GURUKUL EXCELLENT EDUCATION

A QUESTION OF TRUST
Victor Canning was a famous English writer of novels and thrillers. His thrillers are famous for their romance, mystery
and unexpected and highly thrilling endings.

Theme/ Central Idea

A Question of Trust’ is a chapter written by Victor Canning, deals with the robbery committed in a house at Shot over
Grange. Two professional thieves and burglars come face to face while on the same mission of robbing a safe in the
house. Both of them made elaborate preparations to make the theft a complete success.

A Question of Trust’ is a chapter that itself deals with the theme of trusting only that we should trust anyone or not? Or
we should not trust anyone so easily without finding out about that person. We must take our required time that is very
much necessary to build up a trust which will not create obstacles in our life and will act as a boon for us in the long run.
Horace, a victim of trusting someone so easily has ended up his life in a prison of which he was so much scared and
already devised a full proof plan which was paving a path of his success in his act but because of his silly actions messed
up his whole life in an unwanted situation for himself

Chapter here deals with another major theme by demonstrating that there is no such thing as perfect crime and a
prisoner now or then has to end his/ her whole life in prison which has happened with Horace also in the last. Though he
has devised a perfect plan with no such complications in it but everything went into vain and he landed into the prison in
the last.

Question and Answers

Q1. Who is the real culprit in the story?

The real culprit was the woman who pretended to be a member of the family living at Shotover Grange. She
tricked Horace into believing her, and cleverly took away all the jewels that were kept in the safe.

Q2. 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 realize this, and how?

Yes, one does begin to suspect before the end of the story that the lady was not the person Horace Danby took
her to be. She was unusually calm on seeing Horace. This seemed strange enough. When she did not call the
police, and instead asked Horace to take out all the jewels from the safe, even if it meant breaking it open, it
seemed suspicious. Moreover, it also seemed unlikely that she would forget the numbers to open the safe.
Therefore, it was evident, before the story ended, that the lady was not the person Horace had taken her to
be.

Q3. Whom did Horace Danby see in the kitchen? How did they greet each other? What tact did Horace apply
there? [CBSE 2013]

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.

Q4. How did Danby prepare for the robbery at Shotover Grange? [CBSE 2011]
or
How did Horace Danby plan his robberies? [CBSE2012]

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.

Q5. 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?

The lady managed to deceive Horace Danby into thinking that she was the lady of the house with her subtle
ways. She was dressed up pretty well, just like the lady of the house would be dressed. Also, her manner of
talking calmly, the way in which she petted the dog, and her going to the fireplace to straighten the ornaments
there showed her familiarity with the place. She regulated her tone and voice according to the situation.
Sometimes, she talked in a kind voice. At other times, she spoke in a serious manner. She would laugh
occasionally, and then, suddenly, her voice would become sharp. She spoke about how society should be
protected from men like Horace. Because of all these things, Horace could not suspect that she was not the
lady of the house. He was nervous himself, and was scared of getting caught. The moment he saw that she
would let him go, he quickly broke open the safe for her, and promised not to rob again. According to the
narrator, he was a ‘good, honest citizen’. This was why Horace could not suspect anything.

Q6. “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 categorized as a typical thief?

“Horace Danby was good and respectable − but not completely honest”. This description is apt for Horace. He
was about fifty years old. He robbed only from rich people, and his purpose was to buy rare and expensive
books with the money. He stole only once a year. The intention of buying books was good. However, the fact
that he stole to achieve this end showed that he was not completely honest. He cannot be categorized as a
typical thief because he did not steal to eat or drink. He had a house. He made locks, had two people to help
him, and was successful in his business. He only stole enough money to buy the books. For a couple of days, he
even kept his promise to the lady he met at Shotover Grange by not stealing or planning any robbery.

Q7. What was the passion of Horace Danby and how did he satisfy it? [CBSE 2011]

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.

Q8. 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]

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.

Q9. How did flowers hinder Horace in his work? [CBSE 2013]

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.
Q10. Why was Horace Danby sure that his robbery at Shotover Grange woukhbe a successful one? [CBSE 2014]
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.

Q11. Why does Horace Danby get angry when anyone talks about ‘honour among thieves’?

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.

Q12. Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?

Horace Danby was a meticulous planner, but still he faltered. He used to plan his robberies very well. He knew
all the details of the Shotover Grange. He knew the time when there would be no one at the house. He even
knew the name of the dog in the house. However, he was completely deceived by the lady he met at the
house. He was outdone by her. He was taken in by her subtle ways, and did not realize that she herself could
have been a thief. On seeing her, he got scared and started begging her to let him go. When she asked him to
take out the jewels for her, he readily agreed. He did not feel any oddity in her leaving him, and not getting
him arrested. He was only too happy and thankful that he could go. In his hurry, he even overlooked the fact
that his fingerprints were left all over the safe. He blindly believed the lady, and thus, in spite of his meticulous
planning, he faltered.

Q13. What are the subtle ways in which the lady manages to deceive Horace Danby into thinking she is the mistress of
the house?

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.

Q14. What did Horace Danby wonder about for a moment? What did he think and decide? [CBSE 2010]

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.

Q15. 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]

According to us 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.