In this article, we are explaining A Question of Trust Extra Questions and Answers PDF Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet CBSE, Extra Questions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet was designed by subject expert teachers.
A Question of Trust Extra Questions and Answers Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4
CBSE Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4 Summary
Horace Danby : He was generally considered to be a good and respectable citizen. He was a fifty year old bachelor. He lived with a housekeeper. He was an expert lock maker. However, he was not completely honest. He had been to prison, fifteen years ago for stealing jewels. He had no desire to become honest. He was careful lest he should run into difficulties for his dishonesty.
Horace Danby hated prison. He was heartily fond of rare and expensive books. He used to commit one theft a year on the average. The stolen money lasted for the year. He chose the house at Shotover Grange to commit his next burglary. He studied the design of the house carefully for a fortnight. He found that the family had gone to London and the servants to the movies. He broke into the house one afternoon. He hoped to get fifteen thousand pounds worth of jewels from the safe. The jewellery would enable him to buy the books he wanted. He put on his gloves. He took the key from its usual place. He pacified the pet dog by addressing it with love. He reached the safe, placed in the drawing room behind a painting. He was suffering from hay fever. The smell of the flowers at the table made him sneeze.
Just then, a young beautiful woman in red clothes entered the house. She posed to be the mistress of the house. She suggested him that he should see a doctor if he was serious about his work. His sneezing had brought her down from the top of the house. She thanked her stars that she had returned in time not expecting to see a burglar in the house. To avoid trouble, Horace started conversing with her in a pleasant manner. He replied that he too had not expected to find her there. She got furious when he asked her to let him go. She threatened to get him arrested. The thought of going to prison made Horace shudder. He pledged that he would never repeat such kind of thing if he was let off.
The woman took a cigarette from a silver box. Horace took off his gloves and held his lighter towards her. She promised to let him go if he did something for her. Horace readily consented to the proposal. The woman said that she had come to take her jewels as she had to attend a party. She had forgotten the numbers to open the safe. She bade Horace to open it. She would get the safe repaired. Horace broke the safe open and gave her the jewels. Then he was allowed to go.
Horace’s fingerprints were found on the safe. He was arrested for the jewel robbery on the third day. The house lady was an aged woman of sixty. He realised that he was befooled by a lady who was also a thief.
Extract Based Questions (4 marks each)
Question 1.
Fifteen years ago, Horace had served his first and only sentence in a prison library. He loved rare, expensive books. So he robbed a safe every year. Each year he planned carefully just what he would do, stole enough to last for twelve months, and secretly bought the books he loved through an agent.
(a) What does Horace like to collect ?
(b) Why does he steal every year ?
(c) Which word in the above extract means the same as ‘with a lot of alertness’ ?
(d) What is strange in the passage ? (1×4=4)
Answer:
(a) Horace like to collect rare and expensive books.
(b) He steals every year to enable himself to make his both ends meet and to purchase expensive books.
(c) ‘carefully’.
(d) Stealing of expensive books.
Question 2.
Now, walking in the bright July sunshine, he felt sure that this year’s robbery was going to be as successful as all the others. For two weeks he had been studying the house at Shotover Grange, looking at its rooms, its electric wiring, its paths and its garden. This afternoon the two servants, who remained in the gange while the family was in London, had gone to the movies.
(a) What made Horace feel sure of his success ?
(b) Why had he been studying the house at Shotover Grange ?
(c) Which word in the above extract means the same as ‘observing carefully’ ?
(d) Where had the servants gone ? (1×4=4)
Answer:
(a) Horace felt sure of his success because he had planned his work carefully.
(b) He had been studying the house at Shotover Grange because it was his next target to be burgled.
(c) ‘studying’.
(d) The servants had gone to the movie.
Question 3.
His fingerprints, for he had opened the safe without gloves, were all over the room, and no one believed him when he said the wife of the owner of the house had asked him to open the safe for her. The wife herself, a gray-haired, sharp-tongued woman of sixty, said that the story was nonsense.
(a) Though Horace Danby was a brilliant thief, he was befooled ? Who befooled her ?
(b) How was he befooled ?
(c) Which word in the extract means the same as ‘a place where all the valuable are kept in lock’ ?
(d) Does the ‘title’ of the story match ? (1×4=4)
Answer:
(a) The lady in the red befooled her.
(b) That lady pretended to be the owner of the house and made him open the safe without gloves, leaving his fingerprints.
(c) ‘safe’.
(d) Yes, it does as Horace opened safe in trust.
Short Answer Type Questions (30-40 words & 3 marks each)
Question 1.
‘Horace Danby was good and respectable but not completely honest.’ Is this an apt description of Horace? If yes, why ? [Board Term I, 2012; Set EL2 – 046]
Answer:
Yes, Horace was good but not completely honest. He loved expensive books. So, he stole once a year. He was not aggressive by nature but only submissive as seen in the case of lady thief in red.
Question 2.
Horace was no ordinary thief. How can you say this. [Board Term I, 2014]
OR
What was the passion of Horace Danby and how did he satisfy it ? [Board Term I, DDE-2014, 2012; Set EL2 – 017, 037]
Answer:
Horace Danby was not an ordinary thief. He loved rare and expensive books. So he robbed a safe every year and through an agent secretly bought the books he loved.
Question 3.
How did Danby prepare for the robbery at Shotover Grange ? [Board Term I, NCT-2014, 2012; Set EL2 – 067]
Answer:
Danby studied the complete situation of the house, i.e., electric wiring, paths and garden. He collected knowledge about family. He knew all the movements of the servants. He always kept his tools ready.
Question 4.
Horace Danby was interested in the books, not in the painting. Why ? [Board Term I, 2012; Set EL2 – 02]
Answer:
Horace Danby was fond of reading the rare type of books. For a moment, he thought to collect paintings from the small house but he could not, as the books were better in that small house.
Question 5.
Horace sneezed. Why did he do it ? [Board Term I, 2012; Set EL2 – 024]
Answer:
Horace did not sneeze deliberately, rather he suffered from an attack of hay fever. There was a big bowl of flowers kept in the drawing room that caused him to sneeze.
Question 6.
What went wrong when Horace Danby robbed at Shotover Grange ? [Board Term I, 2012; Set EL2 – 014]
Answer:
While Horace Danby was inside the house, the lady in red came and announced that she was the owner of the house. Her appearance was such that he was fooled. She asked him to open the safe for her. Horace left his finger prints all over there. Hence, he was arrested.
Question 7.
Describe the lady in red. (A Questions of Trust). [Board Term I, 2016-17 Set B09VSND]
Answer:
She was young and smart theif. She was very graceful and impressive. She spoke to Horace in an authoritative voice as if she was the mistress of the house. [CBSE Marking Scheme 2016]
Question 8.
Why was Horace arrested when he had not stolen anything ? [Board Term I, 2016-17 Set F1X1EH5]
Answer:
Horace was arrested because his finger prints were all around the safe since he had opened the safe bare-handed. [CBSE Marking Scheme 2016]
Long Answer Type Questions (100-120 words & 8 marks each)
Question 1.
What was the passion of Horace Danby and how did he satisfy it ?
Answer:
Horace Danby was a good and respectable citizen. He normally remained hale and hearty except for the attacks of hay fever which he usually had in summers, But there was another aspect of his personality. He was not completely honest. If he had a passion for something, it was rare and expensive books. He loved them. To satisfy his passion, he used to rob a safe every year. Each year he planned the robber carefully and then would steal enough to last for twelve months. His passion led him to buy the books secretly through an agent and thus satisfy himself.
Question 2.
Give the character sketch of Horace Danby.
Answer:
Horace Danby was a fifty year old bachelor, who was considered to be a good and respectable citizen. However, he was not completely honest. He was very fond of rare and expensive books. He was a very good planner as he delves deep into the minute, details. Horace was never caught for stealing. He stole only rich people and never hurt anyone. He also never carried a weapon.
Question 3.
Give the reasons which made Horace Danby commit a theft at Shotover Grange.
Answer:
Horace chose Shotover Grange because it had a safe, consisted fifteen thousand pounds worth of jewels. He robbed a safe only once a year and stole an amount that would last for one year and nothing more. He also had the building plan of the house. Horace was in strong need of money to buy new books as he was great reader of rare books.
Question 4.
Why was Horace Danby arrested although he failed to rob at Shotover Grange ?
Answer:
When Horace was about to approach the safe, a lady in red came and announced that she was the owner of the house, her appearance was such that Horace was fooled. He became eager to please her. He had earlier taken off his gloves to hold the lighter to her cigarette and with his gloveless hands opened the safe. So his fingerprints were found on the safe and he was arrested two days later.
Question 5.
Horace Danby gets annoyed when anyone talks about ‘Honour among thieves’. Comment.
Answer:
Horace Danby was a good and respectable citizen but he was not completely honest. He had a strong passion for books. So he robbed once a year only from the rich to buy books. On one of such attempt, he was fooled by a lady thief who was very clever and mean. Horace realized this fact only when he was arrested for the robbery.
Question 6.
“Horace had some hope because she seemed to ve amused at meeting him.” Why did Horace feel so ? Did he think the young lady was compassionate towards him ? Did he find her free f rom bias ? Discuss the values Horace should have imbided for a better understanding of the person in about 80-100 words.
Answer:
Horace thought the young lady was compassionate towards him. He found her freedom town biasness Horace should have imbided a better understanding and he should have been aware.
Value Based Question
Question 1.
Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why ? [Value Based Question]
Answer:
Horace Danby had collected all the information about the owner and servants and studied the house carefully. He always planned his work well and was always alert. When the lady in red came and announced that she was the owner of the house, her appearance was such that he was fooled. When she took a cigarette from a silver book, Horace took off his gloves and held his lighter towards her. When opening the safe to get her jewels, he forgot to put on the gloves and so, his fingerprints were found on the safe and he was arrested two days later. The owner of the house was an aged lady of sixty and he had been fooled by that young lady.
For More Resources
- NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English
- CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter Wise Question Bank
- CBSE Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter Wise Question Bank
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- CBSE Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Extra Questions
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- CBSE Revision Notes for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet