4. A Question of Trust by Victor Canning (Notes Prepared By Shish Pal Chauhan)
Short Answer-type Qs.
Q1. Horace
Denby was a meticulous planner, but still, he faltered? Where did he go wrong
and why?
Ans. Horace Denby always took all precautions before
entering a house. But that day, he went wrong. He opened the safe without
wearing gloves on his hands. He left his fingerprints there. Later the police
arrested him.
Q2. Why did
Horace Denby rob a safe every year?
Ans. Horace Denby robbed a safe every year. He was a
typical thief. He had a passion for reading expensive books. He needed money
for it. For that purpose, he robbed a safe every year.
Q3. Describe
how Horace Denby planned a theft every year?
Ans. Horace Denby was a typical thief. Before doing
the robbery, he studied the house carefully. He studied everything like the
paths, electric wiring, rooms, the garden, etc. before entering the house.
Q4. What
advice did the lady in the red give to Horace regarding the hay fever? Was she
really concerned for his health?
Ans. The lady in the red was also a thief like Horace
Denby. She was not concerned about his health. Rather she wanted to win his
trust by advising him about his disease of ‘hay fever’.
Q5.Did the
young lady expect Horace Denby to be caught after the theft? Why?
Ans. She expected that the police would surely arrest
Horace. It was because he had left his finger marks on the safe while opening
the lock for her. Horace had not worn gloves at the time of opening the lock of
the safe.
Q6. Did
Horace get the jewels from the Granze Safe? If not, why did the police caught
him?
Ans. No, Horace did not take the jewels from the
Granze Safe. He committed a big mistake. He opened the safe for the young lady
without gloves. Thus he left his finger marks on the safe. Later the police
arrested him.
Q7. Why did
Horace take off his gloves?
Ans. Horace was afraid of going to prison. He wanted
to please the lady in the red. She needed a cigarette lighter. So Horace
removed his gloves and offered her a lighter.
Q8. Who is
the real culprit in this story, the young lady or Horace? How did she manage to
rob the safe without leaving her a single fingerprint on it?
Ans. The young lady was the real culprit. She falsely
told him that she needed her jewels from the safe urgently. But she forgot the
number of the lock. So he opened the lock without gloves and left his own fingerprints
there.
Q9. What is
meant by the phrase ‘honor among thieves’? How did the young lady break the
honor?
Ans. The phrase ‘honour among thieves’ means that the
thieves are honest to other thieves. But here in this story, the young lady
broke the other thief’s trust. She cheated and blackmailed Horace Denby.
Q10.What did the young lady ask Horace to do? Or What lie did the young lady tell
Horace Denby to befool him?
Ans. The young lady in the red asked Horace Denby to
open the safe for her. She told him that she needed jewels urgently. But she
forgot the number of the lock.
Q11. Horace Denby gets angry when someone
talks about the ‘honor among thieves’. Why?
Ans. Horace Denby gets angry at this because a thief
had cheated on him. She was a young lady. She posed like the owner of the house.
She had told a lie to him that she needed the jewels from the safe. (Notes
Prepared By Shish Pal Chauhan)
Long Answer-type Questions (About 100 words)
Q2. Justify the title ‘A Question of Trust’.
Ans. In this story, the young lady in the red broke
the trust of Horace Denby. It is said that the thieves respect ‘trust’ among
themselves. But the young lady breached (broke) the trust of Horace Denby. She
made up a story. She posed herself as the owner of the house. She said that she
needed jewels from her safe urgently. But she forgot the numbers of the lock.
She also threatened him to get him arrested. Horace Denby was very much afraid
of the police. So he opened the safe. He also committed a serious mistake. He
opened the lock without wearing gloves. Thus his fingerprints on the safe got
him arrested. The title is quite appropriate.
Q3.Describe
Horace Denby’s encounter with the lady in the red.
Ans. Once Horace Denby was inside a house at Shotover
Grange. He had to sneeze because he had an allergy. Then he heard a voice
from behind. She was a young lady in a red dress. She posed as if she were the
owner of the house. She told him that she had come just on time. She had not expected
a thief in her house. She said that she needed jewels from her safe urgently.
But she forgot the numbers of the lock. She also threatened him to get him
arrested. Horace Denby was very much afraid of the police. So he opened the
safe. He also committed a serious mistake. He opened the lock without wearing
gloves. Thus his fingerprints on the safe got him arrested.
