Embark on a journey of trust and deception with NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4: “A Question of Trust.” Unravel the compelling tale of friendship and betrayal through expertly crafted question-and-answer solutions. Explore the intricate web of emotions and decisions that shape the characters’ lives. These comprehensive solutions provide clarity and insights, fostering a deeper understanding of the chapter’s themes and moral dilemmas. Strengthen your English skills, analytical thinking, and exam preparation with this invaluable resource.
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4 A Question of Trust Questions and Answers
Page no. 20
• Read and Find Out
Q1. What does Horace Danby like to collect?
Ans: He loves to collect rare, expensive books.
Q2. Why does he steal every year?
Ans: He robs a safe every year. He steals enough to last for twelve months and secretly buys the books he loves through an agent.
Page no. 22
• Read and Find Out
Q1. Who is speaking to Horace Danby?
Ans: It was a woman with a quiet, kindly but firm voice. She was a young, pretty lady who was dressed in red and was standing in the doorway. According to her, she was supposed to come after a month, but it was good that she arrived early, just in time to save her family from being robbed.
Q2. Who is the real culprit in the story?
Ans: In this story, the real culprit is the lady in red who posed as the lady of the house and made Horace break into the safe and hand over the jewels to her.
Page no. 25
Think about
Q1. 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, I began to suspect the lady because she never seemed upset that there was a burglar in her house and did not bother to call the police. She only keeps threatening him about calling the police, but she never does. Women guard secrets and their jewellery with their life, so her excuse of forgetting the numbers to open the safe wasn’t convincing enough. And she asked a thief to break the safe and hand over the jewellery to her. It was only because she was also in the house to steal and didn’t have the numbers of the safe.
Q2. 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 lady cleverly convinces Horace that she is the lady of the house. She goes towards the fireplace and straightens the ornaments there. She tells him that she came back early but didn’t expect a burglar at home. Horace believes that the lady is amused by him, so he tries to impress her so that she does not turn him to the police. He didn’t suspect her because even the dog seemed to be very friendly towards her. Then she picked up a silver box from the table and took out a cigarette. Horace wanted to please her, so he helped her light the cigarette with his lighter. So, he didn’t suspect when she asked him to open the safe for her because she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe.
Q3. “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?
Ans: Horace Danby was considered a good and honest citizen because he made locks and was a successful businessman. He was fifty years old and unmarried and lived with a housekeeper. However, people didn’t know that he robbed a safe every year so that he could secretly buy rare, expensive books that he loved, through an agent. He cannot be categorised as a typical thief because as a principle, he only robbed one safe a year and that too from those who had a lot of money.
Q4. Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?
Ans: Horace Danby carefully planned his every theft. To rob the house at Shotover Grange, he studied it for two weeks-he looked at its rooms, its electric wiring, its paths and its garden. And also about the people who stayed in the house and their servants. And when he entered the house, he put on a pair of gloves and opened the door because he was always careful not to leave any fingerprints. Actually, he did not bother to know about the people of the house. Had he done that, he would have realised that the lady in red was a thief like him and not the lady of the house. He trusted her and to impress her, took off his gloves and helped her light the cigarette. Then he opened the safe for her without wearing gloves. The police arrested him because they found his fingerprints on the safe and all over the room.
Page no. 25
Think about
Q1. Do you think Horace Danby was unfairly punished, or that he deserved what he got?
Ans: Horace Danby had been looting people’s safes every year so that he could buy rare and expensive books that he could read. He had a fair business of making locks and he was doing well in it. Instead of buying books honestly, he indulged in dishonest acts, so he had to be caught and punished. In this particular incident, he couldn’t steal the jewellery, but he was making plans to strike elsewhere when he was caught. Had the police not caught him, he would have continued robbing people.
Q2. Do intentions justify actions? Would you, like Horace Danby, do something wrong if you thought your ends justified the means? Do you think that there are situations in which it is excusable to act less than honestly?
Ans: No, I think it is wrong to justify evil intentions. Horace Danby stole from the rich to buy rare and expensive books. Although he was successful in his business, he felt that he needed to rob safes to make money for the books. Buying books was a good deed but to buy books, Horace was indulging in unlawful and dishonest ways, so the end does not justify the means.