Footprints Without Feet

A Question of Trust

MLO: Use language and vocabulary in different contexts

CCL: Link with Civics

RLA: To inculcate values of trust.

UAE LINK: Law and order in the UAE.

CORE VALUE: Respect, Trust

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Question 1.
So he robbed a safe every year. Each year he planned carefully just what he
would do, stole enough to last for twelve months, and secretly bought the books
he loved through an agent.
(a) Who is ‘he’ in the above extract?
(b) Why did ‘he’ rob only one safe every year?
(c) Find the word from the extract that means the opposite of ‘openly’.
(d) What is the present tense of ‘stole’?
Answer:
(a) ‘He’ in the above extract is Horace Danby.
(b) He robbed only one safe every year because he robbed just enough to satisfy
his hobby of buying and collecting rare and expensive books. Otherwise, he was
just an honest lock-maker.
(c) The word is ‘secretly’.
(d) Its present tense is ‘steal’.

Question 2.
A small dog was lying in the kitchen. It stirred, made a noise, and moved its tail in
a friendly way. [CBSE 2014]
(a) What is the name of the dog mentioned in the above extract?
(b) In which house is the kitchen referred to located?
(c) Find a word from the passage that means the same as ‘cordial’.
(d) What is the opposite of ‘friendly’?
Answer:
(a) The name of the dog mentioned in the above extract is Sherry.
(b) The kitchen referred to is located in Shotover Grange.
(c) The word is ‘friendly’.
(d) Its opposite is ‘hostile’.

Question 3.
The voice went on, “You can cure it with a special treatment, you know, if you find
out just what plant gives you the disease. I think you’d better see a doctor, if
you’re serious about your work.”
(a) Whose voice is referred to in the above extract?
(b) What disease was the voice referring to?
(c) Find a word from the passage that means the same as ‘ailment’.
(d) What part Of speech is the word ‘it’ in the extract?
Answer:
(a) The voice referred to in the above extract is of the young lady who pretended
to be a member of the household.
(b) The disease the voice was referring to was hay fever, with which Horace
Danby was afflicted.
(c) The word is ‘disease’.
(d) ‘It’ is a pronoun.

Question 4.
She laughed, and he begged, thinking that he had persuaded her, “Look, I have
no right to ask you for anything, but I’m desperate.”
(a) Who are ‘she1 and ‘he’ in the above extract?
(b) Why did ‘he’ say that he was desperate?
(c) Find a word in the passage that means the same as ‘convinced1.
(d) What is the opposite of ‘persuaded’?
Answer:
(a) ‘She’ is young lady who Horace met in the house and ‘he’ is Horace Danby.
(b) Horace was desperate because he had been caught stealing and did not want
to go to prison.
(c) The word is ‘persuaded’.
(d) Its opposite is ‘dissuaded’

Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks each]

Question 1.
Whom did Horace Danby see in the kitchen? How did they greet each other?
What tact did Horace apply there? [CBSE 2013]
Answer:
Horace Danby saw the family dog, Sherry, in the kitchen. The dog greeted Horace
by stirring, making a noise and wagging its tail in a friendly way. Horace greeted
the dog by tactfully calming it down, calling it by its name and showing love to it.

Question 2.
How did Danby prepare for the robbery at Shotover Grange? [CBSE 2011]
or
How did Horace Danby plan his robberies? [CBSE2012]
Answer:
Danby always planned his robberies meticulously. He prepared for the robbery at
Shotover Grange by studying the house, the electric wiring, paths and garden. He
knew that the family normally lived in the city and knew about the movement of
the servants, who had gone out that afternoon. He had kept his tools ready,
packed in a bag.

Question 3.
What was the passion of Horace Danby and how did he satisfy it? [CBSE 2011]
Answer:
The passion of Horace Danby was collecting rare and expensive books. To satisfy
this passion, he needed money and arranged it by robbing one safe every year
and then secretly buying the books through an agent.

Question 4.
Describe the safe at Shotover Grange.
or
Where was the safe at Shotover Grange? What was there inside it? What did
Horace expect to get if he sold them one by one? [CBSE 2012]
Answer:
The safe at Shotover Grange was kept in the drawing room behind a poor
painting and had jewels worth about 15000 pounds kept in it. It had a poorly
built burglar alarm, but could be opened only through a specific code. Horace
expected to get 5000 pounds if he sold the jewels one by one.

Question 5.
How can you say that Horace Danby was good and respectable but not
completely honest?
Answer:
Horace Danby was good and respectable because he was an expert in his
profession of making locks. However, as he loved collecting rare and expensive
books, he robbed a safe every year to finance the purchase of these books
through an agent. Thus he was not completely honest

Question 6.
How did flowers hinder Horace in his work? [CBSE 2013]
Answer:
Flowers hindered Horace in his work because he had hay fever, a disorder
affecting the nose and throat, caused by allergy to pollen or dust. Due to this
problem, whenever he came close to flowers, he began to sneeze’ and could be
caught. He had to cover his face.

Question 7.
Why was Horace Danby sure that his robbery at Shotover Grange woukhbe a
successful one? [CBSE 2014]
Answer:
Horace Danby was sure that his robbery at Shotover Grange would be a
successful one because he had studied the house, the drawing room where the
safe was kept, the wiring and its garden. He had also studied the movement of
the servants, so he had planned well, thus ensuring that nothing could go wrong.

Question 8.
Why does Horace Danby get angry when anyone talks about ‘honour among
thieves’?
Answer:
When anyone talks about ‘honour among thieves’, Horace Danby gets angry
because the young lady who cheated him was also a thief, yet did not follow this
saying.

Question 9.
What are the subtle ways in which the lady manages to deceive Horace Danby
into thinking she is the mistress of the house?
Answer:
The subtle ways in which the lady manages to deceive Horace Danby into
thinking she is the mistress of the house are her grace, charm, comfort level,
knowledge, persistence, way of talking confidently and familiarity with the
household. She even threatens to get him arrested, which convinces Horace
Danby that she is genuine.

Question 10.
What did Horace Danby wonder about for a moment? What did he think and
decide? [CBSE 2010]
Answer:
On seeing the poor painting in front of the safe, Horace Danby wondered for a
moment whether to collect pictures instead of books. But then, he thought that
books were better in a small house like his, as paintings took up too much room.

Question 11.
What did Horace do every year and why?
Answer:
As Horace was fond of rare, expensive books, he stole a safe every year, to have
just enough money to last twelve months for buying such books to his heart’s
content.

Question 12.
Whom did Horace meet at Shotover Grange? How did the meeting affect his
plans?
Answer:
Horace met a young, pretty woman dressed in red at Shotover Grange. She
pretended to be the owner’s wife and deceived him into breaking open the safe
to remove the jewels for her. She threatened even to call the police. This meeting
adversely affected his plans, as he was not able to get away with the jewels.
 Long Answer (Value Based) Type Questions [8 Marks each]

Question 1.
What precautions did Danby take to avoid arrest? What blunder did he commit in
his last venture?
Answer:
To avoid arrest, Danby always studied all aspects of the safe he had targeted that
year thoroughly, including the habits of the owners and servants, the layout of
the house, any burglar alarms etc. He carried a set of select tools to break open
safes and always wore gloves, so that he left behind no fingerprints.
In his last venture at Shotover Grange, he committed the blunder of not wearing
gloves while cracking open the safe, probably because he was distracted by the
young lady threatening to call the police, thus leading to his arrest soon
afterwards.

Question 2.
Why was Horace Danby arrested although he failed to profit from the robbery at
Shotover Grange?
Answer:
Horace Danby was arrested although he failed to profit from the robbery at
Shotover Grange, because he broke open the safe to give the lady in red the
jewels, thinking her to be the wife of the owner who had forgotten the number
combination to open the safe. Actually he wanted to escape scot-free, as he had
been caught red-handed by the lady and wanted to keep her happy. However,
his fingerprints were all over the room, as he had forgotten to wear his gloves
while opening the safe. Thus he was arrested soon afterwards.

Question 3.
Horace was clever but the lady in red was cleverer. Do you agree with this
statement? Justify your answer.
Answer:
Yes, I agree with this statement. Horace was clever, as he planned the robbery
carefully, studied the target, took the proper tools and also took his gloves, to
ensure leaving no fingerprints. But the young lady in red had all the necessary
information, and, posing as the mistress of the house, exploited Horace’s fear on
being discovered, tricked him into cracking open the safe and handing her the
jewels. She even ensured that Horace left his fingerprints at the site, as she
distracted him by picking up a cigarette which Horace offered to light after
removing his gloves. Thus the lady outwitted him.

Question 4.
Would you do something wrong (i.e. commit a crime) if you thought that the
ends justify the means? Do you think that there are certain situations you can be
excused for acting dishonestly? [CBSE 2011]
Answer:
Yes, intentions do justify actions. If something wrong is done unintentionally, it
may be pardoned. However, it cannot be excused if it is carried out even when
knowing it is wrong. As Horace had the intention to rob the safe by breaking it
open, his crime is intentional. Although he had good intentions in helping the
lady (who he thought was the mistress of the house), his crime cannot be
excused. Breaking open the safe cannot be justified at all. There may be certain
situations when you can be excused for acting dishonestly, but this is not so in
Horace’s case.

Question 5.
Horace was a successful thief because he carefully planned his robberies. Should
we call him a successful thief and still appreciate his work? Why or why
not? [CBSE 2013]
Answer:
Yes, as a thief, Horace is successful because he carefully planned his robberies
and completes them well. He was living his life as a good and honest citizen.
However, the wealth he gathered due from his successful robberies did not
belong to him. By stealing other people’s valuables, he may have become
successful but he is actually a criminal. He may be efficient in – conducting his’-
crimes so that he is successful, but we still cannot appreciate his work.

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