Jharkhand Board Class 10 English Notes | A Question of Trust Solutions Chapter 4
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q.1. Give a character-sketch of Horace Danby.
[JAC 2006(S), 2013(A), 2015(A); 2017 (A)]
Ans. Horace Danby was unmarried. He was about fifty years
old. He was a good-natured man. Therefore, everyone liked him.
He was fairly successful in his profession of lock-making. He always
minded his own business and lived peacefully. He was considered
a good and respectable citizen. However, he was not completely
honest. He had a keen fondness of rare and expensive books. He
needed a great deal of money to buy his desired books. He started
committing thefts with a view to meeting his expenses on books.
Nevertheless, Horace Danby was a typical thief. He robbed
Just one safe every year. Moreover, he stole only from those who
had a lot of money. He never thought of hurting anybody.
Therefore, he did not carry any weapons. The lady outwitted nim
only because he trusted her. He feared the prison. Therefore, he
was submissive, rather than aggressive. He was always successful
at robbery except on two occasions.
Q.2. How did the lady in red turn out to be smarter and
cleverer than Horace Danby?
Ans. Horace Danby was getting ready to break open the safe
just then, a woman dressed in red, appeared at the door. She posed
herself to be the mistress of the household. She threatened that
she was going to call in the police and get him arrested. Horace
told the lady that he disliked going to prison. He also requested
her to let him go.
Horace Danby desired to please the lady. So he removed his
gloves andgave her his cigarette lighter. She told him how she had
come to take her jewels but had forgotten the numbers to open the
safe. She bade him to open the safe for her. Horace had to open the
safe. In a hurry, he forgot to wear his gloves. The lady was the
Owner of the jewels. However, the poor fellow was arrested because
his finger prints appeared on the safe. Thus the lady in red turned
out to be smarter and cleverer than Horace Danby.
Q.3. Describe how the young and pretty lady tricked Horace
Danby?
Or, Describe how Horace Danby was arrested by police?
Ans. Horace Danby was a clever and carefül thief. He committed
only one theft every year. Usually he made foolproof plans for the
burglary. However, this time he was destined to be in hot water.
The presence of the young lady in red made him feel nervous.
He lost his presence of mind. Hemistook her for the mistress of the
house. He took off his gloves and offered her his cigarette lighter.
He was mightily scared of her threats. She bade him to open the
safe. He did not put on the gloves thinking he was opening the
safe for the mistress ofthe house. As a result, he left his fingerprints
on the safe and all over the room. The young lady went away with
the jewels. Hence he was easily found out and arrested for the
jewels robbery.
Q.4. What advice did the lady give Horace about his hay
fever? Was she really interested in his health?
Ans. There was a flower-vase. Horace Danby gave a little
sneeze as soon as the smell of the flowers, reached him. The lady
in red appeared there just then. She advised him to consult a doctor.
She also told him that he could get rid of hay-fever if he found out
the plant which gave him the disease.
Q.5. Did Horace get the jewels from the Grange safe? If not,
why did the police arrest him?
Ans. No, Horace did not get the jewels from the Grange safe.
The lady in red posed to be the mistress of the house. She made
Horace Danby open the safe for her under the pretext to take out her
jewels. She said she had forgotten the numbers to open it. She took
the jewels in her possession and made Horace go empty handed.
The police arrested Horace because nis finger prints Were
found on the sate.
Q.6. Discuss the different ways in which investigative
agencies catch criminals.
Ans. As the situations and human greed are increasing, so are
different ways in which criminals commit crimes. The criminals
always use new ways to commit crimes. So do various investigative
agencies to track them down. Computerisation, X-ray, lie detectors,
etc., have proved very useful for investigation by the agencies to
catch criminals. Then there are cameras, planting of microphones
and tapping of telephones. Forensic science is very handy for
these investigative agencies like Research and Analysis Wing
(RAW), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Intelligence Bureau
(IB) etc.
Q.7. Give the reasons which made Horace Danby commita
theft at Shotover Grange.
Ans. Horace Danby chose Shotover Grange because its safe
had about fifteen thousand pounds worth ofjewels. Since he robs a
safe a year, he feels that it would be sufficient for him for more time.
he would sell these jewels slowly one by one. Then he has the
building plan of the house. Horace Danby needed money as he
wanted to buy some very interesting books. These were coming for
sale the next autumn. He was a great reader of books. Finally, he had
never been caught by the police for committing a theft.
Q.8. Give the character-sketch of the lady whom Horace
Danby meets while committing a theft.
Or, What impression do you form of the lady whom Horace
Danby thinks the lady of the house?
Ans. As the story unfolds, we find the lady is very shrewd
and crafty. She has planned everything very carefully. She is a
good actor. She has a great sense of humour also. She tells Horace
Danby that she should try to protect the society from persons like
him. She talks in a very confident manner. Her impact on Horace
Danby is so quick that he starts behaving in a very pleading and
flattering manner. She is charming also. So all these qualities of the
lady make Horace Danby fall a prey to her deception. He is easily
trapped in by her tricks.
Q. 9. Do you think Horace Danby was unfairly punished, or
that he deserved what he got?
Ans. I think Horace Danby was unfairly punished in that theft.
He was a thief, no doubt. But he was not a full-fledged thief in the
sense that he got material benefit out of the theft. However, all the
material evidence was against it. In the eyes of the law he was a
thief. So he was punished. But in the spirit of justice, there was
something that did not make him a thief.
Q. 10. Why did Horace Danby get angry when anyone talked
about "Honour among thieves'? What does it mean in relations to
the story 'A Questions of Trust'?
Ans. Horace Danby got very angry when anyone talked about
'Honour among thieves in jail. It was because thieves should respect
and maintain the code of ethics among themselves. But a lady thief
didn't do so. She got him sent to prison. She should not have told
his identity to the police. In fact, it was she due to whom Danby had
opened the safe. Actually, he had thought that she was the lady of
the house. He met her when he entered the Shotover Grange house
to steal. That lady was not the owner of the house. But she was a
thief like him. She made up a false story before Horace. Danby
believed in it and opened the safe for her. But he left his fingerprints
in doing so. The lady told the police about Danby. He was sent to
prison due to his fingerprints.
Q.11. Horace Danby was successful thief. What went wrong
when he robbed Shotover Grange and was arrested?
Ans. Horace Danby hoped that he would be successful in his
robbery of Shotover Grange. But when he entered the house, he
met a pretty young lady. She behaved with Danby like the lady of
the house. However, she was athieflike him. She made up the story
of the jewels cleverly. She told him that she wanted to wear the
jewels to a party. She had forgotten the number of the safe to open
it. Her husband won't be back before a month. Danby was taken in
by her false story. He took off his gloves and opened the safe. As a
result he left the fingerprints all over the room. He was arrested. No
one believed that he had opened the safe at the asking of the lady
of the house. The lady was an old woman of sixty. Danby was sent
to prison. He was very angry when anyone talked about 'honour
among thieves'.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q. 1. Who was Horace Danby and what kind of a person was
he? [JAC 2005 (A), 2005 (S), 2009(S)]
Ans. Horace Danby was about 50 and unmarried. He was a good
and honest citizen. He had a successful career in lock-making. he
remained quite well and happy. However, he had attacks of hay fever
in summer.
Q. 2. Why did Horace mistake the young lady for the mistress
of the house?
Ans. The young lady snubbed, the housedog with authority
as well as love. She stared at Horace with an imposing air of
confidence. She spoke that she had returned just in time. Her manner
of speaking and actions made Horace mistake her for the mistress
of the house.
Q. 3. Describe how Horace Danby planned his work?
Ans. (i) Horace Danby spent a great deal of time in planning his
work. He studied his target for two weeks carefully. He gained
thorough knowledge of its rooms, electric wiring, paths and the
garden before breaking into it. Sometimes he found the description
of certain houses in magazine articles.
Q.4. Did the young lady expect Horace to be caught after the
theft? [JAC 2006 (S)]
Ans. The young lady was also a clever and smart thief. She
posed to be the mistress of the household. She made him remove
his gloves. She certainly expected Horace Danby to be caught by
dint of his fingerprints on the safe.
Q.5. In what way would his arrest have helped her ?
Ans. She was sure that Horace Danby's arrest would mean that
she was in the clear. Nobody would suspect her. She would get the
jewellery without any risk. She would not come into picture.
Q. 6. What was Horace Danby's hobby and how did he pursue
it? [JAC 2006 (A)]
Ans. Horace Danby loved reading books. These were rare and
very expensive. For that he needed money. So he looted a safe each
year. For that he would plan well in time. Then with the money in
hand, he would buy books through an agent.
Q. 7. He was a very successfulthief. What went wrong when
he attempted to rob Shotover Grange?
Ans. Horace Danby was a careful and successful thief. He was
never arrested before.
Horace Danby's luck failed when he attempted to rob Shotover
Grange. He thought that he was opening the safe for the wife of the
owner of the house. Therefore, he removed his gloves while
breaking open the safe. His finger prints were found on the safe and
he was arrested for robbery.
Q. 8. Why is Horace Danby described as good and respectable
but not completely honest ?
Ans. Horace Danby is described as good and respectable
because he robs only once in a year. He, otherwise enjoys a good
reputation in the society. He is well and happy. But he is a thief. So
he is not completely honest.
Q.9. Why did Horace rob every year? Was he a typical thief?
[JAC 2006 (S), 2011(A): 2018 (A)]
Ans. Horace Danby loved rare and expensive books. But he did
not have enough money to buy them. So, he used to rob safe every
year. He was a typical thief. He would rob only once a year so that
he could buy the books he wanted.
Q. 10. How had Horace Danby prepared himself before
committing the robbery at Shot over Grange?
Ans. Horace Danby had studied the building plan of the house.
He was careful not to leave any fingerprint on anything. He also
found out the names of the dogs. He did so to silence them when
he went there by calling them by their names. He also had full
information about the occupant of the house.
Q. 11. What things had made Horace Danby commit the
robbery at Shotover Grange?
Ans. Horace Danby was a great reader. In a magazine article, he
found a good description and building plan of all the rooms of the
house. It had the picture of the safe also where it was kept. The writer
had even mentioned that a painting had been hiding the safe. This
article prompted him to commit a robbery there.
Q.12. How did Horace Danby's sneezsing increase when he
was inside the house?
Ans. Horace Danby's sneezing increased when he was near a
great bowl of flowers on the table. Since he was allergic to flowers,
he felt his nose tickle. He gave out a sneeze near the flowers as their
smell reached his nose.
Q. 13. What advice did the lady give Horace regarding his hay
fever? Was she really interested in his health ?
Ans. The lady advised him to cure his hay fever by finding out
just what plant gave him the disease. She also asked him to see a
doctor. She was not interested in his health. But she was interested
in cheating him to her own purpose.
Q. 14. How did the lady impress that she was actually the lady
of the house?
Ans. The lady was bold and shrewd. She had a quiet and kindly
voice. Her boldness was clear as she didn't hesitate to see Horace
Danby. When she met him, she met him as if she was the lady of the
house. This method or acting of the lady impressed Horace Danby
that she was the real lady of the house.
Q. 15. What did Horace do to flatter the lady? When did he do
So ?
Ans. Horace Danby now felt that he was nearly caught in the
trap and he would have to go to jail. So he started flattering the lady.
He begged her to allow him to go. He even promised never to do
that kind of thing again. He even held the cigarette lighter towards
her to please her.
Q. 16. Explain the statement: "Society must be protected from
men like you."
Ans. This statement was spoken by the lady to Horace Danby.
It means that a thief is saying something good to another thief. The
irony is that the lady is a bigger and more artful thief than Horace
Danby. And strangely, she is talking of ridding the society of
thieves!
Q. 17. What story did the lady invent to make Horace Danby
to steal for her ?
Ans. The lady said that she had promised to take her jewels to
the bank. But she had left them in the safe. She wanted to wear them
for a party that night. But she had forgotten the number to open the
safe. Horace to get freedom, opened the safe for her.
Q. 18. Did Horace get the jewels from the Grange safe? If not,
why did the police arrest him?
Ans. Yes, Horace did get the jewels from the Grange's safe, but
not for himself. He stole them for the young and pretty lady. The
police arrested him because his fingerprints were everywhere. The
police didn't have any proof against the lady. So it couldn't arrest
her.
Q. 19. Why was Horace Danby caught for the Shotover Grange
robbery?
Ans. Horace Danby was caught for the Shotover Grange
robbery because the safe had his fingerprints. He had opened it
without gloves. No one believed that he had opened the safe for the
lady of the house who had asked him to open that for her. The real
lady of the house was a white-haired woman of sixty.
Q. 20. Horace gets angry when someone talks about the
"honour of the thieves'? Discuss.
Ans. Horace Danby gets angry when someone talks about the
'honour of the thieves' because he has been cheated by another
thief. If she had any 'honour of thieves'she could have shared the
booty with him. But she took the whole jewellery and got him put
in jail.
Q.21. Who is the real culprit in this story, the lady or Horace?
How did he/she manage to rob the safe without leaving a single
fingerprint ?
Ans. The real culprit in the story is the young lady. She tricks
Horace Danby, to believe that she is the wife of the house owner.
She wants to wear the jewels at a party that night. But she has
forgotten the number of the safe to open it. Horace 'helps' her but
leaves his fingerprints on the safe. So he 'steals' them for her.
Q.22. What does Horace Danby like to collect?
Ans. Horace Danby likes to collect books. He loves rare, expensive
books.
Q.23. Why does he steal every year?
Ans. He steals every year a safe. This he does so that it may last
for twelve months for purchasing rare and expensive books from the
market, for his collection. It was his hobby.
Q.24. Who is speaking to Horace Danby? [JAC Sample Paper 2010]
Ans. It is the voice of the lady in the house. Horace thinks that
she is the mistress of the house. But she is a thief like him who as
the landlady.
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