A Question of Trust Victor Canning
1. Choose the correct answer:
(i) By profession, Horace Danby was a :
(a) locksmith
(b) goldsmith
(c) grocer
(d) jeweller
Ans:-(a) locksmith
(ii) How old was Horace Danby?
(a) fifty
(b) forty
(c) fifty-five
(d) forty-five
Ans:-(a) fifty
(iii) Horace Danby lived with his:
(a) mother
(b) wife
(c) housekeeper
(d) grandmother
Ans:-(c) housekeeper
(iv) What was Horace allergic to?
(a) smell of flowers
(b) smell of soil
(c) dust
(d) perfume
Ans:-(a) smell of flowers
(v) How many days did Horace study the house at Shotover Grange?
(a) three days
(b) ten days
(c) three weeks
(d) two weeks
Ans:-(d) two weeks
(vi) How many servants worked for the house at Shotover Grange?
(a) five
(b) four
(c) three
(d) two
Ans:-(d) two
(vii) Where did Horace come to know about the existence of the safe?
(a) friends' conversation
(b) magazine article
(c) newspaper artice
(d) gossips
Ans:-(b) magazine article
(viii) The safe was in the:
(a) bathroom
(b) bedroom
(c) parlour
(d) drawing room
Ans:-(d) drawing room
(ix) What is the name of the dog in the house at Shotover Grange?
(a) Sherry
(b) Cherry
(c) Shalby
(d) Happy
Ans:-(a) Sherry
(x) The pretty young lady was dressed in:
(a) blue
(b) red
(c) purple
(d) white
Ans:-(b) red
(xi) The jewels in th house at Shotover Grangere were worth:
(a) ten thousand dollars
(b) ten thousand pounds
(c) fifteen thousand pounds
Ans:-(c) fifteen thousand pounds
2. What was people's opinion about Horace Danby? hslc-2023
Ans:- Horace Danby enjoyed a reputation of being a good, honest and respectable citizen in the society.
3. Describe Horace Danby's encounter with the young lady.
(OR) The lady in the red was a more professional thief than Horace Danby'. Give a reasoned answer.
(OR)How did the young lady trick Horace Danby? (HSLC - 2016, 2019)
Ans:- Horace Danby made farsighted arrangements to rob a safe at Shotover Grange. Having disconnected the burglar alarm and other modes of communication, he was going to concretize his actual plan. But the great bowl of flowers on the table made him feel a tickle in his nose and he began to sneeze loudly and repeatedly. This invited the attention of a young lady dressed in red. She was friendly and humorous in her approach to Danby but her sound was firm.
Horace Danby could not catch the lady impersonating the owner's wife and therefore he became an easy prey to the snare laid by her. The lady told him that she had come there to take the jewels from the safe a to wear them that night at a party. She made an excuse that she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe. She told the thief that she would allow him to go if he opened the safe for her. Danby surrendered to her will and broke open the safe without wearing gloves. He was under an illusion that he earned the favour of the lady who was none other than a thief He gave all the jewels to the young lady. She went away safely with the jewels but Danby who left his fingerprints everywhere was arrested for the robbery and sent to prison.
2. Give a character-sketch of Horace Danby in your own words. How was he outmaneuvered by the lady in red?
Ans:- Horace Danby was about fifty years old and unmarried. People assumed him to be a good and honest citizen. He was very well and happy barring occasional attacks of hay fever in summer. He became fairly successful at his business of making locks. Horace Danby was good and respectable – but not completely honest. He had a habit of robbing a safe every year, to meet his own expectations of buying rare and expensive books. He secretly used to buy his favourite books through an agent.
He made a lot of preparations and speculations before committing any robbery. He left no stone unturned to make the robberies as successful and profitable as possible. He carried out a careful survey of the location of the house at Shotover Grange-its rooms, its electric wiring, its paths and its gardens in detail. He also came to know that the two servants of the house were going out to see a picture. He was also well aware of the location of the safe and its key. He also made friendship with the little dog by calling his right name.
However, despite his skill, experience and professionalism, Horace Danby failed miserably in judging the behaviour and intention of the lady in red. She impersonated the owner's wife with so much confidence and authority that Horace was overcome with fear. She took full advantage of the situation that favoured her. Pretending to be the owner's wife, she convinced Horace that she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe and she badly needed her ornaments to wear at a party that night. Thus she compelled Horace to break open the safe without wearing his gloves, on the false promise of letting him go scot free. However Horace was arrested on the evidence of leaving his fingerprints at the spot of crime.
3. Give a character-sketch of the lady in red highlighting how she outwitted Horace Danby.
Ans:- The personality of the lady in red, who impersonated the owner's wife, remains shrouded in mystery until the end. The fact that she was a thief comes to our knowledge only at the end when the real lady of the house appears. The young lady in red apparel was a professional thief and she came to Shotover Grange, with an intention of committing a theft. She succeeded fairly well in taking possession of the valuable jewellery, but not without leaving Horace in jeopardy. The lady in red is exceptionally clever, confident and shrewd. She behaves like the lady of the house. Her gestures, confidence and persuasive powers are more than enough to hoodwink Horace. He fails miserably to read her motive and mistakes her for the owner's wife. Horace becomes a puppet in her hands. She takes full advantage of his fear of going to prison and compels him to open the safe without wearing his gloves. She makes him believe that she needed those jewels to wear them to a party that night and she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe. Horace breaks open the safe and hands over the jewels to her. Towards the end of the story when the grey-haired, sharp-tongued woman appears as the real lady of the house, we come to know that the lady in red was a professional and cunning thief much smarter than Horace.
(OR) The lady in the red was a more professional thief than Horace Danby'. Give a reasoned answer.
(OR)How did the young lady trick Horace Danby? (HSLC - 2016, 2019)
Ans:- Horace Danby made farsighted arrangements to rob a safe at Shotover Grange. Having disconnected the burglar alarm and other modes of communication, he was going to concretize his actual plan. But the great bowl of flowers on the table made him feel a tickle in his nose and he began to sneeze loudly and repeatedly. This invited the attention of a young lady dressed in red. She was friendly and humorous in her approach to Danby but her sound was firm.
Horace Danby could not catch the lady impersonating the owner's wife and therefore he became an easy prey to the snare laid by her. The lady told him that she had come there to take the jewels from the safe a to wear them that night at a party. She made an excuse that she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe. She told the thief that she would allow him to go if he opened the safe for her. Danby surrendered to her will and broke open the safe without wearing gloves. He was under an illusion that he earned the favour of the lady who was none other than a thief He gave all the jewels to the young lady. She went away safely with the jewels but Danby who left his fingerprints everywhere was arrested for the robbery and sent to prison.
2. Give a character-sketch of Horace Danby in your own words. How was he outmaneuvered by the lady in red?
Ans:- Horace Danby was about fifty years old and unmarried. People assumed him to be a good and honest citizen. He was very well and happy barring occasional attacks of hay fever in summer. He became fairly successful at his business of making locks. Horace Danby was good and respectable – but not completely honest. He had a habit of robbing a safe every year, to meet his own expectations of buying rare and expensive books. He secretly used to buy his favourite books through an agent.
He made a lot of preparations and speculations before committing any robbery. He left no stone unturned to make the robberies as successful and profitable as possible. He carried out a careful survey of the location of the house at Shotover Grange-its rooms, its electric wiring, its paths and its gardens in detail. He also came to know that the two servants of the house were going out to see a picture. He was also well aware of the location of the safe and its key. He also made friendship with the little dog by calling his right name.
However, despite his skill, experience and professionalism, Horace Danby failed miserably in judging the behaviour and intention of the lady in red. She impersonated the owner's wife with so much confidence and authority that Horace was overcome with fear. She took full advantage of the situation that favoured her. Pretending to be the owner's wife, she convinced Horace that she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe and she badly needed her ornaments to wear at a party that night. Thus she compelled Horace to break open the safe without wearing his gloves, on the false promise of letting him go scot free. However Horace was arrested on the evidence of leaving his fingerprints at the spot of crime.
3. Give a character-sketch of the lady in red highlighting how she outwitted Horace Danby.
Ans:- The personality of the lady in red, who impersonated the owner's wife, remains shrouded in mystery until the end. The fact that she was a thief comes to our knowledge only at the end when the real lady of the house appears. The young lady in red apparel was a professional thief and she came to Shotover Grange, with an intention of committing a theft. She succeeded fairly well in taking possession of the valuable jewellery, but not without leaving Horace in jeopardy. The lady in red is exceptionally clever, confident and shrewd. She behaves like the lady of the house. Her gestures, confidence and persuasive powers are more than enough to hoodwink Horace. He fails miserably to read her motive and mistakes her for the owner's wife. Horace becomes a puppet in her hands. She takes full advantage of his fear of going to prison and compels him to open the safe without wearing his gloves. She makes him believe that she needed those jewels to wear them to a party that night and she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe. Horace breaks open the safe and hands over the jewels to her. Towards the end of the story when the grey-haired, sharp-tongued woman appears as the real lady of the house, we come to know that the lady in red was a professional and cunning thief much smarter than Horace.
Syllabus of Class X English
1. A Letter to God2. Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
3. A Tiger in the zoo by Leslie Norris
4. Amanda by Robin Klein
5. Animals by Walt Whitman
6. Coorg by Lokesh Abrol
7. Tea from Assam by Arup Kumar Datta
8. Madam Rides the Bus by Vallikkannan
9. The Tale of Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash
Momemts Supplimentary Reader in Class X English
10. The Midnight visitor11. A Question of Trust
12. Footprint without feet
13. The Hack Driver
Mr. Rupjyoti Goswami
Post Graduate Teacher (English)
Bhogeswar Hazarika Girls' Higher Secondary School, Bebejia, Nagaon, Assam.
Email: rupjyotigoswami983@gmail.com
Mobile: 9864425896.
Post Graduate Teacher (English)
Bhogeswar Hazarika Girls' Higher Secondary School, Bebejia, Nagaon, Assam.
Email: rupjyotigoswami983@gmail.com
Mobile: 9864425896.
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