NCERT Solutions Class 10 English Chapter 4 A Question of Trust

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English for Footprints without feet Chapter 4 A Question of Trust

Read and Find Out

2. Why does he steal every year?
Answer
He stole every year so that he could buy the rare and expensive books that he loved to collect. Each year, he planned carefully, stole enough to last twelve months, and secretly bought the books, through an agent.

Read and Find Out

1. Who is speaking to Horace Danby?
Answer 
A young woman pretending to be the lady of the house is speaking to Danby. She is another thief just like Horace.

2. Who is the real culprit in the story?
Answer
The real culprit was the woman who pretended to be a member of the family living at Shotover Grange. She tricked Horace into believing her, and cleverly took away all the jewels that were kept in the safe.

Think about It

1. Did you begin to suspect, before the end of the story, that the lady was not the person Horace Danby took her to be? If so, at what point did you realize this, and how?
Answer
Yes, one does begin to suspect before the end of the story that the lady was not the person Horace Danby took her to be. She was unusually calm on seeing Horace. This seemed strange enough. When she did not call the police, and instead asked Horace to take out all the jewels from the safe, even if it meant breaking it open, it seemed suspicious. Moreover, it also seemed unlikely that she would forget the numbers to open the safe. Therefore, it was evident, before the story ended, that the lady was not the person Horace had taken her to be.

2. What are the subtle ways in which the lady manages to deceive Horace Danby into thinking she is the lady of the house? Why doesn’t Horace suspect that something is wrong?
Answer
Her confident walk, her act of touching up her make-up and the ease with which she picks cigarette from the right place are enough to deceive anybody. Horace was too frightened to think properly so he didn’t suspect anything.

3. “Horace Danby was good and respectable − but not completely honest”. Why do you think this description is apt for Horace? Why can’t he be categorized as a typical thief?
Answer
“Horace Danby was good and respectable − but not completely honest”. This description is apt for Horace. He was about fifty years old. He robbed only from rich people, and his purpose was to buy rare and expensive books with the money. He stole only once a year. The intention of buying books was good. However, the fact that he stole to achieve this end showed that he was not completely honest. He cannot be categorized as a typical thief because he did not steal to eat or drink. He had a house. He made locks, had two people to help him, and was successful in his business. He only stole enough money to buy the books. For a couple of days, he even kept his promise to the lady he met at Shotover Grange by not stealing or planning any robbery.

4. Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?
Answer
Horace Danby failed to get enough information about real occupants of the house. He seems to be too occupied with collecting information about house map, wiring and location of valuable things. Although he was smart enough to know the dog’s actual name but overlooked getting identity of each and every occupants of the house. Once he was in problem then probably his clever mind gave way to carelessness leading him to open the safe without wearing gloves.

Talk about It

1. Do you think Horace Danby was unfairly punished, or that he deserved what he got?
Answer
He deserved what he got. A crime is a crime no matter if it is committed a hundred times or just once.

2. Do intentions justify actions? Would you, like Horace Danby, do something wrong if you thought your ends justified the means? Do you think that there are situations in which it is excusable to act less than honestly?
Answer
“Ends do not justify means”, this is a very old and time tested saying. For own benefit nobody should harm others. But this world doesn’t function on idealism. There are many examples of people duping people for quick gains. These acts should be deplored and dealt with severely.

Short Answer Type Question

1. Describe Horace Danby?.
Answer
Everyone thought Horace Danby was a good, honest citizen. Horace was about 50 years, old and unmarried, and he lived with a housekeeper who worried over his health. He was usually well and happy, except for attacks of hay fever in the summer. Paresh had a lock making business which was quite successful, enough to have four helpers. He was good and respectable, but not completely honest. Every year. He would conduct robberies to steal money which he would later used to buy books.

2. Why did Horace Danby steal every year?
Answer
Horace Danby loved rare and expensive books. Even though Horace was well- to -do, he stole money every year. He would plan carefully every year and drop enough money to last him a year. Then, he would secretly buy the books he loved through an agent.

3. Did you begin to suspect, before the end of the story, that the lady was not the person, Horace Danby, I took her to be, if so, at what point did you realise this, and how?
Answer
There were a few giveaways that made me suspect the aforementioned fact. Firstly, the lady didn’t panic and call the police. If she were the owner, she would have called the police. Also, people are usually very careful about their precious belongings, and would not forget the safe password. If the woman were the owners wife, she could have easily called her husband and asked for the password. The real owner would never trust a thief, who had just broken into their house to open their save and give them the jewels. If there was someone in the house, The servants wouldn’t have locked the house and kept the keys outside.

4. Why doesn’t Horace suspect the woman?
Answer
The woman who tricked Horace Danby was a young and pretty lady dressed in red. She was clever, charming and calm, showing great presence of mind. She used Horace’s skills to open the safe and trick him into committing the crime. She was also quite pretensious . Her confidence was the key in deceiving Horace.
Horace didn’t suspect the woman because he was scared and desperate to get out of the situation. He couldn’t think straight as the thought of going to jail frightened him. Now, he was only thinking of how to get himself out of the situation. If he failed to please the woman, she would call the police on him.

5. Horace Danby was a meticulous planner, but still he faltered . Where did he go wrong and why?
Answer
Horace was a meticulous planner, and he had every information about the house – it’s electric wiring, its rooms, its parts and its garden – but not about the household. He knew the name of the dog, but he faltered in gaining information about the owner’s of the house. This is true because Horace didn’t know who the owner's wife was and got fooled by another thief Who claims to be her. Also, Horace was so desperate to please, her that he took off his gloves when he handed her the cigarette lighter. In his haste to get out of the situation, he opened the safe without his gloves on which led him to leave fingerprints and get caught later on.

6. “Horace Danby was a good and respectable, but not completely honest”. Why do you think this description is apt for course,? Why can’t he be categorised as a typical thief?
Answer
Horace Danby had a lock making business, which was quite successful, such that he could get to helpers. He was respectable member of society, but he was not completely honest. He used to conduct robberies every year to steal money which he could later used to buy books. He can’t be categorised as a typical he because he did not need the money, and stealing was not his livelihood. For him, Stealing was not a regular affair. He could easily buy the books, but he choose to steal money for them instead.

7. Write the summary of the story question of trust by Victor Cannon in your own words.
Answer
The story revolves around a man named for a standby who holds a good reputation in society as an honest citizen. However, there is another side to him. Since he had a weakness for buying rare and expensive books, he committed robberies once in a year. He planned his robberies in such a manner that the money would last him for an year and was able to buy the books he was fond of.
In the story, during an attempt to rob a house, he gets caught by trusting a woman Who pretended to be the owner‘s wife. He gets arrested and sent to prison.
Theme : The theme of the story is that every profession expects honesty and it is also applied here. There is honour among thieves which means that thieves also expect honesty in their profession . It is ironical that Horace gets duped by the woman who was clever and out with him. She tricked him into opening the safe and handing over the jewels to her.