Footprints ch03 The Midnight Visitor - CBSE Test Papers

CBSE Test Paper 01
The Midnight Visitor
  1. Why did Fowler come to Ausable? Was he happy to meet him initially?
  2. How did Max enter the room? Why did he tell this to Ausable?
  3. Who was Max? How did Ausable get rid of him?
  4. What did Ausable do when he heard a knock at the door?
  5. What did Ausable do when he saw Max with a pistol?
  6. What information did Ausable give about the imaginary balcony? Why did he do so?
  7. What fake story was made by Ausable in the hotel room? What made it a convincing story?
  8. Why was Fowler disappointed after meeting Ausable? Did he change his idea at last?
CBSE Test Paper 01
The Midnight Visitor
Solution
  1. Fowler was a young, romantic writer. He went to Ausable to imitate his experiences and working style. He wanted to write a book on secret agents. So, he wanted to see how Ausable tackled exciting situations. In fact, Fowler wanted to get the thrills of his life. But he was disappointed after meeting Ausable because the latter did not look like a secret agent.
  2. Max had got a passkey. So he entered Ausable's room through the door. He told this to Ausable because the latter had fabricated a story that it was the second time in a month that somebody had got into his room through the balcony. Max said that he had no idea about the balcony.
  3. Max was a secret agent, who had come to collect the same secret papers on missiles that Ausable had come for. Ausable outwitted him by making a false story about the balcony. When there was a knock on his door, he said that it was the police who had come to ensure the safety of the papers. Max took the entire story as gospel and tried to escape through the window and died.
  4. When Ausable heard a knock at the door, he used his quick wit and presence of mind and immediately made a plan to get rid of Max by deceiving him. He told Max that it might be the police who had come to protect him as he was having an important paper with him. At this, Max was frightened and became nervous. He could not think of what to do.
  5. When Ausable switched on the lights and closed the door after entering the room, he saw Max with a pistol. Max stood halfway across the room and aimed at them. Ausable told him that he had given him quite a start. He thought that he was in Berlin. Ausable sat down on an armchair and fabricated a story about the balcony.
  6. Ausable created a detailed description of how his room was part of a bigger apartment and how the next room had a direct connection with a balcony. His statement that somebody else had also broken into his office through that balcony made it a convincing story. Ausable did this to fool Max into thinking that a balcony existed just outside the window, as he knew that soon the waiter bringing the drinks he had ordered would be knocking at the door, which may prompt Max to jump into the imaginary balcony to hide.
  7. Ausable was a clever secret agent. One day, when he entered his room, he found Max in his room who aimed at him with a pistol. But Ausable was a quick-witted man. He did not lose his courage. He fabricated a story about a balcony which extended under his room window. He said that he had informed the management to block that window as anyone might enter his room using that window but they hadn't yet. And that it was the second time that someone had entered his room through the balcony. Just then there was a knocking at the door and Ausable said that he had called in the police to have extra protection as he was having an important paper with him. This showed that he had the presence of mind. Max took the entire story as gospel, retraced his steps, reached the window-sill and jumped down the balcony which never existed. Ausable's quick wit, presence of mind and persuasion made it a convincing story.
  8. Fowler was a very young and romantic writer. He wrote for a magazine. He had read in the books about secret agents being mysterious and smart. He wanted to meet Ausable, the secret agent to learn how Ausable tackled with some exciting situations. However, he was disappointed because he thought Ausable was an unfit secret agent on account of his fat body and American accent.
    But Ausable showed his presence of mind and quick wit when he confronted Max in his room. Max came there to take an important paper related to missiles. Ausable misled Max by fabricating a story about a balcony next to the window of his room. And when someone knocked at the door, he told Max that it was the police who had come to protect him. Max took the entire story as gospel and jumped out from the window to hide in the balcony. But it was the end of Max.
    Now Fowler was very happy to see Ausable's intelligence and changed his opinion about him.