4. A Question of Trust - Class 10 - Footprints

Author: Victor Canning

Genre: Crime Fiction with Irony

Textbook: Footprints Without Feet

Mind Map (Click on the panel to expand)

Listen to a quick Hindi audio summary below for better understanding.

Summary

The story follows Horace Danby, a respectable man in his fifties who runs a successful lock-making business. He is well-behaved, socially acceptable, and lives a quiet life. However, Horace has a secret - he is a thief. Once every year, he commits a well-planned burglary to fund his love for rare and expensive books.

This year, he targets a house where the owners are away. He has studied the house carefully and knows the layout. Everything goes according to plan until he is interrupted by a young woman posing as the owner’s wife. She catches him in the act, but instead of calling the police, she demands that he open the safe for her.

Trusting her, Horace opens the safe. However, it turns out that she is a thief herself, and Horace has been tricked. The real owners report the theft, and Horace is caught, as the police find his fingerprints on the safe.

The story ends ironically: the man who prided himself on being clever and meticulous is betrayed by a fellow criminal.

👤 Character Sketches

1. Horace Danby

• 50 years old, bachelor, runs a lock company

• Secretly commits one robbery a year

• Intelligent and careful, but overconfident

• Loves rare books more than money

• Trusts the wrong person and pays the price

• Ironically, he ends up in prison for someone else's crime
  

2. The Lady (Imposter Thief)

• Young, smart, confident, and manipulative

• Poses as the lady of the house

• Tricks Horace into opening the safe

• Cool and calm under pressure

• Represents irony and reversal of roles
  

📚 Themes

✨ Literary Devices

• Irony: The story is built entirely on situational irony—the thief is robbed.

• Humour: Gentle humour in Horace’s confidence and love for books.

• Foreshadowing: Early clues show Horace’s overconfidence.

• Satire: The story critiques people who justify crime for passion.

• Twist Ending: Surprise that the woman is also a thief.
  

📖 Title Justification

The title “A Question of Trust” is apt as the central event of the story depends on Horace’s decision to trust the woman. His misplaced trust becomes the cause of his downfall. The title reflects how easily trust can be broken and how criminals, too, can fall victim to their own methods.

🔍 CBSE Previous Year Questions

💬 Important Q&A (Board-Style)

Q1. Why did Horace Danby commit theft only once a year? He needed money to buy rare and expensive books. He believed one robbery a year was enough to support his passion and keep him out of trouble.

Q2. Why did Horace believe the woman? She spoke confidently, knew the house details, and claimed to be the owner’s wife. Horace, despite being a thief, trusted her due to her calm and authoritative demeanor.

Q3. How was Horace’s fingerprint crucial in the story? When the real owners reported the robbery, Horace’s fingerprint on the safe made it easy for police to identify and arrest him.

Q4. What lesson does the story teach us? It teaches that no matter how smart one thinks they are, crime leads to punishment. It also shows the dangers of trusting blindly and being overconfident.

Q5. Describe the role of irony in the story. Horace, a professional thief, is deceived by another thief. He is punished for a crime he didn’t plan or benefit from, which makes the ending ironic.

🧠 Value-Based Question

Q. What does the story teach about trust and overconfidence? The story shows that trust, when placed blindly, can lead to one’s downfall. Horace’s overconfidence in his abilities and his quick trust in the woman lead him to prison. True wisdom lies not just in planning but also in questioning appearances.

📘 3-Mark Questions

Q1. Why did Horace Danby believe the woman in the house, and how did she deceive him? Horace believed the woman because she acted confidently and spoke as if she was the owner’s wife. She appeared well-dressed and calm, which made her seem trustworthy. She used this trust to deceive Horace into opening the safe for her, then vanished with the jewels, leaving him to take the blame.

Q2. How does the story "A Question of Trust" bring out the theme of irony? The story is built around situational irony. Horace Danby, a careful and experienced thief, is outsmarted by another thief. He is caught not because of his own mistake during the burglary, but because he trusted someone else who turned out to be a better criminal. The thief becomes the victim of theft—an ironic twist.

Q3. What impression do you form of Horace Danby from the story? Do you think he was a typical thief? Horace is intelligent and methodical but not a typical thief. He steals only once a year to buy rare books, is kind-hearted, and avoids violence. He seems more like a gentleman with a weakness than a hardened criminal. His downfall lies in his overconfidence and misplaced trust.

END

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