NCERT Class 10 English – Footprints Without Feet – Chapter 4: A Question of Trust
Exercise Questions: Short Answers & Simple Explanations
Q1. What does Horace Danby like to collect?
Answer: He likes to collect rare and expensive books.
Explanation: Horace spends most of his money on buying costly books for his library.
Q2. Why does he steal every year?
Answer: To buy the expensive books he loves.
Explanation: He robs once a year and uses the money to purchase books for his collection.
Q3. Who is speaking to Horace Danby?
Answer: A young woman pretending to be the lady of the house.
Explanation: She tricks Horace into believing she is the owner and needs his help.
Q4. Who is the real culprit in the story?
Answer: The young woman.
Explanation: She fools Horace and steals the jewels herself.
Q5. 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: Yes, when she asked Horace to break the safe.
Explanation: A real owner would know the safe’s code; her request showed something was wrong.
Q6. 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: She talks confidently, knows house details, and acts naturally. Horace doesn’t suspect because she seems genuine.
Explanation: Her calm behaviour and inside knowledge made her seem believable.
Q7. “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: He stole only to buy books, not to harm others.
Explanation: He lived a normal life, avoided violence, and planned carefully — unlike typical thieves.
Q8. Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?
Answer: He trusted the young woman without checking her identity.
Explanation: His overconfidence and lack of verification led to his downfall.
Q9. Do you think Horace Danby was unfairly punished, or that he deserved what he got?
Answer: He partly deserved it.
Explanation: Although he was tricked, he was still committing a theft.
Q10. 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: Good intentions do not justify wrong actions.
Explanation: Wrong means often lead to bad results, so honesty is better in all situations.