READ AND FIND OUT 

Page 20

Q1. What does Horace Danby like to collect?

Answer: Horace Danby likes to collect rare and expensive books. He robs a safe every year to get enough money to buy the books he loves through an agent.

Q2. Why does he steal every year?

Answer: He steals every year to fund his expensive hobby of collecting rare and valuable books. He robs a safe once a year, making enough money to last him for twelve months.

READ AND FIND OUT

Page 22

Q1. Who is speaking to Horace Danby?

Answer: A young, pretty woman in a red dress is speaking to Horace Danby. She pretends to be the lady of the house at Shotover Grange.

Q2. Who is the real culprit in the story?

Answer: The real culprit in the story is the young woman who tricks Horace Danby. She is also a thief, and she uses Horace to open the safe for her.

Think about it

Page 25

Q1. 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: It becomes apparent that the lady is not the lady of the house when she mentions that she likes “the wrong kind of people” and doesn’t seem alarmed by Horace’s presence. My suspicion was confirmed when she took a cigarette from a silver box and let Horace light it for her. A true homeowner would have panicked or called for help, not calmly engaged with the burglar.

Q2. 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 deceives Horace in several subtle ways:

• She is dressed in red, a color not typically worn by a burglar.
• She speaks with a firm, confident voice and calls the dog by its name, “Sherry.”
• She says, “Anyone would think I’d been away for a month!” which suggests she is the owner of the house.
• She confidently walks to the fireplace and straightens the ornaments.

Horace doesn’t suspect that something is wrong because he is so focused on his own plan and escaping prison. He is easily manipulated by the woman’s calm and authoritative presence and is desperate to believe her so he can get away.

Q3. “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: This description is apt for Horace because he leads a double life. He is a good and respectable lock-maker who lives a quiet life and worries about his housekeeper. He is not a typical thief because his motive is not greed. He steals only once a year to buy rare and expensive books. He hates the thought of prison and is not violent.

Q4. Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?

Answer: Horace went wrong by taking off his gloves to light the woman’s cigarette. He was a meticulous planner who was always careful not to leave fingerprints, but in his desperation to please the woman, he forgot his own rule. This single mistake of taking off his gloves, an act of chivalry, is what led to his arrest.

Talk about it

Q1. Do you think Horace Danby was unfairly punished, or that he deserved what he got?

Answer: Horace Danby was not unfairly punished. He knowingly committed a crime, and his punishment was a consequence of his actions. He was caught and arrested because he failed to be as clever as the woman who outsmarted him. The fact that the person who tricked him was also a thief does not absolve him of his crime.

Q2. 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: This is a matter of personal opinion, and the answer will vary.

Some might argue that intentions do not justify actions. Stealing, even for a good reason like buying books, is still a crime and can be hurtful to others.

Others might argue that in some extreme situations, such as to save a life, it may be excusable to act less than honestly. However, Horace’s situation was not life-threatening. He was stealing to support a hobby, so his actions are not justifiable.