The NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 3, titled “The Midnight Visitor,” provide comprehensive answers to the questions and queries related to the chapter. This chapter revolves around a mysterious visitor who disturbs a household’s peace in the middle of the night. The solutions offer a detailed analysis of the story, highlighting its themes, literary devices, and characterizations. Students can refer to these solutions to enhance their understanding and improve their performance in examinations.
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 3 The Midnight Visitor Questions and Answers
Page no. 14
• Read and Find Out
Q1. How is Ausable different from other secret agents?
(or)
What great qualities made Ausable a successful secret agent? CBSE 2013
(or)
How was Ausable different from other secret agents? CBSE 2011
(or)
How is Ausable different from other secret agents? How does he deal with Max?
Ans: Secret agents in books and films look handsome and are slender and suave. But Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had ever read because Ausable was very fat, he spoke French and German passably, he still had the American accent. And he lived in a small room on the sixth floor of a gloomy French hotel.
Q2. Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?
Ans: Fowler was a young and romantic writer who had come to meet a secret agent for some inspiration for his writing. But Ausable was far from what a typical secret agent looked like and so, Fowler was disappointed. But when they entered Ausable’s room and Ausable switched on the light, they saw a man standing halfway across the room with a small automatic pistol in his hand. That was Fowler’s first authentic thrill of the day.
Page no. 15
• Read and Find Out
Q1. How has Max got in?
Ans: Max used a passkey to enter Ausable’s room during his absence.
Q2. How does Ausable say he got in?
Ans: According to Ausable, Max got into his room through the balcony which belonged to the next apartment. His room used to be part of a large unit, and the next room used to be the living room. It had a balcony which extended under his window. Anyone could get onto it from the empty room two doors down and get into his room.
Page no. 18
Think about it
Q1. ‘Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had ever read.” What do secret agents in books and films look like, in your opinion? Discuss in groups or in class some stories or movies featuring spies, detectives and secret agents, and compare their appearance with that of Ausable in this story. (You may mention characters from fiction in languages other than English. In English fiction you may have come across Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple. Have you watched any movies featuring James Bond?)
Ans: Secret agents in fiction are projected like perfect men, who are tall, dark and handsome. They are well-built and have beautiful women accompanying them. They would smoke a pipe (like Sherlock Holmes) or a cigar and execute death-defying stunts (like James Bond). Movies based on James Bond show hi-tech gadgets which help them to catch the criminals. However, there are some exceptions to this appearance of a secret agent also. A character named Feluda was created by Satyajit Ray. the famous Bengali filmmaker. Feluda was a tall and charming secret agent who had superb observation skills.
Q2. How does Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony attached to his room? Look back at his detailed description of it. What makes it a convincing story?
Ans: Ausable appeared to be very upset when he found Max in his room. According to him, this is the second time in a month that someone had entered his room through the balcony. But Max was puzzled because he had come in through the door using a passkey and he had no idea about the existence of a balcony. Then Ausable tells Max that it’s actually not his balcony but belongs to the next apartment. His room used to be part of a large unit, and the next room used to be the living room. It had the balcony, which extends under his window now. He told Max that anyone could get onto it from the empty room two doors down and that somebody had entered his room the previous month. He also said that he had taken up matters with management and it had promised to block it off but they hadn’t. All this description about the balcony convinced Max about its existence.
Q3. Looking back at the story, when do you think Ausable thought up his plan for getting rid of Max? Do you think he had worked out his plan in detail right from the beginning? Or did he make up a plan taking advantage of events as they happened?
Ans: I think Ausable took advantage of the events as they happened and it wasn’t a detailed, planned out one. On entering the room, perhaps he knew someone was inside. So, he purposely spoke aloud about expecting a paper of utmost importance. That made Max alert and Ausable made up the story of the imaginary balcony and presented it to Max. Ausable was expecting the waiter to knock at the door. So, when they heard the knock at the door, Ausable convinced Max that it would be the police who had come to check on him and see if everything was fine before the paper arrived. The story was so convincing that Max jumped out of the window to meet his death.
Page no. 18
Think about it
Q1. In this story, Ausable shows great ‘presence of mind’, or the ability to think quickly and act calmly and wisely, in a situation of danger and surprise. Give examples from your own experience, or narrate a story, which shows someone’s presence of mind.
Ans: This story about showing presence of mind’ is about a carpenter. One day, while coming back from work, he was accosted by a robber. He flashed his gun and asked the carpenter to hand over everything to him. The carpenter gave all his money but requested the robber to shoot through his hat and coat many times so that his wife would be convinced that he was robbed by a gang of robbers. The robber obliged and the carpenter gave him his hat and coat. The robber shot a number of holes in the coat and hat. Soon, he was out of bullets. The carpenter was waiting for it. He thrashed the robber, took back his money and more money for the hat and coat that was ruined.
Q2. Discuss what you would do in the situations described below. Remember that presence of mind comes out of a state of mental preparedness. If you have thought about possible problems or dangers, and about how to act in such situations, you have a better chance of dealing with such situations if they do arise.
- A small fire starts in your kitchen.
- A child starts to choke on a piece of food.
- An electrical appliance starts to hiss and gives out sparks.
- A bicycle knocks down a pedestrian.
- It rains continuously for more than twenty-four hours.
- A member of your family does not return home at the usual or expected time.
You may suggest other such situations.
Ans: (a) When a small fire breaks out in the kitchen, it is advisable to use a blanket and put it over the fire to shut out the air. If the fire is not due to an electrical problem, water can be thrown on it. If it is due to a short-circuit, electricity must be disconnected immediately from everything in the kitchen before taking any other measure.
(b) The child’s back must be rubbed and thumped slowly until the piece of food stuck is vomited out. However, in case the child finds difficulty, the child should be given trained medical aid immediately:
(c) Electricity to the appliance should be immediately disconnected. If it is plugged into a socket, the plug must be removed from the socket. Later, an authorised person should be called to repair the appliance and checked thoroughly before using it again.
(d) Make sure the pedestrian is conscious, help the pedestrian move towards the pavement and see if the person has no signs of dizziness. Call for the ambulance if you feel the person is about to faint.
(e) Excessive rains can cause floods. So all necessary precautions for saving various possessions should be taken. The concerned authorities must be informed for necessary action.
(f) Just in case a family member does not return home at the usual time, we should inquire at the place where he/she might have visited. If there is no result from these enquiries it is advisable to inform local police and file a First Information Report (FIR) and seek help in tracking the person.
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