Answer:
1) Tom goes looking for his wife because he is motivated by greed and wants to find out if she has made a deal with the Devil as well. He suspects that she may have made her own pact to gain wealth and power.
2) The reader can presume that Tom's wife, who was also a greedy and manipulative character, made a deal with the Devil. It is suggested that she met a terrible fate as a result of her pact, as she does not return when Tom goes searching for her.
3) At the end of the story, Tom believes he can escape the deal he made with the Devil by becoming religious and outwardly pious. He carries a Bible with him, attends church, and becomes a fervent hypocrite, hoping that these actions will save him from the consequences of his earlier agreement.
4) When Tom uses his walking stick to scratch at the ground just before meeting the Devil, he uncovers a human skull. This discovery symbolizes death and serves as a warning of the dark fate that awaits him. The skull represents the transitory nature of life and the inevitability of death, foreshadowing Tom's impending doom as he meets his sinister end with the Devil.