"How did the girls manage to stop whatever was acting upon them?"

Yet several times a day he managed to stop by, if only for a minute, to talk to her.

The police managed to stop the violence by the next morning.

He managed to stop just short of knocking her down.

From her position in his arms, she managed to stop him.

He had never before hit his adopted daughter, but only managed to stop himself at the last moment now.

Please do, he almost said, but managed to stop himself in time.

In a way, it seems, he managed to stop time.

With her arms out for balance, she managed to stop herself.

And if they managed to stop him, he'd likely be shot.