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The Midnight Visitor Long Questions Answers
1. With reference to `The Midnight Visitor’, do you think the presence of mind should be developed and to what advantage? Elaborate highlighting the values possessed by Ausable.
Or
Presence of mind and intelligence are more powerful than a gun. How far is it true in the case of Ausable, the secret agent?
Ans. Max lay in wait for Ausable to steal the important paper from him. As Fowler observed, apart from the pointed gun he didn’t look very menacing. Even this proved useless for him as Ausable outwitted him with his presence of mind and intelligence. Ausable cleverly found out how Max had entered the room and created an extremely believable story about a non-existent balcony. He kept calm, and, hearing the waiter knock, declared it to be the police. Max, in an attempt to hide, fell to his death. Thus, Ausable got rid of Max without moving a muscle.
2. Pride before a fall befits Max, who said: “I will get it back tonight.” Was he successful? What lesson can be learnt from this?
 Ans. Max was a spy who was overconfident and too proud. His pride blinded him, and he thought that wielding a gun would give a further edge over the seemingly slow Ausable. However, despite this apparent pride and confidence, Max was utterly unsuccessful. Ausable outwitted him without lifting a finger. Max, in fact, jumped to his own death by taking Ausable’s Words at face value. Thus, one learns that one should not be proud and must pay attention to the finer details before attempting to do anything.
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3. Ausable was a successful secret agent. What qualities can be attributed to him? Give some examples.
Ans. Ausable was very fat. He appeared to be a slow and sluggish person. But inside that fat body, he had a very sharp brain.
It was throwing his presence of mind, intelligence and cleverness that he got rid of Max easily. When Max heard a knock at the poor Ausable told in hat t was the police whom he had called for the extra protection of the papers.
Max wanted him to send them off quickly till he waited on the balcony.
Ausable had ordered a drink and it was the waiter with the drink knocking at the Able used the false story to mislead Max. the poor fellow was neither police law jumped through the nor the below, not one n the balcony but on the ground from the sixth Max lost his life and with him died that he was his mission a clever secret agent. Way Ausable got rid of Max. They may assemble got rid of max proves that he was clever secret argent.
4. At the beginning of the story, Fowler felt disappointed with Ausable. Do you think Fowler had the same feeling towards the end of the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans. At the beginning of the story, Fowler felt disappointed with Ausable because he did not at all look like a secret agent of his imagination. He found him quite boring. He did not want to be with him any more. But when he found Max in his room with a gun, he was thrilled. He found that Ausable was not at all perturbed. He cocked-up a story about the balcony outside his window. When the waiter knocked at the door, Ausable told Max that it would be the police. He told him that he had called the police for the security of that important paper. Hearing this Max jumped outside the window to the balcony. But there was no balcony. He fell down from the sixth floor and died. Thus, Fowler was thrilled to see all this. So towards the end of the story, he was not disappointed with Ausable.
5. Describe the incident leading to the death of Max.
Ans. Ausable was a secret agent. He was living in a French hotel. His room was on the sixth and top floor of the hotel. One evening a young writer named Fowler came to meet him. When they entered the room and switched on the light, they found a man standing in the centre of the room. He had a pistol in his hand. His name was Max. He came there to grab the important report from Ausable. Seeing Max, Ausable remained cool and silent. But he seemed to be angry with the management of the hotel. He said that because of the balcony just below his window anyone could enter the writ
When there was a sudden knock at the door, Ausable said that it might be the police. He said that he himself had called the police. Max jumped through the window to the balcony. But in reality, there was no balcony. So, Max fell down to the ground from the sixth floor and was killed.
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6. Write a character sketch of the secret Agent Ausable.
Ans. Ausable was a secret agent. He was fat and sloppy fellow. In his appearance, he did not seem to be a romantic figure. He came to Paris from Boston twenty years ago. He could speak French and German passably. He had not lost the American accent. Ausable was a very intelligent person. He had a great presence of mind. He did not lose heart in a difficult situation when he faced a man with a pistol in his hand. He remained cool. He cocked-up a story about the balcony. He made Max nervous by telling him about the police. He got Max killed without any fighting and shooting. Fowler who was disappointed to meet him at the beginning of the story was very much impressed with his intelligence and presence of mind at the end of the story.
7. What makes you think Max was a careless and foolish fellow?
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Though Max was very cunning, still he was but ‘a little spy’ before Ausable. Explain.
Ans. Though Max was very cunning, he was indeed no match to Ausable. He was easily misled by Ausable into believing that there was a balcony attached to the room. He also made him fool by cocking up a false story about the police knocking at the door though he knew that it was the waiter. Ausable’s facial expressions were so normal that Max could not believe he was telling lies to him. Ausable was able to get rid of Max with very little efforts. So we can say that Max was “a little spy” before Ausable.
8. How did Ausable use ‘the knock’ at the door in his favour? What light does it throw on his character?
Ans. Ausable was a secret agent. He was staying in a hotel. A guest named Fowler comes to meet him. Ausable gives an order to the waiter for a bottle of wine and two glasses. When they entered the room, they were surprised to see an intruder named Max in the room. That man had a pistol in his hand. After some time there was a knock at the door. Ausable knew that it was the waiter but he told Max that it would be the police. He said that he himself had called the police for the protection of the important report. Hearing this Max jumped out of the window on to the balcony. There was no balcony. He fell down and died. This episode shows that Ausable had great presence of mind. He was a clever spy indeed.
Q9. Give a character-sketch of Ausable highlighting his presence of mind and intelligence.
Ans. Ausable is a different kind of secret agent. Generally, secret agents that are described in detective books and shown in films, are very smart and gun-friendly. Wine and dark-eyed beauties are associated with them. However, Ausable doesn’t present such a romantic picture. He is very fat and sloppy. He lives in a small room on the sixth floor. Fowler is disappointed after meeting Ausable.
They say that appearances are often deceptive. This is quite true in the case of Ausable. Physically, he may be fat but mentally he is very agile and quick-witted. He knows all the tricks of his trade. He is very quick to react and can cook up stories that may fit in all kinds of situations. He convinces even the crafty Max that there is a balcony below the window of his room. This is a well thought out trap and Max unwittingly falls into it. Then he cooks up the story of the police. He again succeeds in convincing Max that the loud knockings at the door are that of the police. He tells Max that he himself has sought the protection of the police as he has the important report concerning some new missiles with him. In this way, he gets rid of his rival and enemy Max who jumps out of the window only to cry for the last time in his life.
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Q10. Presence of mind and intelligence are more powerful than a gun. How far is it true in case of Ausable, the secret agent?
Ans. Ausable is actually not of that kind as we read in detective stories and books. Nor is he like the heroes of James Bond films. Ausable is an exception. The young writer Fowler is disappointed after meeting Ausable. Ausable does not fit any description of a secret agent. He is fat and sloppy. His room is rather small and that too on the sixth floor. However, appearances are generally deceptive. Ausable proves that presence of mind and intelligence are more powerful than a gun.
Presence of mind and intelligence are the assets of Ausable. His sharp reaction, particularly to a dangerous situation, is very quick and thorough. When he finds crafty Max in the room with a pistol in his hand, he at once understands the purpose of his visit. The rival secret agent who has come to take away the important report that concerns with some new missiles must be outwitted and defeated in his own game. Ausable cooks up the stories of the balcony and the police so convincingly that Max falls into his trap. While there is no balcony below the window of his room, the knockings at the door are not of the police but of his waiter. The confused and unnerved Max jumps out of the window in desperation. Thus, through his presence of mind and intelligence, Ausable proves himself more powerful than a gun.
Q11. How did crafty and foxy Max fail to take away the all-important report concerning some new missiles from Ausable? Or How did Ausable outsmart and outwit the crafty Max and got rid of him?
Ans. Naturally, it was a fight between two secret agents belonging to two different organisations. The bone of contention was the all-important report concerning some new missiles. It was with Ausable, and Max wanted to take it away by the use of his gun. The report was so important that several men and women had risked their lives to get it. Someday that report might well have affected the course of history.
No doubt, Max had come prepared. When Ausable switched on the light, he found Max standing halfway across the room with a small automatic pistol in his hand. Ausable had to use his presence of mind and fertile brain to outwit Max. His cooking up of two stories related to the balcony below his window and the police were his masterstrokes. In his simple way, Ausable succeeds in convincing Max that both the stories were true. Actually, there was no balcony below his window. He wanted to unnerve Max by planting the false story that the loud knockings at the door were of the police. In desperation, Max jumped out of the window and Ausable got rid of his crafty rival forever.
Q12. Describe in detail the two false stories planted by Ausable to get rid of Max, the secret agent of the rival organisation. Did the false stories have the desired effect? Give a reasoned answer.
Ans. Presence of mind, quick reactions and a fertile brain more than compensated the fat and sloppy man, Ausable. His fertile brain and the stories he cooked up proved more than a match for a gun-wielding rival Max. Ausable started in a simple but natural way the story of the balcony below the window of his room. He was able to convince Max that his balcony had really become a nuisance. It was the second time in the month that somebody had got into his room. Actually, it was a clever trap for Max to fall in and the desperate and nervous Max did fall into the trap. He jumped out of the window in desperation to avoid being arrested or shot at by the police.
The second story related to the police was a masterstroke. It was the product of his fertile brain. Ausable knew that he could unnerve his gun-wielding rival by showing the threat of the police. He planted a false story that he himself sought the protection of the police. After all, the all-important report about the new missiles needed some extra protection. The loud knockings at the door signalled the arrival of the police. Max asked Ausable to send the police away. Ausable convinced Max that the police wouldn’t hesitate to shoot. In desperation, he jumped out, never to be able to come back again. Later on, Fowler found that the knockings at the door were done by the waiter. He entered with a tray, a bottle and two glasses.
Q13. Sometimes, appearances can be very deceptive. How does this statement prove with this story?
Ans. Yes, it is true that sometimes we fail to identify the real personality of a man due to his different appearances. So, it can be said that appearances can be deceptive. Fowler was young and romantic. He was a writer of adventurous stories. Ausable was a secret agent—a detective. He faces danger in his work. So, Fowler wanted to meet him for some adventurous stories. But when he met Ausable in a French hotel with a damp corridor, Fowler felt disappointed. But Ausable proved himself after reaching his room. A man named Max was found inside Ausable’s room with a gun in his hand. Ausable at once proved that he possessed the quality of a true detective. He told Max about a balcony next to the window, and police at the door. Max believed him because Ausable’s way of talking was so real.
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