Chapter 3 of the Class 10 English textbook Footprints without Feet is titled Robert Arthur's "The Midnight Visitor" is an exciting chapter about a clever detective, Mr. Harley, who outsmarts a thief who is coming to rob him. The story is full of suspense, real quick thinking, and strategy to catch a bad guy.
The NCERT Solutions for this prose chapter, prepared as per the latest NCERT syllabus and CBSE guidelines, help students study effectively and perform confidently in their exams. Each question from the textbook is answered clearly and precisely in these solutions, assisting students to understand the story’s plot, characters, and the underlying themes thoroughly.
The free PDF of the NCERT Solutions for English Class 10 Chapter 3 "The Midnight Visitor" - a story about a clever detective outsmarting a thief trying to rob him is available below. Download the NCERT Solutions by clicking the link below:
Chapter 3 of Class 10 English "The Midnight Visitor" is a suspenseful, exciting story of Mr. Harley, a detective, who successfully catches a thief who is breaking in to rob him late at night. It illustrates the advantages of intelligence, observation and quick thinking as the pioneering device to foil a would-be criminal. This chapter will explore the following key concepts:
1. How is Ausable different from other secret agents?
Ans. Ausable is a secret agent but he is very fat and not much tall. His accent is also not proper. He appears to be completely different from other secret agents.
2. Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?
Ans. Fowler is a young and romantic writer who wants to write a book on detectives. His first authentic thrill of the day was when he saw a man standing before them in Ausable's room holding a small automatic pistol in his hand.
3. How has Max got in?
Ans. Max has got in by using a passkey in Ausable's absence.
4. How does Ausable say he got in?
Ans. Ausable says Max has got in his room through an ordinary window. It was in the balcony.
1. "Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had ever read." What do secret agents in books and films look like, in your opinion?
Ans. Secret agents in fiction are projected like ideal men, 'tall dark and handsome'. They are usually well-built and have beautiful women for company. They would always smoke pipe or cigar and do death defying stunts. James Bond is a very famous character by Ian Fleming. Movies based on James Bond show hi-tech gizmos which assist the detective in countering villains. There are some exceptions as well. There is a character named Feluda which was created by Satyajit Ray, the famous Bangla Filmmaker. Feluda was typical bhadralok by appearance.
2. How does Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony attached to his room? Look back at his detailed description of it. What makes it a convincing story?
Ans. Ausable creates a detailed description of how his office was part of a bigger apartment and how the next room had direct connection with the balcony. His statement that somebody else also broke into his office through that balcony made it a convincing story.
3. Looking back at the story, when do you think Ausable thought up his plan for getting rid of Max? Do you think he had worked out his plan in detail right from the beginning? Or did he make up a plan taking advantage of events as they happened?
Ans. Ausable is very clever the way a detective should be. He made the plan to get rid of Max from the very beginning which is evident from the story of the imaginary balcony. He knew the waiter would come to deliver his drinks. He planned carefully to create an imaginary policeman which would have compelled Max to jump on the non-existent balcony.
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