billy learns that rossington and hopley have also been cursed; rossington has been metamorphosed into a lizard-like being, while hopley develops purulent ulcers on his face and hands. both rossington and hopley commit suicide. billy tracks down the gypsy camp and tries to reason with tadzu; however, tadzu is further angered and he makes the curse on billy worse. gina, tadzu's great-granddaughter, uses her slingshot to shoot a large ball bearing which goes directly through billy's hand, infuriating billy into vowing revenge against tadzu and the other gypsies. billy then enlists ginelli to attack the gypsy camp and persuade tadzu to meet with billy and lift the curse. chanting a spell, tadzu mixes billy's blood into a strawberry pie. tadzu states that if someone else eats the pie, the curse will kill them quickly and billy will be spared. he urges billy to eat the pie himself and die with dignity, but billy refuses.