THE MIDNIGHT VISITOR

1. How is Ausable different from other Secret Agents?

Ausable was very fat. He looked very slow. He had an American accent. He had no
pistol or any other arms. So, he was different from the others.

2. Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?

Fowler is a writer. His authentic thrill of the day is finding a man with pistol in Ausable’s
locked room.

3. How has Max got in?

Max has a pass key. He has got in through the main door.

4. How does Ausable say he got in?

Ausable says that he got in through the balcony of the room.

5. Why did Fowler want to meet Ausable? Why was he disappointed?

Fowler was a young romantic writer. He had a fine imagination about spying and secret
agents. He loved adventure and thrill. So he wanted to meet Ausable who was engaged
in collecting sensitive information. He was disappointed after spending a dull evening in
a French music hall with a fat, sloppy man as there was nothing mysterious or romantic
about him.

6. How can you show that Ausable showed great presence of mind in situation of
danger and surprise?

Ausable showed a great presence of mind when Max pointed gun at him when he
entered note room with Fowler. Though his looks were not mysterious but with his
presence of mind he cooked up the story of non-existent balcony. Max, though smart,
was befooled by Ausable and even lost his life.

7. Who actually had knocked at the door of Ausable’s room? Why did he come there?

Henry, the waiter was knocking at the door in hotel. Infact, Ausable had ordered for a
bottle of wine and two glasses. When there was a knock at the door he reached as if
policeman was at the door. He had come there as Ausable had ordered drinks before
coming into the room.

8. Where and why did Ausable take Fowler?

Ausable brought Fowler in his room which was on the sixth floor in a hotel. He wanted
Fowler to have some thrill and excitement as he was expecting some important papers
to be delivered there.
9. For what purpose had Max entered Ausable’s room?

Max wanted those important papers from Ausable so he entered his room secretly from
the main door. He had managed to get the pass key to open the door.

10. What story did Ausable frame about calling the police?

As soon as there was a knock at the door, Max enquired of it. Ausable told him that he
had already informed the police to check if everything was okay at intervals because of
the important papers. Ausable told Max that they were on their duty to check.

.11. How is Ausable different from other secret agents?

Ausable is different from other secret agents in more than one way. He has a small
room in the musty corridor of a gloomy French hotel. It was the sixth and topmost floor
and it was scarcely the setting for a romantic adventure. Ausable was extremely fat.
Inspite of living in Paris for over twenty years, he spoke French and German moderately
and had an American accent. Instead of getting messages slipped into his hands by
dark-eyed beauties, he got only a telephone call making an appointment. In these ways,
he was different from the conventional notion of a spy.

LONG QUESTION

Presence of mind is basically mental preparedness or the ability to think and act wisely
in a dangerous or surprising situation”. Explain/Discuss with reference the story.

Ausable did not at all have the conventional image of a secret agent. He was short and
very fat. However Ausable had a very sharp and active mind. When he entered his hotel
room with Fowler he found Max with a gun in his room. Max was an agent of another
organisation. Ausable, with presence of mind, invented a story of non-existent balcony.
Max was convinced about existence of balcony and this led to r his tragic end. Ausable
did not use physical strength but only his presence of mind.