A Question of Trust NCERT Solutions Class 10 English

This post, “A Question of Trust NCERT Solutions Class 10 English,” provides comprehensive NCERT solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 4: A Question of Trust (Victor Canning). We recommend reading the summary of A Question of Trust first to understand the chapter’s questions much better!

READ AND FIND OUT (Page 20)

Q.1. What does Horace Danby like to collect?
Ans. Horace Danby loved to collect rare and expensive books. He bought them secretly through an agent.

Q.2. Why does he steal every year?
Ans. He robbed a safe once every year to get money for buying the rare books he loved. Each year he planned carefully, stole just enough to last for twelve months, and then bought his books.

READ AND FIND OUT (Page 22)

Q.1. Who is speaking to Horace Danby?
Ans. A young, pretty woman dressed in red is speaking to him. She pretends to be the wife of the owner of Shotover Grange, but in reality she is another thief who had come to rob the same safe.

Q.2. Who is the real culprit in the story?
Ans. The young lady in red is the real culprit. She cleverly made Horace open the safe for her, took away the jewels, and left him to be arrested for the robbery.

A Question of Trust Think About It Question Answer

Q.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?
Ans. Yes, one begins to suspect her when she says that she has always liked the wrong kind of people, and again when she is not at all frightened at meeting a burglar in her house. The strongest hint comes when she says she has forgotten the numbers of her own safe and does not mind at all if the safe is broken. No real owner would speak so casually about her own valuables.

Q.2. What are the subtle ways in which the lady deceives Horace Danby? Why doesn’t Horace suspect that something is wrong?
Ans. The lady behaves with complete confidence, as if the house belonged to her. She scolds the dog Sherry by name, straightens the ornaments on the fireplace, and speaks in a quiet but firm voice. She talks of “my husband”, “my jewels” and “our bank”, and threatens to call the police. Horace does not suspect anything because she seems amused rather than afraid, and because he is desperate to escape arrest. In his eagerness to please her, he even removes his gloves to light her cigarette, which finally leads to his arrest.

Q.3. “Horace Danby was good and respectable — but not completely honest.” Why is this description apt for Horace? Why can’t he be categorised as a typical thief?
Ans. The description fits him well. Everyone thought he was a good, honest citizen. He ran a lock-making business with two helpers and lived quietly with a housekeeper. Yet he robbed a safe every year, so he was not completely honest. He cannot be called a typical thief because he did not steal out of greed or to harm anyone. He stole only from rich people, only once a year, and only to buy the rare books he loved. He was gentle by nature, was kind to the dog, hated the thought of prison, and even promised never to steal again.

Q.4. Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?
Ans. Horace planned everything with great care; he studied the house for two weeks, wore gloves, cut the burglar alarm wire and chose a time when the servants were away. He went wrong in trusting the young lady in red without any proof of who she was. In his anxiety to escape and to please her, he took off his gloves to light her cigarette and then opened the safe with bare hands. His fingerprints all over the room led to his arrest.

A Question of Trust Talk About It Question Answer

Q.1. Do you think Horace Danby was unfairly punished, or that he deserved what he got?
Ans. In a way he deserved punishment, because he had entered the house to commit a robbery and had been stealing every year for fifteen years. The law cannot excuse a crime simply because the motive was a love of books. At the same time his punishment seems unfair, since the real thief escaped with the jewels while he was jailed for a robbery he did not actually commit. He was more a victim of his own foolish trust than of justice.

Q.2. Do intentions justify actions? Would you, like Horace Danby, do something wrong if you thought your ends justified the means?
Ans. No, good intentions cannot justify wrong actions. Horace’s love of books was harmless, but the theft he committed to satisfy it was still a crime. If everyone broke the law for a “good reason”, society could not survive. I would not do something wrong even for a good purpose; I would rather work honestly to achieve my aim. However, there may be rare situations, such as telling a lie to save an innocent life or to comfort a dying person, where being less than strictly honest can be excused. Even then, the act must harm no one.

Glossary (Quick Revision)