irving writes of many stories of treasure hunts, noting that "in all the stories...the devil played a conspicuous part". in some cases he was "conciliated by ceremonies and invocations". nonetheless, the devil often plays "some slippery trick". irving records that "some would dig so far as to come to an iron chest" only to fall victim to some "baffling circumstance", as when "the earth would fall in" or "some direful noise or apparition would frighten the party from the place".