The Midnight Visitor

A. Very Short Answer (One Sentence)

1. What features of Max suggested a fox-like appearance?
   → His crafty, pointed face made him look like a fox.

2. What report did Max want to take away?
   → He wanted the report on some new missiles.

3. How did Ausable explain the balcony?
   → He said the balcony belonged to the next apartment and extended under his window.

4. How long did Max say they had to wait?
   → Half an hour.

5. Who was Henry?
   → Henry was the waiter who brought drinks for Ausable.

B. Short Answer (2–3 Sentences)

1. Why was Ausable angry with the hotel management?
   → Because the management had promised to block off the balcony through which someone had entered earlier, but they had not done it.

2. How did Ausable trick Max into believing the police had arrived?
   → When a knock was heard, Ausable calmly said that it was the police whom he had called for extra protection.

3. What made Fowler jump suddenly?
   → The sudden knocking at the door startled Fowler.

4. How did Max try to save himself when he thought the police had come?
   → He tried to escape by going out through the window to the supposed balcony.

5. What was ironic about the waiter’s entry?
   → Ausable had mentioned “police” but it was actually the waiter, Henry, who entered with drinks.

C. Long Answer / Essay Type (5–6 Sentences)

1. How did Ausable use his intelligence and presence of mind to defeat Max?
   → Ausable remained calm even when Max pointed a gun at him. He cleverly invented the story of a balcony and of the police’s arrival. Believing this, Max panicked and tried to escape through the non-existent balcony. This led to his fall. Thus, Ausable used his wit and presence of mind instead of force to defeat Max.

2. Describe the sequence of events that led Max to his death.
   → Max entered Ausable’s room to snatch the secret report. Ausable complained about a balcony and pretended that someone had entered before through it. When a knock came at the door, Ausable said it was the police. Panicking, Max decided to hide on the balcony. But as there was no balcony, he fell and met his end.

3. Discuss the contrast between Fowler’s expectations of a secret agent and the reality of Ausable.
   → Fowler had expected adventure, guns, and mysterious settings with Ausable. But Ausable was a fat, ordinary-looking man with a gloomy room. Yet, when the situation arose, Ausable proved to be far more intelligent and resourceful than Fowler imagined. This contrast shows that appearance is deceptive.

D. Reference to Context (RTC)

“That will be the police,” he said. “I thought that such an important paper as the one we are waiting for should have a little extra protection.”

1. Who is the speaker?
   → Ausable.

2. Who was he speaking to?
   → To Max (and Fowler was also present).

3. Why did he say “That will be the police”?
   → To scare Max into believing that the police had come.

4. Was it really the police? Who was it?
   → No, it was not the police. It was the waiter Henry.

E. True or False

1. Max entered the room using a passkey. → True

2. Ausable’s room originally had a balcony of its own. → False

3. The police knocked at Ausable’s door. → False

4. Max fell to his death because there was no balcony. → True

5. Fowler was an experienced spy. → False

F. Fill in the Blanks

1. Max was slender, with the crafty look of a fox.

2. Ausable complained that someone had entered through the balcony last month.

3. The appointment was fixed for twelve-thirty.

4. The waiter brought a bottle and two glasses.

5. There was no balcony outside Ausable’s window.

G. Word Meaning

1. Menacing – threatening

2. Inflection – change of tone in voice

3. Irritation – annoyance

4. Explanatorily – in a way that explains

5. Shrilly – in a high-pitched, sharp voice

H. Synonyms / Antonyms

1. Slender – (synonym) thin / lean

2. Menacing – (antonym) harmless

3. Moodily – (synonym) gloomily / sadly

4. Empty – (antonym) full / occupied

5. Swiftly – (synonym) quickly / rapidly

THE MIDNIGHT VISITOR ( LONG QUESTION ANSWERS)

1. How does Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony attached to his room?

Ans : Ausable was a very clever and intelligent secret agent. When he saw Max with a pistol in his room, he did not panic but handled the situation calmly. He created a false story about a balcony outside his window. He told Max that it was the second time in a month that someone had entered his room through that balcony. Ausable spoke with such confidence that Max believed his words without any doubt. Later, when someone knocked at the door, Ausable added another story that the police had come for his protection. Thinking that the police would soon enter, Max tried to escape through the balcony which did not exist. Thus, with his presence of mind, Ausable made Max believe that there is a balcony attached to his room.

 OR

When Max entered Ausable’s room with a pistol, Ausable stayed calm and did not panic. He pretended to be upset with the hotel management and said that it was the second time someone had entered his room through a balcony. He explained that the balcony actually belonged to another apartment but extended under his window. He also told Fowler that the management had promised to block it, but they had not done so. Max listened carefully and believed every word because Ausable spoke with confidence. Thus  Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony attached to his room.

2. Briefly describe how Ausable defeated Max's scheme to take away the report.

Ans : Ausable defeated Max’s scheme not by strength, but by his intelligence. Max wanted to take away the secret report on missiles and pointed a pistol at him. Ausable remained calm and told a false story about a balcony outside his window. Max believed him. Later, when there was a knock at the door, Ausable said that it was the police whom he had called for extra protection of the report. Max panicked and decided to hide on the balcony until the police went away. Without knowing the truth, he jumped out of the window and fell to his death, as there was no balcony. In this way, Ausable cleverly defeated Max’s plan without using any force. Thus Ausable defeated Max's scheme to take away the report.

3. Give a description of Max's conversation with Ausable.

Ans : Max was a thin man with fox-like features. He entered Ausable’s room with a pistol and demanded the secret report about new missiles. He said the report would be safer in his hands than in Ausable’s. Ausable, however, acted very calmly and wisely. He complained about the hotel management and invented a story about a balcony through which people entered his room. He said that within a month two men had entered his room. Max was surprised to hear about the balcony and believed it. Later, when someone knocked at the door, Max became nervous. Ausable told him that the police had come for protection of his report. Max was frightened and decided to wait outside on the balcony. Thus, the conversation ended.

4. Who is Fowler? Give a description of his meeting with Ausable.

Ans : Fowler was a young writer who wanted to write about secret agents. 

          He was a romantic by nature and expected adventure, mystery, and thrill. When he met Ausable, he was disappointed because Ausable was fat, simple, and did not look like a spy. Fowler even felt bored after spending the evening with him in a French music hall. But his meeting became exciting when they went to Ausable’s hotel room. There, Fowler saw Max with a pistol, which gave him his first authentic thrill of the day and made him feel real fear for the first time. He was surprised when Ausable handled the situation calmly and fooled Max with his “balcony and police” story. Thus, Fowler’s meeting with Ausable began with disappointment but ended with a thrilling adventure.

5. Between Ausable and Max, who do you think is more intelligent and why?

Ausable was surely more intelligent than Max. Max was armed with a pistol and tried to frighten Ausable. But he was laking in wisdom and became nervous easily. On the other hand, Ausable had no weapon but he used his intelligence. He made up a false story about a balcony and police. Max believed the story without any doubt. Finally, he tried to escape by the balcony, which did not exist, and lost his life. Thus Ausable defeat Max intelligently. So, Ausable was much more intelligent than Max.

OR

Ausable was surely more intelligent than Max. Max was armed with a pistol and tried to frighten Ausable, but he was lacking in wisdom and became nervous very easily. On the other hand, Ausable had no weapon, but he used his sharp intelligence and presence of mind. He cleverly made up a false story about a balcony and also about the police arriving for the protection of the report. Max believed these stories without any doubt. Finally, in order to escape, he tried to hide himself on the balcony, which did not exist, and thus lost his life. In this way, Ausable defeated Max intelligently. Thus, Ausable proved himself to be much more intelligent and clever than Max.