NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4 A Question of Trust

In this article, we have created the most comprehensive NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4 A Question of Trust.

A Question of Trust NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4

A Question of Trust NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers

A Question of Trust Read and Find out

Question 1.
What does Horace Danby like to collect?
Answer:
Horace Danby is a voracious reader. He loves to collect rare and expensive books.

Question 2.
Why does he steal every year?
Answer:
He steals every year to be able to make his both ends meet and to be able to purchase expensive books.

Question 3.
Who is speaking to Horace Danby?
Answer:
The smart woman in red dress is speaking to Horace Danby.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4 A Question of Trust

Question 4.
Who is the real culprit in the story?
Answer:
The woman in the red is the real culprit in the story as she succeeds in befooling Horace Danby.

A Question of Trust Extra Questions and Answers

A Question of Trust Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
How were flowers hindering Horace in his work?
Answer:
Horace suffered from hay fever and was allergic to some flowers. On smelling the flowers, he started sneezing and was caught red-handed by another thief.

Question 2.
Why was it not difficult for Horace to open the safe?
Answer:
It was not difficult for Horace to open the safe because he was a perfect and experienced locksmith. He had collected all the information about the safe before entering the house.

Question 3.
What advice did the lady give Horace regarding his hay fever? Was she really interested in his health?
Answer:
The lady advised Horace that he could find a cure to the hay fever by trying to find which plant gave the disease. She was not interested in his disease or its cure, but she was rather making fun of him.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4 A Question of Trust

Question 4.
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 too, because he had planned his work carefully. He studied every detail of the house. He had chosen an appropriate place and time for the robbery.

Question 5.
How did Horace manage the small dog when he attempted to rob the house at Shotover Grange?
Answer:
Horace Danby was an expert thief who planned his mission without any fault. When he tried to rob the house in Grange, he encountered a dog. But Horace Danby calmed the dog by calling him by his name.

Question 6.
What story did the lady tell Horace to get the jewels?
Answer:
The lady told Horace an interesting story. She told that her jewels were lying in the safe which she, needed at once. She also told that she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe.

Question 7.
Did Horace get the jewels from the Grange safe? If not, why did the police arrest him?
Answer:
Horace was not able to get any jewels though he stole them. The young lady in red befooled him. But the police arrested him due to his fingerprints on the Grange safe.

Question 8.
How can you say that Horace Danby was good and respectable but not completely honest? [Delhi 2019]
Answer:
Horace Danby was not a typical thief. He used to rob every year enough money to last for 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.

Question 9.
Why did Horace rob every year? Was he a typical thief? If so, why? In what way could Horace’s arrest have helped the lady?
Answer:
He robbed every year enough money to last for twelve months to buy books which he loved to read. No, he was not a typical thief because he used to steal only to buy interesting books.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4 A Question of Trust

Question 10.
Did the young lady expect Horace to be caught after the theft?
Answer:
Yes, the young lady knew that Horace would be caught. As he forgot to put on his gloves. 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.

Question 11.
Was Horace a typical thief? Why/Why not?
Answer:
No, Horace was not a typical thief. He robbed only once in a year to have enough money to last 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.

Question 12.
What do you think is the meaning of the phrase ‘honour among thieves’? Who lacked it?
Answer:
The phrase ‘honour among thieves’ means that even the thieves have some principles and they 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 Red, who lacked honour as she cheated and befooled another thief. She procured the booty whereas Horace went to the jail.

Question 13.
How did Horace get entry into the house?
Answer:
He was very keen in his observation. He was able to see that the housekeepef hung the keys to the kitchen door on a hook. He picked up the keys from there and opened the door.

Question 14.
How did Horace know about the safe behind the painting?
Answer:
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.

A Question of Trust Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
Horace was a thief who planned his work carefully. He was in a way a sucesssful thief. Should we call him a successful thief and appreciate his work? Why/Why not?
Answer:
Horace Danby was a good, honest citizen of about 50 years. He planned his work carefully. 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 can not be appreciated. Stealing is a vice which can not be appreciated. To fulfil our needs we should not resort to theft.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4 A Question of Trust

Question 2.
Do you think Horace Danby was unfairly punished or that he deserved what he got? Do you agree that honesty in wrong acts is not desirable?
Answer:
The story, A Question of Trust’ is a story of distrust. The lady in the red is the real culprit. She was a very clever lady and was successful in befooling Horace. She made him believe that she was the mistress of the house and told him a story with conviction. Horace had taken off his gloves, because he thought that the wife of the owner was with him. That was the biggest mistake of his life.

Horace Danby left his fingerprints and was arrested. He was not punished unfairly. He was not innocent as he entered the house with the intention to rob the house. Honesty in wrong acts can not be justified. It is not desirable at all.

Question 3.
Do intentions justify actions? Would you, like Horace Danby, do something wrong if you thought your ends justify the means? Do you think that there are situations in which it is excusable to act less than honest?
Answer:
Yes, intentions justify the actions. If any wrong act is committed unintentionally, it can be excused. But if the wrong act is done intentionally it is not excusable. Horace Danby had the intention to rob the house. This is an intentional crime. He helped the house lady by opening the safe, he had good intentions but that too, for his own motive of being free. I would not indulge in any wrong act even if it is justified. Mere justifcation of the wrong act does not serve the purpose. Yes, there are situations in which it is excusable to act less than honest. But the case of Horace Danby does not fall in that category.

Question 4.
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? How will you appreciate the act of the lady?
Answer:
Yes, it is very natural to suspect that the lady was not the owner of the house as she did not 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.

The lady in red was very clever. She was successful in befooling Horace Danby. She was a good actress and acted so smartly that Horace Danby was trapped in her scheme. She lacked honour. Her act cannot be appreciated as she trapped another person for her greed and bad intentions.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4 A Question of Trust

Question 5.
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? What are the negative aspects of her character?
Answer:
The lady is very smart and clever. She succeeds in befooling Horace Danby that she is the owner of the house. She is a well dressed, well planned and organised thief who drafted her trick so meticulously that a brilliant thief like Horace could not suspect her. The way she enters and talks to Horace Danby, he is unable to doubt her integrity. Even the dog did not bark on seeing her. The lady in red had some negative traits in her personality. She was not honest. She was a thief and befooled another thief. She lacked honesty, integrity and honour.

Question 6.
“Horace Danby was good and respectable – but not completely honest.” Why do you think this description is apt for Horace? Why can’t he be categorised as a typical thief? Should we call him a good human being?
Answer:
The statement is an apt statement for Danby. He was a respectable person, but he was a 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 can not be called a good human being.

Question 7.
“Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered.” Where did he go wrong and why? Negative values never pay in long run: Do you agree?
Answer:
Though Horace Danby was a brilliant thief, he was caught in the end. He faltered because he readily handed over jewellery to the so-called owner of the house. Horace Danby was befooled by the lady in red. She pretended to be the owner of the house and made him open the safe without gloves. Horace left his fingerprints. He failed in his plan and was caught for a crime that he did not commit.

Negative values never pay in the long run. Every criminal has his punishment. Sooner or later one is caught and punished. Horace Danby was no doubt a meticulous planner but he was on a wrong path. His intention had never been good. He planned to rob others and was ultimately paid for it.

Question 8.
The lady in red dress was a more professional thief than Horace Danby. Do you agree? Elaborate.
Answer:
The lady in red not only outsmarted Horace Danby rather she went one step forward to 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.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4 A Question of Trust

Question 9.
How did Horace Danby plan his robbery of shot over Grange?
Answer:
Horace Danby was not a typical thief. He planned his act of burglary meticulously. He always studied his target carefully. He planned his robbery of Shotover Grange carefully. He studied the situation . of rooms, electric fittings and other aspects well in advance. He collected details from different magazines and articles. He was aware about the safe which had jewels worth fifteen thousand pounds.

He knew the family was on vacation in London. He also knew that all the servants had gone for a movie. He knew the place of the keys too. When the right time came he struck his plan but outwitted by the lady in red. His plan failed and he was arrested

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