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A Question of Trust Summary in English by Robert Arthur

A Question of Trust Summary in English

Horace Danby, a fifty-year old man, is a locksmith. Fifteen years ago, he was arrested for stealing jewels. He was quite healthy except for attacks of hay fever in summer. He had a great love for books. In order to buy expensive books he used to rob a safe every year. He planned to rob a house. He studied the house in full detail. Then one day, when every member of the family had gone to the movie he entered the house and opened the safe. While he was wondering whether to collect pictures instead of books, the flowers on the table created trouble for him, as he was allergic towards them. He sneezed. Then, suddenly he heard a voice which enquired about his sneeze. Horace was startled to know that a very pretty lady, who seemed to be the owner, had caught him red-handed. She was ready to set him free on a condition.

She asked him to give her the jewels as she had to attend a party and she had forgotten the code to open it. Horace obeyed her. After some time the police came to arrest him as he had made a mistake of opening the safe without gloves. They were able to arrest him because of his fingerprints. Nobody believed him when he said that the wife of the owner of the house had claimed the jewellery from him. The wife of the owner was an old lady, which made Horace believe that he was befooled by another thief. Since then he did not believe that there is honour among thieves.

A Question of Trust Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How were flowers hindering Horace in his work?
Answer:
Horace suffered from hay fever and was allergic to some flowers. On smelling the flowers, he started sneezing and was caught red-handed by another thief.

Question 2.
Why was it not difficult for Horace to open the safe?
Answer:
It was not difficult for Horace to open the safe because he was a perfect and experienced locksmith. He had collected all the information about the safe before entering the house.

Question 3.
What advice did the lady give Horace regarding his hay fever? Was she really interested in his health?
Answer:
The lady advised Horace that he could find a cure to the hay fever by trying to find which plant gave the disease. She was not interested in his disease or its cure, but she was rather making fun of him.

Question 4.
Why did Horace Danby feel sure of his success in that year’s robbery?
Answer:
Horace Danby felt sure of his success in that year’s robbery too, because he had planned his work carefully. He studied every detail of the house. He had chosen an appropriate place and time for the robbery.

Question 5.
How did Horace manage the small dog when he attempted to rob the house at Shotover Grange?
Answer:
Horace Danby was an expert thief who planned his mission without any fault. When he tried to rob the house in Grange, he encountered a dog. But Horace Danby calmed the dog by calling him by his name.

Question 6.
What story did the lady tell Horace to get the jewels?
Answer:
The lady told Horace an interesting story. She told that her jewels were lying in the safe which she , needed at once. She also told that she had forgotten the numbers to open the safe.

Question 7.
Did Horace get the jewels from the Grange safe? If not, why did the police arrest him?
Answer:
Horace was not able to get any jewels though he stole them. The young lady in red befooled him. But the police arrested him due to his fingerprints on the Grange safe.

Question 8.
How can you say that Horace Danby was good and respectable but not completely honest?
Answer:
Horace Danby was not a typical thief. He used to rob every year enough money to last for twelve months to buy books which he loved to read. He is described as a good and respectable person but not completely honest because he could not curb his habit of stealing a safe every year.

Question 9.
Why did Horace rob every year? Was he a typical thief? If so, why? In what way could Horace’s arrest have helped the lady?
Answer:
He robbed every year enough money to last for twelve months to buy books which he loved to read. No, he was not a typical thief because he used to steal only to buy interesting books.

Question 10.
Did the young lady expect Horace to be caught after the theft?
Answer:
Yes, the young lady knew that Horace would be caught. As he forgot to put on his gloves. Naturally his finger prints would lead the police towards him. Horace’s arrest would not let anyone think that she was the thief. So she was to be benefitted by his arrest.