NCERT Solutions The Midnight visitor (Foot Prints without Feet | Chapter-3)

Ncert Solutions Read and Find Out (Page 14)

Question 1. How is Ausable different from other secret agents?

Answer:

We have an image of a secret agent as a very fit guy living in an apartment at secret location. However, Ausable does not fit in this definition of a secret agent. On first appearance he is a fat man. And his room is in a gloomy and outdated hotel.  This picture did not present any romantic adventure to Fowler. 

Even, Ausable was not able to speak other languages fluently. Nor he had a bunch of pretty girls who could pass him the secret messages but only a telephone to make appointments. Thus, Ausable was indeed different from other secret agents.

Question 2. Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?

Answer:

Fowler is a writer who has come to meet Ausable, a secret agent. His visit to Ausable was not adventurous initially as Ausable was unlike other secret agents.

However, Fowler's first authentic thrill of the day came when he entered the room with Ausable. There he saw a man in Ausable’s room pointing a pistol towards Ausable and himself.

NCERT Solutions The midnight visitor (Page 15)

Question 3. How has Max got in?

Answer:

Max got into Ausable's room using a passkey or master key.

Question 4. How does Ausable say he got in?

Answer:

Ausable said that he thought Max must have got into his room through the balcony. The balcony which lies just beneath his room's  window. Ausable said that it was the second time in a month that somebody had got into his room this way.

NCERT Solutions class 10 The Midnight Visitor 

Question-Answers – Think About It (Page 18)

Question 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? Discuss in groups or in class some stories or movies featuring spies, detectives and secret agents, and compare their appearance with that of Ausable in this story. (You may mention characters from fiction in languages other than English. In English fiction you may have come across Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple. Have you watched any movies featuring James Bond?)

Answer:

Ausable was a secret agent. However, he was a fat man who offered no romantic adventure. Fowler was initially disappointed meeting him as he had a conventional notion of a secret agent in his mind.

Secret agents in fictional literature and movies are shown asan ideal man, ‘Tall, well built, handsome and exceptionally clever’. They are usually well-built and keep beautiful women by their side. They would smoke a pipe (like Sherlock Holmes) or a cigar and execute death-defying stunts (like James Bond). They are shown solving distressing problems and troublesome issues with their wit.

Movies like James Bond show use of hi-tech gadgets which assist the secret agent while conducting his/her operation. However, there are some exceptions to this image of a secret agent. A character named Feluda was created by Satyajit Ray, the famous Bengali filmmaker. Feluda was a tall athletic figure who relied on his superb analytical ability and observation skill.

Question 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?

Answer:

Ausable made up a detailed story about how his office was part of a bigger apartment. And how the next room had a direct connection with a balcony. His story looks more authentic when he said that this is the second time when someone has broke into his room using that balcony. 

Ausable also added that he had made a complaint to management but they haven't taken action on it. This made his description look genuine. Further, Ausable’s ability to think quickly and calmly in a situation of panic makes it convincing.

Question 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?

Answer:

In my opinion, Ausable started looking for ways to get rid of Max since his appearance itself. However, the story about the balcony would have been only one part of his plan which worked out for him as events unfolded. 

Ausable convinced Max about the presence of an imaginary balcony outside the room. And he took the advantage of the knock at the door, by calling it to be the police. He made Max desperate to act upon the situation. Max became restless and without seeing below, jumped out of the window.

NCERT Solutions Class-10 The Midnight Visitor

Question Answers – Talk About It (Page 18)

Question 1.

In this story, Ausable shows great ‘presence of mind’, or the ability to think quickly and act calmly and wisely, in a situation of danger and surprise. Give examples from your own experience, or narrate a story, which shows someone’s presence of mind.

Answer:

Think of your own experience in life.

Question 2.

Discuss what you would do in the situations described below. Remember that presence of mind comes out of a state of mental preparedness. If you have thought about possible problems or dangers, and about how to act in such situations, you have a better chance of dealing with such situations if they do arise.

1. A small fire starts in your kitchen.

2. A child starts to choke on a piece of food.

3. An electrical appliance starts to hiss and gives out sparks.

4. A bicycle knocks down a pedestrian.

5. It rains continuously for more than twenty-four hours.

6. A member of your family does not return home at the usual or expected time.

7. You may suggest other such situations.

Answer:

1. If a fire breaks out in the kitchen, the windows must be opened in case it is due to gas leak. If a blanket is available, it should be put over the fire to shut out the air.

If it is due to a short-circuit, electricity must be disconnected immediately from everything in the kitchen before taking any other measure.

Fire brigade must be called immediately.

2. The child must be thumped slowly at the back until the piece of food stuck is vomited out. However, in case it continues, the child must be taken to the medical practitioner immediately.

3. Electricity to the appliance should be immediately disconnected. If it is plugged into a socket, the plug must be removed from the socket. Later on the appliance may be got repaired by an authorised person.

4. First aid should be given to the pedestrian at once. Public help may also be asked, if necessary. Depending on the seriousness of the injury, the affected person may be shifted to hospital.

5. Flooding may be caused by a heavy downpour. So all necessary precautions for saving various possessions should be taken, besides informing the concerned authorities to take preventive action.

6. A family member not returning home at the usual time should be enquired for at the place he or she was expected to visit. If he or she was with friends, these friends or the friends’ families should be contacted. If there is no result from these enquiries, as a last resort, the lcical police may be informed.