NCERT MCQ Solutions for Class 10 English Supplementary Chapter 4 A Question of Trust

Horace Danby made locks and was successful in his business, employing two helpers. His expertise with locks plays an important role in the story, both in his profession and in his yearly habit of safe-breaking.

Horace Danby loves rare, expensive books. He robs a safe every year and uses the stolen money to purchase these books secretly through an agent, revealing his unique motivation for theft.

Horace Danby’s first and only prison sentence was served fifteen years ago, highlighting that he had managed to avoid getting caught for a long time by careful planning.

Horace Danby lived with a housekeeper who worried about his health. This detail adds to his image as a respectable, settled citizen despite his secret criminal activities.

Horace suffers from attacks of hay fever in summer. This allergy is important to the plot, as his sneezing during the robbery leads to his encounter with the mysterious woman.

There were about fifteen thousand pounds’ worth of jewels in the Grange safe. Horace planned to sell them slowly to get at least five thousand pounds for rare books.

Horace saw the housekeeper hang the kitchen key on a hook outside. He put on gloves, took the key and entered the house carefully, ensuring no fingerprints were left.

Horace calmed the dog, Sherry, by calling it by its correct name and showing affection. This demonstrates his careful and considerate approach to burglary.

A large bowl of flowers in the drawing room triggered Horace’s hay fever, making his nose tickle and causing him to sneeze, which draws the attention of the woman in red.

The safe was hidden behind a rather poor painting in the drawing room. This information had even been mentioned in a magazine article, making it easier for Horace to locate.

Horace is surprised by the sudden appearance of a young woman dressed in red, who claims to be a member of the family and catches him in the act of burglary.

The woman tells Horace she wants the jewels from the safe because she plans to wear them at a party that night, convincing him to help her open the safe.

The woman in red says she forgot the numbers to open the safe and asks Horace to break it open for her, promising to let him go if he helps her.

Eager to please the woman and convinced she would help him escape trouble, Horace takes off his gloves while opening the safe, leaving his fingerprints all over the room.

Horace opens the safe, hands over the jewels and leaves the house happily, believing he has escaped trouble. He keeps his promise not to rob again for two days.

Horace is arrested for the jewel robbery because his fingerprints were all over the room, as he had removed his gloves at the request of the woman in red.

The real owner, a gray-haired sharp-tongued woman of sixty, denies Horace’s story and says it is nonsense, making his explanation unbelievable to the police.

In prison, Horace works as an assistant librarian. This suits his love of books and shows a dramatic change from his previous life as a careful burglar and lover of rare literature.

Horace feels very angry whenever anyone talks about “honour among thieves”, remembering how the charming woman in red outwitted him and got away with the jewels.

Trust between criminals is fragile and unreliable. Horace is betrayed by someone in the same “profession” and learns that there is no true honour among thieves.