TUTORIALS BY DR SEEMA RANI A Question of

TUTORIALS BY DR. SEEMA RANI

A Question of Trust Written by : Victor Canning

INTRODUCTION Victor Canning was a prolific British writer of novels and thrillers who flourished in the 1950 s, 1960 s and 1970 s. He wrote sixty one books, including one travel book , eighteen novels both comic and serious, four historical novels, three children's books including , two short story collections and thirty three thrillers. His famous works are : Mr. Finchley Discovers His England, Mr. Finchley Takes the Road The Whip Hand, Doubled in Diamonds , The Python Project, The Melting Man, The Painted Tent, The Run Aways and The Circle of the Gods etc. It is said that you must set a thief to catch a thief. But it is also said that there is honour among thieves. The story is about a man named Horace Danby a fifty years old man and he thinks himself as a good and honest man. He was a locksmith and had engaged two assistance to help him. He loved rare and expensive books. For this purpose he robbed a safe in one year. Horase Danby strongly believed in professional ethics and often talked about honour among thieves little knowing that he would himself became a victim of trust one day. On meeting the young woman in the house of Shot over Grange, he hardly suspected that she

could be another thief he trusted her and was badly betrayed by her. After 2 -3 days when he was arrested he came to know the truth of the lady. He had become obsessed with negativity towards trust on anybody. The trust, for him, was always questionable and he repented the way he was deceived by a person from his own profession.

Short Summary * Horase Danby was a good man. He was about fifty years old but he was unmarried. He was a successful locksmith. He had engaged two assistance to help him. Although he was good and respectable but he was not completely honest. * He loved rare and expensive books and for this purpose, he robbed a safe in one year. He bought these books through secret agents. * He was a careful burglar and planned his work well. He wore gloves and never left his finger prints on the scene of crime. It was very easy for him to break any safe because he was a locksmith. * This time he had studied the house at Shotover Grange for two weeks. He studied even the minutest things of the house. The family had gone London. The two servants in the house had gone to the movie. * He came out from behind the garden wall and entered the house. He took the key from kitchen and spoke politely to pet dog. He cut the wire of burglar alarm.

• Suddenly the smell of flowers on the table in a pot tickled his nose and he started sneezing. He burried his nose in handkerchief. * He heard the polite voice of a young lady, who pretended to the owner of the house. She told him that she had come there suddenly to take jewellry , because she needed to wear them in the party that night. Horace Danby begged her to let him go and forget that she had ever seen him. He promised her that he would never rob again in his life. * The lady asked him to do one thing for her, then she would let him go. She said that she had forgotten the safe's number and asked to open the safe. Danby opened the safe without gloves. The lady got the Jewels and Danby went home happily because he had escaped from a difficult situation. * But after two days a policeman had arrested him for the Jewel robbery at Shotover Grange. Danby's fingerprints were all over the room.

* He admitted that he had opened the safe for the young wife of the owner of the house. But the lady of the house was 60 years old woman. She said Danby's story was nonsense. * Danby was sent to Jail. Now he was the assistant librarian in the prison. He often thought about that charming and clever young lady in red dress. She was in the same profession and had tricked him. Horace Danby got angry when anyone talked about "honour among thieves”, because he was deceived by a lady from his own profession.

WORD MEANING Except - Leaving aside Amused - Pleased Expensive - Costly Nodded - Made a sign with head Hay fever - A summer ailment Inconvenience - Uneasiness Tickle - A light touch Hesitate - To be doubtfull Worth - Value Persuaded - Convinced Stirred - Moved Mended - Repaired Burglar - Thief Profession - Business Ornaments - Jewellery Tricked - Deceived Hindering - Obstructing Honour - Respect Treatment - Cure

Short Answer Type Questions Q. 1. What does Horace Danby like to collect? [Textual] Ans. in order to buy rare and expensive books through an agent. For this, he planned carefully and robed a safe every year. Q. 2. What does the writer tell us about Horace Danby's life? Ans. Horace Danby was not typical a thief. He used rob toevery year enough money last tofor twelve months to buy books which he loved to read. He is described as a good and respectable person but not completely honest because he could not curb his habit of stealing a safe every year. Q. 3. Was Horace a typical thief? Why/Why not? Ars. for twelve months He was fond of expensive books which he used to buy from the stolen money. Otherwise, he was considered as an honest and respectable person.

Q. 4. How can you say that Horace Danby was good and respectable but not completely honest? Ans. 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. Q. 5. Why was Horace Danby sure that his robbery at Shotover Grange would be a successful one? Ans. 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.

Q. 6. Did you begin to suspect, before the end of the story, that the lady was not the person Horace Danby took her to be? Ans. express surprise on seeing a burglar in her house rather; she promised him that she would not hand him over to the police. Secondly, she even did not know the number of the safe. But Horace was too nervous to notice all these things. Q. 7. thinking she is the lady of the house? Why doesn't Horace suspect that something is wrong? [Textual] Ans. mistress of the house are her grace, charm, comfort level, knowledge, persistence, way of talking confidently and familiarity with the household. She is an experienced thief and speaks with a lot of confidence. There is firmness in her voice. She poses to be the mistress of the house and smiles while talking to Horace. Then she threatens to report to the police about

Danby. Later she befools him by telling that she has forgotten the numbers to open safe. In this way, she convinces him that she is the mistress of the house. Q. 8. How did flowers hinder Horace in his work? Ans. Flowers hindered Horace in his work because he had hay fever, disorder a 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. Q. 9. Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why ?

Q. 10. What do you think is the meaning of the phrase ‘honour among thieves’? Who lacked it ? Ans. do not cheat each other. They trust other thieves and are honest in their dealings with each other. Obviously it is the young lady in the led, who lacked honour as she cheated and befooled another thief. She procured the booty whereas Horace went to the jail. Q. 11 How did Horace know about the safe behind the painting? Ans. As A magazine article had described this house giving a plan of all the rooms and a picture of this room. Even the fact that the safe was hidden behind a picture was given there. Q. 12 Do you think Horace Danby was unfairly punished, or that he deserved what he got? Ans. committed. He broke open the safe thinking that the lady was the mistress of the house. It is true that he committed the crime of entering the house and breaking opens the safe. But he did not steal anything. So the punishment given to him was unjust.

Q. 13 How did Horace manage the small dog when he attempted to rob the house at Shotover Grange? Ans. tried to rob the house in Grange, he encountered a dog But Horace Danby calmed the dog by calling him by his name. Q. 14 What story did the lady tell Horace to get the jewels? Ans. which she needed at once. She also told that she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe. Q. 15. Did Horace get the jewels from the Grange safe ? If net, why did the police arrest him ? Ans. befooled him. But the police arrested him due to his fingerprints on the Grange safe.

Q. 16. Did the young lady expect Horace to be caught after theft ? Ans. Naturally his finger prints would lead the police towards him. Horace's arrest would not let anyone think that she was the thief. So, she was to be benefitted by his arrest. Q. 17 Horace was a successful thief because he carefully planned his robberies. Should we call him a successful thief and still appreciate his work? Why or why not? Ans. completes them well. He was living his life as a good and honest citizen. However, the wealth he gathered due from his successful robberies did not belong to him. By stealing other people's valuables, he may have become successful but he is actually a criminal, He may be efficient in-conducting his-crimes so that he is successful, but we still cannot appreciate his work.

Q. 18. Do intentions justify actions? Do you think that there are situations in which it is excusable to act less than honestly? Ans. right. Ends do not justify means Honesty is the greatest virtue. I think there are no situations in which it is excusable to act less than honestly: Horace Danby committed crimes in order to buy books. "That is a noble cause. However, a wrong action done for that noble cause cannot be excused. In the house, he broke open the safe for the sake of the lady. However, he had entered the house with the. Long Answer Type Questions Q. 1. Write a character-sketch of Horace Danby. Ans. was a locksmith and had engaged two assistants to help him. He suffered from hay fever and was allergic to flowers.

He had an exceptional love for rare and expensive books. In order to satisfy his hunger for these books, he broke a safe every year to have enough money to buy them. He bought these books secretly through an agent. Horace was a careful burglar. He planned his robbery meticulously. He was very careful while robbing a safe and wore gloves so that his fingerprints are not left on the scene of crime. Since he was a locksmith, it was very easy for him to break any safe. Horace strongly believed in honour among thieves but he became a victim of trust. He was duped by a young lady who pretended to be the owner's wife. In fact, she was also a thief. He gave all the jewels to the young lady and left his fingerprints all over the room. Thus, he was arrested and sent to prison. Now, he did not like thought of 'honour among thieves' any more.

Q. 2 Horace was a thief who planned his work carefully. He was in a way a successful thief. Should we call him a successful thief and appreciate his work ? Why/Why not? Ans. Horace. Danbywasagood, honestcitizenofabout 50 years. Heplannedhisworkcarefully. He was a meticulous planner. He used to observe and supervise the house to be burgled. He never acted in haste. He studied the map and other minute details of the house at Shotover Grange. He had the details of electric wiring, dogs and servants of the house. He knew when it was the right time to strike. He did his work so well that there was no cause of his arrest. No doubt he was a successful thief but his act of theft cannot be appreciated. Stealing is a vice which cannot be appreciated. To fulfill our needs we should not resort to theft.

Q. 3 "Horace Danby was good and respectable-but not completely honest. " Why do you think this description is apt for Horace? Ans. thief who in order to fulfil his desire used to rob once in a year. He had adopted a dishonest way to fulfil his desire. So he cannot be called an honest person. Horace Danby is not a typical thief because he steals mainly to buy rare and expensive books. He planned his theft in such a manner that he could not be arrested so far. Being an introvert, he did not blurt about his theft to anybody. No, we can't call him a good human being. He was a victim of the trick played on him. He is not completely honest. He entered the house with bad intention. He was a thief and a thief cannot be called a good human being.

Q. 4 The lady in red dress was a more professional thief than Horace Danby. Do you agree? Elaborate. Ans. ensure that all the evidence went against. Horace to establish him as the real culprit and the lady walked out freely and untraceably. The lady combined her female arrogance and confidence to prepare a perfect recipe to befool Horace as he could not suspect that she was not the real lady of house. The lady tricked Horace Danby to utilise his years of experience in theft for her own benefit and Horace on the basis of his fingerprints was put behind the bars. Q. 5 Draw a character sketch of the Lady Thief. Ans. don't know her name, but she was quite young and pretty. We meet her wearing a

beautiful red dress and a charming smile. In her brief meeting with Horace, she proves that she is a smarter thief than him. This woman is quite confident too. Although a thief herself, she was not worried at the presence of another person i. e. Horace in the house. She at once judged that he was a thief and planned to take advantage of the situation. The lady thief is a wonderful actress. She pretends to be the mistress of the house and she does it so naturally that poor Horace is left unsuspecting. She combines her female arrogance and confidence to prepare a perfect recipe to befool Horace. She tricks Horace Danby to utilize his years of experience in theft for her own benefit and Horace becomes so nervous that he leaves his fingerprints at the scene of crime and consequently put behind the bars.

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