tyranny over Freddy. In the dead of night Freddy stealthily visits Winesap's room and deposits his own manuscript on the floor. The story concerns the Swedish rebellion against Danish rule and the establishment of Swedish independence.
Evil is, evidently, war, slaughter, greed, treachery, and oppression.
This is the Devil's fatal flaw, his inability to concentrate, keep track. Ultimately it enables Lars-Goren to cut the Devil's throat. Perhaps he never heard it. Although Gustav begins his reigh with high ideals and the best intentions, he is quickly enmeshed in the Devil's intrigues, plots, and counterplots, and he becomes cynical and compromised. In the end, though, at the precise moment the Devil is disposed of, Gustav has a change of heart.