The Midnight Visitor

Summary

Ausable is a secret agent. He is expecting to receive an important paper. Max, an intruder, enters his room. He wants to get that paper from Ausable. He has a pistol in his hand. Ausable, being quite normal, plays a trick to kill Max without any fighting or shooting.

Comprehension Questions

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:

1. What made the story of the balcony so convincing?

Ausable showed his annoyance for the nuisance created by the balcony. He said that this was the second time that someone had got into his room through it. He also said that the balcony was not his but belongs to the next apartment and earlier his room used to be a part of a large unit.

2. How did Max go out of Ausable’s room to save himself from the police?

Max was very nervous to find the police at the door. He went out of the window saying that he would wait in the balcony. He warned Ausable to send them away or he would shoot him. Max stepped out of the window, but there was no balcony and he fell to his death.

3. How and why did Max come inside Ausable’s room?

Max had come into the room using a passkey. He had come to get the secret report about some new missiles which, he was sure, was with Ausable.

4. Why was Ausable confident that Max would never return?

Believing Ausable’s convincing story about the balcony to be true, Max stepped out. But,there was no balcony and he fell down died. Hence, Ausable was confident that Max would never return.

5. What did the secret agent tell Max when he heard the knock?

The secret agent told Max that it would be the police when he heard the knock. He said that he had called the police in order to have extra protection for the report.

6. Did Ausable know that it was the waiter who had knocked at the door?

Yes, Ausable knew that the man knocking at the door was the waiter. He had ordered him to bring a bottle of wine. And he knew that the waiter must have come with the drinks.

7. Was there a balcony outside the window? Give instances from the text in support of your answer.

No, actually there was no balcony outside the window. Ausable had tricked Max about the balcony. When Max dropped himself to the balcony, he screamed. He fell down to the ground from the sixth floor. In the end, Ausable told Fowler, “No, he won’t return.”

8. Describe Ausable.

Ausable was a secret agent. He was a fat and sloppy fellow. He did not have romantic or a mysterious personality. He could speak French and German passably and had an American personality which he had brought to Paris from Boston twenty years ago.

Answer the following questions in 100-120 words:

1. Pride before a fall befits Max, who said: “I will get it back tonight.” Was he successful? What lesson can be learnt from this?

Max was a spy who was overconfident and proud about himself. His pride blinded him, and he thought that wielding a gun would give an 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 fine details before attempting to do anything.

2. 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.

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 spent the evening spent with him quite boring. But when Max entered Ausable’s room with a gun, there was some action. Ausable was not at all perturbed. He immediately made 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 and impressed with Ausable.

3. Write a character sketch of the secret Agent Ausable.

Ausable was a secret agent. He was a fat and sloppy fellow. In his appearance, he did not seem to be a mysterious 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 with a great presence of mind. He did not lose his mind in a difficult situation when he faced a man with

a pistol in his hand. He made 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 impressed with him at the end of the story.

4. Though Max was very cunning, still he was but ‘a little spy’ before Ausable. Explain.

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 fooled him to believe that the police was 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 because he did not even confirm the presence of the balcony.

5. What information did Ausable give about the imaginary balcony? Why did he do so?

Ausable created a detailed description of how his room was part 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.

6. Ausable was a clever secret agent. Do you agree with the statement? Justify your answer.

Ausable did not look at all like the conventional image of a secret agent. He was short and very fat. Besides, he spoke French and German which lacked fluency as well as the right accent; the American accent was quite palpable in his speech. However, Ausable had a very sharp and active mind because he invented two stories, one about a non-existent balcony outside his hotel

window and another about the police arriving to give extra security to some important documents he was about to receive. He was an intelligent man and a clever secret agent to be able to invent such stories on the spur of the moment in the face of danger in the form of Max, a rival secret agent.

7. A calm mind can help you tackle direst stress. Explain.

Certainly, a calm mind can help us to tackle direst stress. If Ausable had panicked and reacted aggressively, then Max probably would have killed him. But Ausable kept his cool. Apart from this story, there can be some real life examples also. We are always told to focus when we are appearing for exams or not to panic in a difficult situation because such things hamper our thinking ability. We are not able to take proper decisions at this time. If we keep our mind cool and focus, then only can,we find ways to get out of crunch situations. Questions from the text book.

Think about it

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?)

Secret agents in fiction are projected like ideal men, ‘Tall, dark and handsome’. They are usually well-built. They would smoke a pipe (like Sherlock Holmes) or a cigar and execute death-defying stunts (like James Bond). Movies based on James Bond show hi-tech gadgets which assist the detective in countering villains. However, there are some exceptions to this appearance of a secret agent also. 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.

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?

Ausable creates a detailed description of how his office was part a bigger apartment and how the next room had a direct connection with a balcony. His statement that somebody else also broke into his office through that balcony earlier made it a convincing story. Ausable’s ability to think quickly and calmly in a situation of panic makes it sound even more convincing.

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?

No, I don’t think that he had worked out his plan in detail earlier. He took advantage of events as they occurred. Ausable made up a story about the balcony because he knew the waiter was to arrive with the drinks later. So when the waiter arrived with the drinks, he told Max that he called the police for extra protection. All these things made Max desperate. He became restless and without looking below, he jumped out of the window.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

(a) ”Max,” he wheezed, “you gave me quite a start. I thought you were in Berlin. What are you doing here in my room?”

i. Who was Max?

Max was a rival secret agent.

ii. Why was he in Ausable’s room?

Max had come to grab the important report about the new missiles from Ausable.

iii. How had Max got into Ausable’s room?

Max has got into Ausable’s room by using a pass key for unlocking the room.

iv. Find a word from the extract which means ‘spoke breathing noisily and heavily’.

wheezed

(b) Ausable moved to an armchair and sat down heavily. “I’m going to raise the devil with the management this time, and you can bet on it,” he said grimly. “This is the second time in a month that somebody has got into my room through that nuisance of a balcony!” Fowler’s eyes went to the single window of the room.

i. Who was Fowler?

Fowler was a young writer who had come to confront Ausable.

ii. How did Ausable react to seeing Max standing with a pistol in his room?

Ausable reacted with a good presence of mind by cooking up a story about the non-existent balcony on seeing Max standing with a pistol in his room.

iii. What did Ausable complain of?

Ausable complained of strangers entering his room through the balcony under his window.

iv. Find a word from the passage which means ‘something that causes problem’.

nuisance

Q2 Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each.

(a) Why did Fowler want to meet Ausable? Why was he disappointed?

Fowler wanted to meet Ausable because he wanted to know about the life of a secret agent. He was disappointed to meet Ausable because Fowler was expecting a smart and active agent having messages slipped into his hand by a dark beauty. Whereas, Ausable received a telephone call making an appointment in his room.

(b) Why did so many people risk their lives to get the report?

Several men and women had risked their lives to get the report because it had important information about new missiles. Ausable believed that this important report may well affect the course of history.

(c) How did Ausable kill Max without using a weapon?

Ausable was an intelligent spy. When he found Max waiting for him in his room, he made a story of a balcony under his window and about calling police for extra protection for the missile report. He convinced Max about the balcony. And thus, when the waiter knocked at the door, Max fearing it to be the police, jumped out of the window and died.

(d) Did Fowler find this episode, thrilling or disappointing? Give reasons for your

answer.

Fowler found this episode very thrilling. He was much surprised by the tactful nature of Ausable. He made up a story about the balcony and the police. He got the intruder, Max, killed without firing or fighting.

Q3 Answer the following questions in in 100 -120 words.

(a) Describe the incident leading to the death of Max.

One evening when Fowler and Ausable entered the room, 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 calm and silent. But he expressed his anger with the

management of the hotel for not blocking the balcony below his house. Intruders had come into the house. When there was a sudden knock on 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.

(b) Why did Max scream shrilly when he dropped to the balcony?

A person screams shrilly when something unexpected happens to him. Here, Max screamed shrilly when he dropped to the ‘balcony’, because actually there was no balcony at all. Ausable had described it so vividly, including its history and use, that Max was convinced there was a balcony just outside the window and jumped onto it without looking. As the room was on the sixth floor, Max would certainly have been died by falling from such a height.

(c) Presence of mind and intelligence are more powerful than a gun. How far is it true in the case of Ausable, the secret agent?

Max lay in wait for Ausable to steal the important paper from him. As Fowler observed, apart from the pointed gun Max didn’t look very menacing. Even this proved useless 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 convincing 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.