Class: VIII Subject: English Date:02.12.

21
Test your comprehension
Ch 8 The Dying Detective.
1. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words.

a. Poor Victor had (i) …………………an out of the way (ii) ………………………..
disease in the heart of (iii) ………………...

b. Mr Smith turned up the (i) ………………. which was a signal to Inspector Morton
to come in and arrest him along with the small (ii) ………………… in the right-hand
pocket of his coat which would play a part in the (iii) …………………...

2. Multiple Choice Questions

a. Most of Sherlock Holmes‟ stories are set in ……………

i. Rome
ii. Amsterdam
iii. France
iv. London

b. Mr Culverton Smith was a resident of ………………… who was now visiting

London.
i. Hong Kong
ii. Beijing
iii. Delhi
iv. Sumatra

c. Most Sherlock Holmes stories are narrated by his friend ………………………..

i. Inspector Morton
ii. Culverton Smith
iii. Dr John Watson

3. Short Questions
a. What was the cause of Holmes’ illness as reported by his landlady? Was he really
that ill?

b. What was Holmes’ aim in asking Watson to stand back from him?
c. Why did Holmes not want Watson to touch the ivory box? What did he tell him to
pick it up with?

d. Why did Inspector Morton have a slight smile on his face when he asked Watson
about Holmes? What did he know?

e. What did Culverton Smith accept about Victor Savage? What had he done?

4. Reference to Context

a. “I am sorry,‟ said I, „but the matter cannot be delayed. Mr Sherlock Holmes----‟

i. What effect did the mention of Holmes’ name have on the person spoken to?
ii. What did Watson want to tell the person?
iii. What was the reaction of the person? And why?

b. Then, in an instant, his sudden burst of strength departed and he drifted into the
low vague murmurings of a semi -delirious man.

i. Whose sudden strength departed?

ii. Was he really delirious? What was his basic aim?

5. Long Answers

a. Was the detective really dying? What exactly was his aim to pretend illness?

b. Why had Smith sent the ivory box to Holmes? How did he want him to use it? Did
he achieve his aim?

c. How had Holmes transformed his appearance and with what aim?

d. How was Dr Watson roped in by Holmes to get Smith arrested?

e. Sherlock Holmes is considered to be one of the greatest fictional detectives of all

times. What qualities does he show in the story, The Dying Detective to prove his
genius as a detective?
Answers:
a. contracted, Asiatic, London
b. gas, black and white ivory box, trial

Answers:
a. London
b. Sumatra
c. Dr John Watson

3. Short Questions

a. What was the cause of Holmes’ illness as reported by his landlady? Was he
really that ill?
The cause of Holmes‟ illness was an infection he had contracted while working on a
case in an alley near the river. Neither food nor drink had passed his lips since the
time he had contracted the infection. In reality, Holmes had contracted no infection,
but was only pretending to have contracted some kind of a fever from the East. The
aim was to set a stage to call Culverton Smith to his house and get him arrested for
killing his nephew, Victor Savage.

b. What was Holmes’ aim in asking Watson to stand back from him?
Holmes’ aim in asking Watson to stand back from him when he approached him
worried by his illness was because Holmes wanted to convince Watson that he had
contracted some kind of a deadly and horribly contagious disease from Sumatra.
When Watson offered to call Dr Ainstree, an authority on tropical disease, he told
him to call Culverton Smith instead, who was a planter and best versed in that
particular disease.

c. Why did Holmes not want Watson to touch the ivory box? What did he tell
him to pick it up with?
Holmes did not want Watson to examine the small black and white ivory box with a
sliding lid as Watson would have left his fingerprints on it. He asked him to pick it up
with sugar tongs. The black and white ivory box had to be used as evidence against
Culverton Smith, who had used the sharp spring in that box to murder his nephew,
Victor Savage, by infecting with a deadly virus.

d. Why did Inspector Morton have a slight smile on his face when he asked
Watson about Holmes? What did he know?
Inspector Morton had a slight smile on his face when Watson answered to his query
on Holmes’ health. This was because he knew that there was nothing wrong with
Holmes and he was just pretending to be ill. He was aware of the stage being set by
Holmes to catch Culverton Smith for the murder of his nephew Victor.
e. What did Culverton Smith accept about Victor Savage? What had he done?
Culverton Smith accepted his crime of killing his nephew Victor by pricking his finger
with the sharp spring which infected him with an Asiatic disease in the heart of
London, and he died within four days of contracting the infection. He sent the same
ivory box to Holmes to infect Holmes in the same way and kill him too because he
was investigating the murder of Victor.

4. Reference to Context

a. “I am sorry,‟ said I, „but the matter cannot be delayed. Mr Sherlock Holmes----‟

i. What effect did the mention of Holmes’ name have on the person spoken to?
The mention of Holmes’ name by Watson had an extraordinary effect on Culverton
Smith’s face. Previously he was very angry for Watson having stepped into his room,
but the look of anger passed from his face and Watson saw him smiling maliciously
into the mirror over the mantelpiece when he told him that Holmes was desperately
ill and dying.

ii. What did Watson want to tell the person?

Dr Watson wanted to tell Culverton Smith that he would not have barged into his
house like that had his friend Holmes not been desperately ill and on deathbed.

iii. What was the reaction of the person? And why?

Culverton Smith who had screamed with anger when Watson forcefully entered his
room calmed down when he heard Holmes‟ name and the fact that he was
desperately ill and dying. He pretended to show genuine concern though he was
actually relieved that Holmes who was investigating his nephew’s murder was dying.
He at once agreed to accompany Watson to meet Holmes.

b. Then, in an instant, his sudden burst of strength departed and he drifted into the
low vague murmurings of a semi -delirious man.

i. Whose sudden strength departed?

Holmes who regained his strength when Watson returned and told him that Smith
was coming, asked Watson to hide behind the head of his bed. After that his sudden
burst of strength departed and he once again slumped into the bed and became
semi-delirious.

ii. Was he really delirious? What was his basic aim?

Holmes was not delirious. He was only pretending to be ill because he wanted to
trap Smith and get him arrested by Inspector Morton, along with the evidence to
strengthen his case during the trial.
5. Long Answers

a. Was the detective really dying? What exactly was his aim to pretend illness?
No, Sherlock Holmes the detective in the story was only pretending to have
contracted the Asiatic disease from Sumatra because he wanted to set up the stage
for helping Inspector Morton catch Smith along with evidence for the murder of Victor
Savage, Smith’s nephew. Holmes had been investigating Victor’s murder and was
convinced that there was some kind of a foul play in his death. He had contracted an
out of the way Asiatic disease in the heart of London. Holmes was convinced of
Smith’s hand in the murder. He became doubly sure of it when he received the black
and white ivory box. He pretended illness and called him to his house to get him
caught red handed. He kept Watson as his witness and when he got Smith to
confess and accept his crime, he seemed to feel better. He asked Smith to turn up
the gas after he had confessed his involvement in the murder to Holmes and had
kept the black and white ivory box in the right-hand pocket of his coat, the last piece
of evidence in his nephew’s murder. That was a signal to Inspector Morton to come
in and arrest him along with the evidence to be used in his trial.

b. Why had Smith sent the ivory box to Holmes? How did he want him to use
it? Did he achieve his aim?
Smith had sent the ivory box to Holmes with the same aim with which he had sent it
to his nephew, Victor. He wanted to kill Holmes as he had killed his nephew by
putting a sharp spring in the ivory box infected with an Asiatic disease. His nephew
had died within four days after contracting the infection. However, his aim could not
be achieved as Holmes had been investigating Victor’s murder and was smart
enough to suspect Smith’s involvement in it. Smith was happy to hear from Watson
that Holmes was very ill and dying, but Holmes was only setting up the stage to trap
him along with the murder weapon and get him arrested by Inspector Morton.

c. How had Holmes transformed his appearance and with what aim?
Holmes had transformed his appearance by not taking food and drink for
consecutive three days. He pretended to be very ill and
whispered when he spoke as if he was dying. He managed to convince his landlady
that he was in a real bad shape. She became quite panicky and wanted to call the
doctor. She narrated his condition to Watson and attributed his illness to the case he
had been working on in an alley from where he had caught the infection. When
Watson saw Holmes, he found him indeed a sad spectacle. His eyes had the
brightness of fever and his voice was croaking and this made Watson extremely
worried and concerned about him. Holmes was successful in convincing his doctor
friend that he was seriously ill and needed extra attention.

d. How was Dr Watson roped in by Holmes to get Smith arrested?

When Watson offered to call Dr Ainstree, an expert on tropical diseases to take care
of Holmes, who was seriously ill, Holmes asked him to fetch Mr Culverton Smith
instead. He was a planter from Sumatra and had the unique experience of curing the
disease. He asked Watson to somehow persuade him to come as Smith held some
kind of a grudge against him for investigating the murder of his nephew Victor
Savage, and detecting foul play in the death. Holmes‟ aim was to make Watson
convince Culverton Smith that he was very ill and only Smith could cure him. He was
very sure that Smith would come running the moment he knew that he was ill, and
he could get him somehow arrested red handed along with the black and white ivory
box which would serve as evidence in the trial to convict him for murder. This is how
Holmes roped in Watson to help him solve Victor Savage’s murder case. He also
made Watson hide behind the head of his bed as witness, and once Smith
confessed to his crime thinking they were alone and Holmes was dying, Holmes
made him turn up the gas which was a signal for Inspector Morton to come in and
arrest him along with the evidence.

e. Sherlock Holmes is considered to be one of the greatest fictional detectives

of all times. What qualities does he show in the story, The Dying Detective to
prove his genius as a detective?
To be good at one’s work one has to be totally passionate about it. Passion always
ensures success. Holmes reflects so much of passion that he decided to solve his
case by fasting for three consecutive days. He neither had food nor did he have
anything to drink. Beyond passion, a good detective has to be cautious and
observant. He also has to think critically, analyse, deduce and plan, and Holmes did
each of them very efficiently. He reflected caution while opening the ivory box, and
then analysed that the culprit could be Smith. He was observant in noticing that
Smith had understood that he was suspecting him for Victor Savage’s death. A good
detective should also have efficient problem-solving skills and know how to conceal
his own actions so that his plans are best implemented. While solving this case
Holmes did not talk of the plan to his friend so that the concern on Watson’s face
would remain realistic which eventually helped him achieve what he wanted. A good
detective also needs to have faith in one self. Holmes astounded the reader with his
intelligence and the faith in his execution at the end of the story. Holmes also acted
very well. A good detective often has to act to keep the ripples undercover and in this
story Holmes‟ entire plot depended on his pretentions. A great investigator is one
who is well-read and a storehouse of knowledge and information. Even in this case
Holmes knew about the diseases of Sumatra. He suspected something horribly
wrong in Victor’s death due to his wide in-depth knowledge. It was his deduction
ability and knowledge that he applied to think critically, and then devised his plan to
catch the culprit in a situation where the offender himself confessed to his crime and
got arrested.