Part 2: Chapters 41, 42, and 43 Summary

The intruding stranger in the library identifies himself to Mr. Halloway as Mr. Dark. Mr. Halloway speaks with him while the boys hide in the book stacks of the library. Dark seems to be able to read Halloway's mind. Dark invites Halloway to come ride the merry-go-round and become twenty or thirty years younger. Halloway desperately resists the temptation, while Dark mocks him. Dark threatens to use the witch to cause Halloway's heart to stop, making it look like a natural death. As Dark heads into the stacks calling for the boys, Halloway feels dizzy and drops to his knees.

Dark slowly wanders through the rows of shelves tauntingly talking to the terrified boys while they hold their breath and wait. Dark tries to get under Will's skin by saying that Will's mother took a ride on the merry-go-round...