Lesson-A Question of Trust

Summary (for self-study)

The story is about a 50 year old man who makes locks and lives with his
housekeeper. He is a good citizen but not an honest one as he commits a
robbery every year. He plans his robberies in such a way that the money
he gets from there lasts him for at least an year and he is able to buy rare
and expensive books with it. He buys these books because he is really
fond of collecting rare and expensive books. He plans to commit a
robbery at a grange named Shotover Grange. He takes all the
information about the house like where the family had gone, how many
servants were there in the house, what was the name of the dog, the
wiring in the house, the safe in the house and even information like how
much worth of jewels were there in the safe. The real twist in the story
comes when he reaches the grange to commit a robbery and a woman
claiming to be the owner’s wife enters. She gives him an option that
she will forget that she had seen him if he opens the safe for her as she
has forgotten the code of the safe and has to go to a party. He does not
realize that he is opening the safe for another thief and that she is not the
actual owner of the house. He leaves happily thinking that he is safe but
doesn't realize the fact that he had opened the safe for someone else that
too without wearing his gloves. 3 days later a police officer comes and
arrests him saying that his fingerprints had been found at the shotover
grange. He then realizes that he had been fooled by a lady who was
herself a thief and from the same background as his. He is sent to the jail
and becomes an assistant librarian. He feels angry whenever someone
talks about honour among thieves as he had been cheated by one from
his own community.

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Introduction
The story is about a man named Horace Danby who is 50 years old and
everyone around him thinks he is a good and an honest man. He used to
build locks and used to earn enough profit so that he could hire two
servants to help him. He was sent to jail once about 15 years ago
because he used to commit robberies every year. This year, when he
goes to a house for robbery, he meets a woman who pretends to be the
owner of the house. Later when he leaves from there and is arrested after
2-3 days, he comes to know the truth of that lady.
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Hay fever- an allergy caused by pollen or dust in which the mucous
membranes of the eyes and nose are inflamed
Sentence- the punishment assigned to a defendant found guilty by a
court
Grange- a country house with farm buildings attached.
Pounds- basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence
Stirred- move or cause to move slightly.
Tickle- a way that causes mild discomfort or itching and often laughter.
Burglar- a person who commits theft.

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Q1) What does Horace Danby like to collect?
Ans) Horace Danby likes to collect old, expensive and rare books.

Q2) Why does he steal every year?

Ans) He used to steal every year in a very systematic and planned
manner. He used to steal enough to last him for 12 months and so that he
could buy the rare and expensive books that he used to like through a
secret agent.

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Q3) Who is speaking to Horace Danby?
Ans) There was a woman standing in the doorway who was speaking to
Horace Danby. She was a young, beautiful lady and was dressed in red
colour. She was pretending to be one of the family members.

Amused- finding something funny or entertaining.

Persuaded- induce (someone) to do something through reasoning or
argument.
Jewels- a precious stone.
Sharp - tongued - (of a person) given to using cutting, harsh, language.
Honour- high respect

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Q4)Who is the real culprit in the story?
Ans) The real culprit in the story is the woman who pretended to be a
family member of the family living at the grange. She cleverly acted as a
family member and made Horace believe that she wanted him to open
the safe just because she had forgotten the passcode. Horace believed
her and opened the safe and gave her all the jewels that were inside the
safe and later, she took away all the jewels.

Q5) 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 realise this, and how?
Ans) Yes, one does begin to suspect that the woman is not who she
claims to be. She was unusually calm on seeing Horace near the locker.
Then she doesn't even call the police and also asks him to open the
locker for her even if it means breaking it open as she had forgotten the

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code of the safe. It is very unusual that someone forgets the passcode to
their own locker.

Q6) 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?
Ans) The way she walks up to the doorway, starts talking to him,
arranges the ornaments in their right place and picks up the silver
cigarette box with so much confidence can make anyone believe that she
is the lady of the house. Apart from that, Horace had become nervous
and frightened when he saw the woman in the doorway and due to that
he could not think properly.

Q7) Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where
did he go wrong and why?
Ans) The place where he went wrong was that he did not gather enough
information about the real occupants of the house. He gathered all the
information about the tracks, wirings, gardens, servants and even the
dog’s name but he still forgot to overlook the identities of the house
owners. He even took out the information of the valuables inside the
safe. Once he got into a problem, he could not even think properly and
carelessly opened the safe and touched many things in the room without
wearing his gloves.