4 A Question of Trust 10

4   "A Question of Trust":  10 

  

S. No.	Words	Meaning
1.	Safe	Refers to a cupboard or a metal box used for keeping valuable things like jewellery, documents etc.
2.	Sentence	The punishment given to someone who has been found guilty
3.	Shotover	Refers to a hill and forest in England
4.	Grange	Refers to a country house
5.	Tickle	To have uncomfortable feeling in a part of your body
6.	Autumn	The season between summer and winter
7.	Drawing room	A living room in a large house
8.	Burglar Alarm	A device fixed on a building which makes noise when someone enters the building illegally
9.	Tool	A piece of equipment to use with your hands for performing an activity
10.	Hinder	To make it more difficult to perform or move through a process or activity
11.	Ornaments	Objects used to decorate rooms
12.	Amuse	To seem funny to someone
13.	Straighten	To put in order
14.	Firmness	Being steady without a change
15.	Nod	To move your head up and down as a sign of acceptance
16.	Hesitate	To pause for sometime before saying or doing anything
17.	Frighten	To make someone afraid
18.	Threaten	To pose a danger to someone or something
19.	Persuade	To convince someone
20.	Desperate	Worried without any hope
21.	Took off	To remove something
22.	Held	To keep something a certain position

 The story, "A Question of Trust," written by Victor Canning revolves around the protagonist named Horace Danby. While discussing Horace's character in the initial lines of the paragraph, the narrator states unequivocally that he is not a good, honest person,contrary to what people were thinking about him.

 

Horace Danby was a 50-year-old man who was unmarried and lived with his housekeeper. The housekeeper used to worry about Horace's health most of the time. Its because although Horace looked healthy, he always had hay fever attacks during the summer every year. He used to make locks and used to earn a profit that was enough for him to hire two helpers for his work.

 

Unlike a viral fever, hay fever is caused by an allergy but has the same symptoms as a viral fever, like a runny nose, itchy eyes, congestion, sneezing, and sinus congestion. Also, hay fever might lead to a loss of smell. Allergy rhinitis triggered by pollen from specific seasonal plants is known as "hay fever" because it is most common during the haying season (the season for cutting, drying, and storing grass as fodder).

 

As previously stated, everyone assumed he was a good and honest man, but no one knew he had served a sentence in the prison library before 15 years. Horace loved books and had a habit of buying rare and valuable books. So he required more money to buy those expensive books. Every year, he would steal enough to last him a year, then spend the rest on books through a secret agent.

 

Horace planned another theft during one of the warm months of July that particular year as well, and he was confident that he would do it as effortlessly without being caught as he had done every other summer. Shotover Grange was the location. He studied the house for two weeks before performing a robbery, paying close attention to the smallest things, including electric wiring, pathways, and the garden area. The owner of that house was in London at that time.

 

Unfortunately, on the day of a planned robbery, the servants of that house, who were meant to stay at the residence on days when the family travelled to London, went to see a movie. So, no one was there on that particular day of theft as Horace expected. Horace's long-awaited moment had finally arrived.

 

Since it was summer, Horace had hay fever as usual, but instead of being concerned about the tickle in his nostrils caused by hay fever, Horace was pleased to see the staff leaving the house. He then entered the house through the garden wall behind it, carrying a backpack containing robbery tools. Horace was already aware that the Grange safe contained around 15,000 pounds worth diamonds. In this context, "Safe" refers to a locker that's used to keep valuable things like documents, jewels, etc.

 

Horace calculated that selling each of the jewels individually would net him at least 5000 pounds, enough to keep him comfortable for a year. He also considered buying three books that he planned to purchase in the autumn and was happy that he would now have the money to do so.

 

Horace had taken down all of the details of the Grange house before entering it, as previously stated. As a result, he was already aware of the housekeepers' plan. Grange House's housekeepers had planned to go to the movie on that particular day. He was waiting for the servants to leave for a movie at the Grange house and he noticed one of them putting the house key on a hook outside the kitchen door.

 

Horace took the key after wearing a glove to avoid leaving fingerprints. He was quite concerned about fingerprints when he opened the grange door. One of the major reasons that helped Horace so far in all his thefts is that he did not leave any fingerprints during a burglary.

 

In the kitchen, Horace noticed a small dog napping in the corner. The dog moved his tail in a pleasant manner, made a noise, and then moved his body a little more. "All right, Sherry," Horace remarked, referring to the dog's name. According to him, calling dogs by their names and showing them some affection was the key to keeping them quiet.

 

The safe of the grange was in the drawing room, hidden behind a poor painting. Looking at the painting, he thought that he should collect paintings rather than books, but then thought that it would be better to collect books in a small house because pictures required larger spaces, which indicates Horace lived in a small house.

 

When Horace attempted to approach the safe, there were flowers on the table near him that made his nose tickle. The floral smell aggravated Horace's hay fever, and so he sneezed, and then he began assembling his tools in preparation for opening the safe.

 

For two reasons, Horace was not in a rush to steal anything from the safe. Firstly, he knew the servants would arrive in four hours. Secondly, because he was a lockmaker and had spent his entire life dealing with locks and safes, opening that safe would not be difficult.

 

He disconnected the cables of the house's burglary system, which was not well maintained in that house, after preparing the tools. He then returned to the kitchen and sneezed once again after smelling the flowers once more.

 

Horace felt it to be a foolish thing to mention the details of that house in an article.  He called the house owners fools because they didn't anticipate how publishing the specifics of their home in a magazine may affect, as it might make it easier for criminals like Horace to plunder their belongings. It was because that article had even included the details about the safe hidden by a painting, along with the plan of all the rooms.

 

Well, this is what happens when some wealthy people want to display their materialistic things without giving them a second thought about how it would affect them.

 

Horace covered his face with his handkerchief since he was averse to the fragrance of flowers. Suddenly, he heard a voice near the doorway asking, "What is it?" he heard a voice inquire from near the doorway. "A cold or hay fever?" Horace sneezed again and replied to that voice that he had Hay fever, without even knowing who that voice belonged to.

 

The strange voice then continued and told him that he could cure it provided he knew which flower caused the allergy and that he should see a doctor if he wanted to be a good thief. Then the other person said that his sneezing could be heard from the top floor of the house.

 

The young woman's voice was soft and kind, yet it was also firm, indicating that she was the home's owner.

 

Suddenly, Horace realised that the voice belonged to a woman standing in the doorway, and Sherry was rubbing the dog.

 

Dogs commonly scrape humans to express their affection for them. The woman looked young, pretty, and was dressed in red. She walked towards him and arranged the decorations she had kept on the fireplace. She then instructed her dog to stay away. Then she told Horace that people might be thinking that she was away for a month, but she was back on time. Moreover, to her surprise, she didn’t expect to meet a burglar at her house.

 

Horace had some hope that he would not be punished because the young woman seemed so kind and compassionate when she saw a burglar at her house, rather than being terrified or rude, and so he assumed she would let him leave. He also believed that if he treated her well and didn't do anything wrong, she would forgive him. Having thought so, he replied to her, saying, "I didn’t expect to meet one of the family".

 

The woman's weird behaviour shows a few things as follows: 
She didn't fear Horace and thought she could manage the problem on her own. It's because she didn't ask anyone for help, and she didn't call the cops. However, it raises the question of whether the young woman was the true owner of the house.

 

The young woman shook her head and sarcastically told Horace that she had become a problem for him because she had returned sooner than expected. She meant to say that she made his burglary more difficult. She then inquired about his plans after seeing her, to which he responded that his first thought was to run. The woman responded that he was free to do so, but that she would call the cops to report him robbing her house and that they would catch him. Horace stated that he would first cut the telephone cables, which would prohibit her from calling the cops at least for a few hours, so that he could use it for his escape.

 

She gave him a serious look and inquired whether he would hurt her. Horace responded that he was merely trying to scare her, but she stated that she was not scared by his statements.

 

As mentioned earlier, the preceding discussion highlights two points. To begin with, no other householder would deal with a robber as calmly as the woman does. Second, it helps readers consider how a woman may be unconcerned with witnessing a robber at home. Furthermore, she made no attempt to get assistance, nor did she want him to flee the scene.

 

Horace gave a suggestion/indirect warning to the young woman that she must forget about his visit to her home and let him go without any punishment. On hearing Horace's words, her voice tone changed and she started speaking in a sharp and loud voice. She asked him as to why should she let him go. Furthermore, she argued that he was there to rob her things and if she spared him, he would go and rob someone else. She stated that society needed to be safeguarded against people like him. Horace, on the other hand, was cool enough to manage the situation; he smiled at her and said that he was not a threat to society since he only stole from the wealthy ones.

 

Before that young woman, he had presented his own vision of justice for stealing things. Furthermore, he emphasised that he stole for a good reason and despised the thought of going to prison. Horace's statement revealed his concern of being cornered by cops in the Grange house at the same time. He tried to persuade the woman by citing his own burglary ethics.

 

Despite Horace's best efforts to gain sympathy through his own burglary ethics, the young woman remained unconvinced. After hearing about Horace's robbery ethics, she laughed at him. Horace, believing that he had persuaded her with his statements, saw her laughing. So, he pleaded with her to let him leave the house once more. He was desperate, and he was willing to go to any extent to get out of the situation he had found himself in. He told her he would not steal again if she let him leave her house without informing or calling the cops.

 

For a long time, the young woman sat and listened to him, her gaze fixed on him. She sarcastically asked whether he was worried about going to prison, which was an indirect warning. She then approached him, shaking her head, and told him that she always liked the wrong kind of people. Horace was in a bad situation and desperately wanted to get out of her house. As a result, he failed to see the inner meaning of her words, that she always preferred the wrong kind of people. Horace was in such a rush that he missed the essence of these words, which would become clear in the following sessions.

 

She then took out a cigarette from a silver cigarette box on the table. Nonetheless, Horace was confident that if he could please her, she would be willing to assist him. He swiftly removed his gloves and handed her his cigarette lighter, ignorant of the consequences. Of all the burglaries he'd committed before, this was the first time he'd taken off his gloves. He had no idea how that behaviour would get him into trouble later. He did so because he thought the young woman was the true owner of the house. 

 

As previously stated, Horace believed his behaviour and burglary convictions had convinced the woman. He assumed she was impressed by his burglary ethics of stealing for a good reason and only from wealthy people.

 

When he thought so, he asked her if she would let Horace leave the house while holding the lighter in her hand. She initially said 'yes', but only on the condition that Horace be doing something for her in exchange. Horace had not anticipated it, but his circumstances forced him to comply with her request. In exchange for her assistance, he promised to do anything.

 

The young lady began to describe her situation to Horace. She stated that before leaving for London, she promised her husband that she would place all of the jewellery in the bank, but instead kept it in the grange's safe. Unfortunately, she had to leave for a party right away. Horace then cut her off in the middle of her sentence, guessing that she had forgotten the locker code, to which she said 'yes'.

 

The young woman's behaviour was dubious from the beginning.

 

a. No homeowner can stand seeing a robber inside her home.

 

b. The young woman's claim that she forgot the locker code did not appear to be credible, as any house owner who handles so much value in a safe and forgets the locker code cannot be trusted.

 

Horace was in a hurry to get out of the house, so he didn't have time to think about the woman's statements in depth. He was happy with the deal she had made and told her she could leave the challenge of getting the jewels from the safe to him. Horace had no trouble completing her obligations because he was a competent lock maker. He promised the stranger woman that he would get her jewels from the safe, but warned her that he would have to break the safe, which she agreed to; she also informed him that her husband would not be arriving in Grange House for another month and that she could make changes to the locker before he arrived.

 

Horace kept his word as he promised and unlocked the safe, giving her the jewels. He then happily returned home, thinking he had dealt with the matter without getting himself into trouble.

 

For two days, he kept his promise to the young lady. However, on the third morning of the Grange house theft, he thought of the books he needed and realised he'd have to find another safe. However, he was never given the opportunity to put his idea into action. By noon, he'd been arrested for the jewel theft at Shotover Grange.

 

Horace's fingerprints were found to be the reason for his arrest. It was the first time in his life that he was caught for a burglary. It was because of his fingerprints, which he had never left anywhere during any of his other thefts.

 

Horace took off his gloves and broke the locker at Grange House, mistaking the young woman for the real owner of the house, which was not the case. In reality, the house's owner was an elderly woman who had never seen Horace before and dismissed Horace's claim of him assisting her in breaking the lock as complete nonsense. Horace then realised that the young woman who retrieved the jewels from the busted safe was not the true owner of the house but was also a thief.

 

Finally, Horace was arrested and was working assistant librarian in a prison. He often recalled how a woman from the same profession had deceived him and gotten him caught. When someone mentioned 'honour among thieves', he became enraged. The moral of the story is that theft is theft, regardless of whether it is done for a good or noble cause. And no matter how smart a thief is, he or she will be caught one day.

 "A Question of Trust", written by "Victor Canning", was about Horace Danby, a fifty-year-old former criminal and collector of rare and expensive books. He was a lock maker by profession, but he stole from wealthy individuals to buy the books he needed some years ago, making sure his fingerprints were not left behind in the places where he stole. However, it did not work out in the end because he was caught in one of his theft. It was his last theft, and the theft spot was Shotover Grange.

 

As usual, Horace collected specifics about the Grange house for almost a week, like the houseowner's stay in London, how many servants were there, and their movie plan timing, the burglary alarm system in that house, etc. In particular, a recent article in a magazine about that house revealed all the information, including the location of a safe behind a painting.

 

Unlike the other places he stole from, he met a woman while stealing at that house who claimed to be the owner of that house and threatened to report him to the cops while stealing there. She also demanded him to get her the jewels by breaking the safe, saying that she had forgotten the lock's password. Horace did so and went home, thinking that the owner of the Grange house had spared him. But after two days, Horace was arrested. There comes the twist in the story: the woman whom Horace met in that Grange house was not the real owner but was also a thief, and that the footprints of Horace found in the Grange house were the reason for his arrest. 

A Question of Trust

Q1: What does Horace Danby like to collect?

Answer:
Horace Danby loves to collect rare and expensive books. He is very fond of them and steals money once every year to buy these books through a secret agent.

Q2: Why does he steal every year?

Answer:
He steals once every year to get money for buying the rare books he loves. He does not spend the stolen money on luxuries but uses it only for his book collection.

Q3: Who is speaking to Horace Danby?

Answer:
A young woman dressed in red, claiming to be the owner’s wife, is speaking to Horace. She finds him while he is trying to open the safe.

Q4: Who is the real culprit in the story?

Answer:
The young woman is the real thief. She tricks Horace into opening the safe for her by pretending to be the owner's wife. After taking the jewels, she disappears, and Horace is caught by the police.

:

Think About It – Answers

1. 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?

Answer:
Yes, there are a few clues in the story that make the reader suspicious of the lady.

• She appears too calm and confident when she sees a burglar.

• She does not call the police or act scared.

• She asks Horace to open the safe for her, which is strange if she is really the owner’s wife.

• She knows the dog’s name, but Horace had also seen the dog earlier, so that doesn’t prove much.

All these hints suggest that she is not the real owner. The truth is revealed at the end when the real lady is found to be an old woman.

2. 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?

Answer:
The lady uses several smart and subtle tricks to fool Horace:

• She behaves in a natural, confident, and polite way.

• She dresses well, just like a rich housewife would.

• She knows the dog’s name, making her look familiar with the house.

• She pretends to be in a hurry for a party, which makes her lie sound urgent and believable.

Horace doesn’t suspect anything because:

• He is nervous and caught red-handed.

• He is more focused on escaping punishment than on questioning her identity.

• He wants to avoid trouble and is easily manipulated by her charm.

3. “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?

Answer:
This is a very fitting description. Horace seems like a gentle and respectable man:

• He is successful in his locksmith business.

• He has a housekeeper and lives quietly.

• He only commits one robbery a year to buy rare books, not for luxury or greed.

But he is still dishonest, because stealing is a crime, no matter how small. He cannot be called a typical thief because:

• He plans carefully and doesn’t use violence.

• He avoids hurting people.

• He feels guilty and nervous when caught.

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

Answer:
Horace made two big mistakes:

1. He trusted a stranger without confirming her identity.

2. He removed his gloves while opening the safe, which left his fingerprints.

He went wrong because he was:

• Overconfident in his plans.

• Too focused on escaping the situation instead of thinking logically.

• Emotionally manipulated by the woman’s calm and friendly behavior.

Value-Based Questions – Answers

1. Do you think Horace Danby was unfairly punished, or that he deserved what he got?

Answer:
Horace Danby did something wrong, even if it was just once a year. He broke into someone’s house and planned to steal expensive jewellery. So, he did deserve punishment.

However, it is also true that he was cheated by another thief and got caught unfairly, not directly for his own crime but because he was tricked.

Still, stealing is wrong, and law does not excuse theft, even if it’s for books. So his punishment was justified, though it also shows how crime leads to unexpected consequences.

2. 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?

Answer:
No, intentions do not justify wrong actions. Horace may have wanted rare books, which is a good hobby, but that doesn’t make theft acceptable.

Doing the wrong thing for a good reason is still morally and legally wrong. If we justify crime based on intention, society would become lawless.

In rare situations, like saving someone’s life, people might act dishonestly (e.g., lying to protect someone), but even then, it depends on the situation and consequences. In Horace’s case, his act was selfish, not noble, so it cannot be excused.