This post, “The Midnight Visitor NCERT Solutions Class 10 English,” provides comprehensive NCERT solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 3: The Midnight Visitor (Robert Arthur). We recommend reading the summary of The Midnight Visitor first to understand the chapter’s questions much better!
READ AND FIND OUT (Page 14)
Q.1. How is Ausable different from other secret agents?
Ans. Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent that Fowler had ever read. He was very fat and sloppily dressed, and though he spoke French and German passably, he had never lost his American accent. He lived in a small room on the top floor of a gloomy French hotel and received ordinary telephone calls instead of secret messages from dark-eyed beauties. Yet he was extremely intelligent and had great presence of mind.
Q.2. Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?
Ans. Fowler is a young and romantic writer who had come to meet Ausable, hoping to see the exciting life of a secret agent. His first authentic thrill came when Ausable switched on the light of his room and they saw a man standing halfway across the room with a small automatic pistol in his hand.
READ AND FIND OUT (Page 15)
Q.1. How has Max got in?
Ans. Max got into the room with the help of a passkey. He said he did not know about the balcony, and that it might have saved him some trouble had he known about it.
Q.2. How does Ausable say he got in?
Ans. Ausable said that Max had entered through the balcony of the next apartment, which extended under his window. He complained that this was the second time in a month that somebody had got into his room through that “nuisance of a balcony”, and that the management had promised to block it off but had not done so.
The Midnight Visitor Think About It Question Answer
Q.1. “Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had ever read.” What do secret agents in books and films look like, in your opinion?
Ans. In books and films, secret agents are usually shown as tall, smart, well-dressed and physically fit men with sharp eyes and quick reflexes. They drive fast cars, use modern gadgets and weapons, and live in grand hotels — James Bond is the best-known example. Detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot are shown as clever observers with striking personalities. Ausable is just the opposite. He is fat, sloppy, wheezy and lives in a small room. But he proves that real success in this profession depends on intelligence and presence of mind, not on appearance.
Q.2. How does Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony attached to his room? What makes it a convincing story?
Ans. Ausable invents the balcony with such calm and detail that it sounds completely true. He speaks with irritation and annoyance, complaining that it is the second time in a month that someone has entered through it and that the management has not blocked it off. He explains that his room was once part of a large unit, that the next room used to be the living room with the balcony, and that the balcony now extends under his window and can be reached from an empty room two doors down. This natural anger, the exact details and the fact that he speaks to Fowler as if explaining an old problem make the story completely convincing.
Q.3. When do you think Ausable thought up his plan for getting rid of Max? Had he worked it out in detail right from the beginning?
Ans. Ausable had not planned anything in advance. He invented the story of the balcony the moment he saw Max, only to hide his own surprise and to test him. The plan took final shape when the waiter knocked at the door. Ausable at once said that it must be the police, and Max, believing both lies, jumped out of the window to his death. So Ausable simply made up the plan step by step, taking advantage of events as they happened.
The Midnight Visitor Talk About It Question Answer
Q.1. Ausable shows great ‘presence of mind’. Give examples of someone’s presence of mind.
Ans. Presence of mind means the ability to think quickly and act calmly in a moment of danger. For example, once a small fire started in our kitchen when oil caught fire. My mother did not panic or pour water on it; she quickly covered the pan with a lid and switched off the gas, and the fire went out at once. Pouring water would have spread the flames. In another instance, a friend fell into a deep pond during a picnic. Instead of jumping in, a boy threw him a long branch and pulled him out safely.
Q.2. What would you do in the situations described below?
| Situation | What I would do |
|---|---|
| A small fire starts in the kitchen | Switch off the gas, cover the flames with a lid or thick wet cloth or use sand; never pour water on an oil fire. Call for help if it spreads. |
| A child starts to choke on a piece of food | Bend the child forward and give firm blows between the shoulder blades; if it does not clear, rush to a doctor immediately. |
| An electrical appliance hisses and gives out sparks | Switch off the main power supply at once and unplug it with a dry wooden stick; do not touch it with bare or wet hands. Call an electrician. |
| A bicycle knocks down a pedestrian | Move the injured person to a safe place, give first aid, and take him to a hospital or call an ambulance. |
| It rains continuously for more than twenty-four hours | Store drinking water, food, candles and medicines; keep away from electric poles and old buildings; move to a safer place if water starts entering the house. |
| A family member does not return home at the usual time | Stay calm and phone the person and his friends or workplace; if there is still no news, inform the neighbours and the police. |
Glossary (Quick Revision)
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| romantic | imaginative; having a fanciful view of reality |
| passably | just well enough; tolerably well |
| espionage | spying |
| sloppy | carelessly dressed |
| prosaic | ordinary, dull |
| chuckled | laughed quietly |
| wheezed | spoke while breathing noisily and heavily |
| missiles | weapons directed automatically or by remote control |
| shrilly | in a high, piercing tone |
| passkey | a key that opens several locks |
| countenance | the face or expression |
| menacing | threatening |
| disillusioned | disappointed on learning the truth |
| inflection | a change in the tone of the voice |
