explain why Cheever is both astonished and afraid when he finds the poppet with the needle in it?

Cheever does not believe "liar pants on fire" Abigail for a minute. He thought that the whole story of Elizabeth's spirit stabbing Abigail in the stomach was a fabrication. When he finds the stabbed poppet, he is astonished. He begins to think that Abigail may not be a crazy liar. Cheever unfortunately lacks strength in his common sense convictions and is drawn into the superficial evidence that he sees.