READ AND FIND
OUT PAGE
20-22
• What does Horace Danby like to collect?
Answer:
Horace Danby likes collecting rare and expensive books.
• Why
does he steal every year?
Answer:
He steals every year so he may buy rare, expensive books.
• Who
is speaking to Horace Danby?
Answer:
A pretty, young lady who claims to be the Grange’s owner’s wife is speaking to
Horace Danby.
• Who
is the real culprit in the story?
Answer:
The real culprit is the woman who manipulated Horace Danby.
THINK ABOUT
IT PAGE
25
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:
Of course, I suspected that the lady was not the Grange’s owner’s wife, for had
she been his wife, she would have not hesitated to call the police. I first
suspected she herself may be a thief when she asked Horace Danby to open the
safe.
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 thief doesn’t seem like a thief. She does everything she can to fool
Horace and make him believe that she is the owner’s wife. She somehow makes it
appear that she is not upset with him and when he says he was initially
frightened, she makes the most use of it.
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:
Horace was not the kind of thief who robbed houses just to make his ends meet.
In fact, he only chose rich houses to commit robbery. Unlike a typical thief,
he always planned everything well and executed the robbery as planned. He
robbed a rich man's house place only once a year and spent that money on books
- something that a typical thief would not do. That is why I feel that the
description is apt.
4. Horace Danby was a meticulous planner
but still, he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?
Answer:
Despite being a meticulous planner, Horace Danby was not confident. When the
lady entered, he was beguiled by her charm and believed her when she said she
was the owner's husband. Not even once did he think that she could be a thief
like he was. The place where he actually went wrong was opening the safe
without wearing gloves. He thus left fingerprints, and he was eventually
arrested.
TALK ABOUT IT PAGE
25
1. Do you think Horace Danby was unfairly
punished, or that he deserved what he got?
Answer:
I feel that Horace Danby was unfairly punished. However, if we look at the
entire episode, he would not have been punished if he would have carried out
the robbery without wearing gloves. So, somewhere things do fall into place.
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: I think actions have to be noble. Well, there are occasions when we have to resort to doing something terrible, but it should never be for the sake of doing it. At times, we may have to hide the truth from those that we don’t trust. In such situations, it is justified. But constantly lying and justifying one’s action is definitely not the right thing to do.
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