Chapter 4 A Question of Trust | Class 10th | English Footprints without Feet Important Questions

Class 10 English Chapter 4 A Question of Trust Important Questions

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Whom did Horace Danby see in the kitchen? How did they greet each other? What tact did Horace apply there?

Answer: Horace Danby saw the family dog, Sherry, in the kitchen. The dog greeted Horace by stirring, making a noise and wagging its tail in a friendly way. Horace greeted the dog by tactfully calming it down, calling it by its name and showing love to it.

Question 2. How did Danby prepare for the robbery at Shotover Grange?
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How did Horace Danby plan his robberies?

Answer: Danby always planned his robberies meticulously. He prepared for the robbery at Shotover Grange by studying the house, the electric wiring, paths and garden. He knew that the family normally lived in the city and knew about the movement of the servants, who had gone out that afternoon. He had kept his tools ready, packed in a bag.

Question 3. What was the passion of Horace Danby and how did he satisfy it? 

Answer: The passion of Horace Danby was collecting rare and expensive books. To satisfy this passion, he needed money and arranged it by robbing one safe every year and then secretly buying the books through an agent.

Question 4. Where was the safe at Shotover Grange? What was there inside it? What did Horace expect to get if he sold them one by one?

Answer: The safe at Shotover Grange was kept in the drawing room behind a poor painting and had jewels worth about 15000 pounds kept in it. It had a poorly built burglar alarm, but could be opened only through a specific code. Horace expected to get 5000 pounds if he sold the jewels one by one.

Question 5. How can you say that Horace Danby was good and respectable but not completely honest?

Answer: Horace Danby was good and respectable because he was an expert in his profession of making locks. However, as he loved collecting rare and expensive books, he robbed a safe every year to finance the purchase of these books through an agent. Thus he was not completely honest

Question 6. How did flowers hinder Horace in his work?

Answer: Flowers hindered Horace in his work because he had hay fever, a disorder affecting the nose and throat, caused by allergy to pollen or dust. Due to this problem, whenever he came close to flowers, he began to sneeze’ and could be caught. He had to cover his face.

Question 7. Why was Horace Danby sure that his robbery at Shotover Grange woukhbe a successful one?

Answer: Horace Danby was sure that his robbery at Shotover Grange would be a successful one because he had studied the house, the drawing room where the safe was kept, the wiring and its garden. He had also studied the movement of the servants, so he had planned well, thus ensuring that nothing could go wrong.

Question 8. Why does Horace Danby get angry when anyone talks about ‘honour among thieves’?

Answer: When anyone talks about ‘honour among thieves’, Horace Danby gets angry because the young lady who cheated him was also a thief, yet did not follow this saying.

Question 9. What are the subtle ways in which the lady manages to deceive Horace Danby into thinking she is the mistress of the house?

Answer: The subtle ways in which the lady manages to deceive Horace Danby into thinking she is the mistress of the house are her grace, charm, comfort level, knowledge, persistence, way of talking confidently and familiarity with the household. She even threatens to get him arrested, which convinces Horace Danby that she is genuine.

Question 10. What did Horace Danby wonder about for a moment? What did he think and decide?

Answer: On seeing the poor painting in front of the safe, Horace Danby wondered for a moment whether to collect pictures instead of books. But then, he thought that books were better in a small house like his, as paintings took up too much room.

Question 11. What did Horace do every year and why?

Answer: As Horace was fond of rare, expensive books, he stole a safe every year, to have just enough money to last twelve months for buying such books to his heart’s content.

Question 12. Whom did Horace meet at Shotover Grange? How did the meeting affect his plans?

Answer: Horace met a young, pretty woman dressed in red at Shotover Grange. She pretended to be the owner’s wife and deceived him into breaking open the safe to remove the jewels for her. She threatened even to call the police. This meeting adversely affected his plans, as he was not able to get away with the jewels.

Question 13. What did Horace Danby hear from the doorway?

Answer: Horace Danby heard a voice from the doorway. It was the voice of a lady. As Horace Danby has sneezed loudly, therefore the lady asked what it was and he replied that it was due to hay fever.

Question 14. How did the lady in red convince Horace Danby to open the lock?

Answer: The lady told Horace Danby that she had promised her husband to take her jewels to the hank but she left them in the safe. She had forgotten the numbers to open the safe and wanted to wear the jewels to a party. Horace Danby believed her and opened the safe for her.

Question 15. Was Horace Danby a typical thief?

Answer: Horace Danby was not a typical thief. He made locks and was successful in his business. He loved rare and expensive books. To purchase these books he used to rob only one safe every year.

Question 16. What advice did the lady give Horace Danby about his. hay fever?

Answer: The lady advised him that he could cure his hay fever with a special treatment, if he could find out just. what plant gave him the disease. She said sympathetically that he had better see a doctor if he was serious about his work.

Question 17. Why did Horace Danby feel sure of his success in that year’s robbery?

Answer: Horace Danby felt sure of his success in that year’s robbery as he had been studying room, paths and gardens of the house at Shot over Grange for two weeks. He knew that the family was in London and two servants who lived in the house had gone to watch a movie that afternoon.

Question 18. Did Horace Danby get the jewels from the Grange safe? Then why did the Police arrest him?

Answer: Horace Danby did not get the jewels from the Grange safe but he was arrested by the police as his fingerprints were traced on the lighter which he gave to the lady to light the cigarette. He was eager to please the lady to win her favour.

Question 19. What story did the lady tell Horace Danby to get the jewels?

Answer: The lady made up a story that before going to London, she promised her husband to take her jewels to their bank, but she left them there in the safe. She wished to put on the jewels to a party that night. Above all she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe. Thus, she convinced Horace Danby to open the safe.

Question 20. Why was it not difficult for Horace to open the safe?

Answer: It was not difficult for Horace Danby to open the safe because he had lived with locks and safes all his life. The burglar alarm was poorly built. He cut the wire without any difficulty.

Question 21. What does the author tell us about Horace Danby’s life?

Answer: Horace Danby was unmarried and fifty year old and lived with a housekeeper who bothered about his health. He had hay fever. He made locks and was successful in his business. He was good and respectable but not honest.

Question 22. How often did Horace Danby commit a robbery every year? What did he do with the stolen money?

Answer: Horace Danby committed only one robbery every year. He was fond of collecting rare and expensive books. He used to buy these books with stolen money through an agent secretly.

Question 23. Why does he steal every year?

Answer: He used to steal every year so that he could buy the rare and expensive books that he loved to collect. He planned meticulously before attempting a burglary, stole enough to last twelve months and secretly bought the books through an agent.

Question 24. Who is speaking to Horace Danby?

Answer: A lady standing in the doorways is speaking to Horace Danby. She is young and pretty, and is dressed in red. She said she had come just in time, or else her family would have been robbed by Horace. She, thus, pretended to be one of the members of the family living at Shotover Grange.

Question 25. Who is the real culprit in the story?

Answer: The real culprit is 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.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1. What precautions did Danby take to avoid arrest? What blunder did he commit in his last venture?

Answer: To avoid arrest, Danby always studied all aspects of the safe he had targeted that year thoroughly, including the habits of the owners and servants, the layout of the house, any burglar alarms etc. He carried a set of select tools to break open safes and always wore gloves, so that he left behind no fingerprints.