🕵️♂️ A Question of Trust – Summary (Class 10 English)
👤 Author Introduction – Victor Canning
Victor Canning (1911–1986) was a well-known British novelist and short story writer, famous for his adventure and mystery stories. His works often revolve around deception, intelligence, and human behavior. In “A Question of Trust”, he creates a clever and ironic tale about a thief who believes in honesty even while committing crimes. Canning’s writing style is engaging, witty, and full of unexpected twists that reveal the complexities of human nature.
Image: Horace Danby sneaking into a house for his ‘honest’ robbery.
📖 Expanded Summary in English
The story “A Question of Trust” revolves around Horace Danby, a fifty-year-old man who appears to be a respectable and honest citizen. He is a locksmith by profession and owns a small business making locks and safes. However, behind this image of honesty, he secretly commits one robbery every year. His unusual reason is that he steals only to buy rare and expensive books that he loves to collect.
Horace is careful, polite, and intelligent. He plans every burglary very methodically. One summer, he decided to rob a rich woman’s house called Shotover Grange. He knew the servants would be away and the house empty for the month. He studied the house layout, knew where the safe was kept, and even knew the name of the dog – Sherry. His only problem was hay fever, which made him sneeze when near flowers.
On the day of the robbery, Horace entered the house with gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints. He sneezed several times due to the flowers in the drawing room, but finally managed to reach the safe. Just when he was about to open it, a young woman’s voice startled him. She was wearing a mask. She told him she was the owner’s wife and that she too had come to take her jewels before the police found out her secret past. Horace believed her because she looked confident and spoke kindly.
The woman cleverly pretended to be in the same situation as Horace. She promised not to report him if he helped her open the safe. Horace, being a locksmith, easily opened it for her. She thanked him, and Horace left happily, thinking he had escaped safely.
Two days later, Horace was caught by the police because his fingerprints were found at the house. When he claimed that the lady of the house had asked him to open the safe, the real owner revealed that no such lady existed. Horace then realized that he had been tricked by another thief who had used his skills to steal the jewels for herself.
The story ends with irony. Horace Danby, who thought himself clever and trustworthy, was deceived by a smarter criminal. In prison, he still dreams of reading books but now makes locks for the prison instead. The story highlights that even clever people can be fooled when they trust the wrong person.
Image: Horace Danby caught after being deceived by a clever woman thief.
📘 Summary in Hindi (हिंदी में सारांश)
“A Question of Trust” कहानी एक चतुर चोर होरेस डैनबी के बारे में है, जो दिखने में बहुत ईमानदार और सभ्य व्यक्ति लगता था। वह ताले बनाने का काम करता था और एक सम्मानित जीवन जीता था। लेकिन हर साल वह केवल एक चोरी करता था ताकि अपने प्रिय शौक — महँगी किताबें खरीदने — को पूरा कर सके।
उसने इस बार शोटोवर ग्रेंज नामक एक बड़े घर को निशाना बनाया। उसे पता था कि घर के मालिक और नौकर सभी छुट्टी पर हैं। उसने पूरा नक्शा तैयार किया और चोरी का समय तय किया। लेकिन जब वह घर में दाखिल हुआ, तो फूलों के कारण उसकी हे फीवर (एलर्जी) के चलते छींकने लगा। उसने सावधानी से दस्ताने पहने ताकि कोई निशान न छूटे।
जब वह तिजोरी खोलने वाला था, तभी अचानक एक युवती आई, जिसने खुद को घर की मालकिन बताया। उसने कहा कि वह अपने गहने लेने आई है ताकि पुलिस उसे पकड़ न सके। होरेस ने उसकी बातों पर भरोसा कर लिया और उसकी मदद से तिजोरी खोल दी। वह युवती गहने लेकर चली गई और होरेस को लगा कि वह बच गया।
दो दिन बाद पुलिस ने उसे गिरफ्तार कर लिया क्योंकि तिजोरी पर उसके उंगलियों के निशान मिले थे। जब उसने बताया कि घर की मालकिन ने उसे तिजोरी खोलने को कहा था, तो असली मालिक ने बताया कि ऐसा कोई व्यक्ति नहीं था। तब उसे पता चला कि वह किसी और चालाक चोर द्वारा धोखा खा गया है।
कहानी का अंत बहुत व्यंग्यपूर्ण है। जो होरेस खुद को बुद्धिमान और भरोसेमंद समझता था, वही एक और चोर के झांसे में आ गया। अब वह जेल में ताले बनाता है और किताबों के सपने देखता है। कहानी यह सिखाती है कि कभी-कभी भरोसा ही सबसे बड़ा धोखा साबित होता है।
📝 Key Points
- Horace Danby – a respectable locksmith but a secret thief.
- He robs once a year only to buy rare books.
- Plans to rob Shotover Grange when owners are away.
- A clever woman tricks him by posing as the owner’s wife.
- Horace opens the safe for her and gets caught later.
- He realizes he was fooled by another thief.
- Irony – the ‘honest thief’ becomes the victim of dishonesty.