THE MIDNIGHT VISITOR (Chapter-3)

 

                            the Midnight Visitor

Word Meanings :-

S.No	Words	Meanings
1	Description	Something that tells you what something or someone is like
2	Musty	Smelling unpleasantly old and slightly wet
3	Corridor	A long passage in a building, especially with rooms on either side
4	Gloomy	Dark in a way that is unpleasant and makes it difficult to see
5	Scarcely	Almost not
6	Accent	The way in which people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words
7	Passably	In a way that is satisfactory but not excellent
8	Shoulder	The upper joint of each of a person's arms and the part of the body between this and the neck
9	Espionage	The practice of spying or the use of spies, often by governments to gather political and military information
10	Prosaic	Ordinary and not especially interesting or unusual
11	Frustrate	Feeling annoyed or less confident because you cannot achieve what you want
12	Disillusion	Disappointed and unhappy because of discovering the truth about something or someone that you liked or respected
13	Authentic	Being what it is claimed to be; genuine
14	Blink	To close and open the eyes quickly, once or several times
15	Pistol	A small gun that is held in and fired from one hand
16	Automatic	A machine or device can operate independently of human control
17	Slender	Thin or delicate
18	Menacing	Suggesting the presence of danger; threatening
19	Countenance	A person's face or facial expression
20	Missile	A flying weapon that has its own engine and can travel a long distance before exploding at the place at which it has been aimed
21	Management	The group of people responsible for controlling and organising a company
22	Nuisance	Something or someone that annoys you or causes trouble for you
23	Irritation	The feeling of being angry or annoyed, or something that makes you feel like this
24	Passkey	A key to the door of a restricted area, given only to those who are officially allowed access
25	Balcony	An area with a wall or bars around it that is joined to the outside wall of a building on an upper level
26	Gesture	A movement of the hands, arms, or head, etc. to express an idea or feeling
27	Knock	To repeatedly hit something, producing a noise
28	Doorknob	A handle on a door that is turned to release the latch
29	Stammer	Speak with sudden involuntary pauses and a tendency to repeat the initial letters of words
30	Hesitate	Pause in indecision before saying or doing something

Summary of the Midnight Visitor

The Midnight visitor is a detective story and its writer is Robert Arthur. This article is about the midnight visitor summary. Ausable is a detective. He is one such secret agent, who expects to get some sensitive papers in his hotel room. But one of his rival Max attacked him at the gunpoint, and he demands the papers. But, Ausable showed a remarkable common sense and he came out of this situation. Fowler, his friend was surprised to see a secret agent Ausable, who was too fat to be a secret agent based on his physical appearance.

For Fowler the situation was scary. But, Ausable, sensing the danger, fabricated a brilliant story about the non-existent balcony on which Max believed. Ausable again befooled Max by saying that the police were knocking at the door. Max wanted to run away to avoid the police and jumps to his death into that virtual balcony.

The Midnight Visitor Summary in English

This story is about the witty secret agent Ausable. He was with a writer friend Fowler. They planned to spend time in the evening. Then Fowler realized that he is exactly the opposite of what he had imagined about him. Ausable told Fowler that he had been thinking wrong and very soon he would be looking at a very important report which would change the country’s future. Then both went to his room. But, when they enter the room another guy Max with a gun was standing in the room. He asked them to be comfortable until the reports related to missiles arrived.

This was really an adventurous experience for the Fowler while meeting with a secret agent. Meanwhile, Ausable started with a story about a hypothetical balcony below the window of his room. While this talk was going on, someone was continuously knocking at the door. Ausable said that the police were at the door came to check him and his room on a regular basis. Max, pointing his gun towards both of them, said that he would be waiting in the balcony and during this time Ausable should send away the police otherwise he would shoot them.

As the doorknob is turned in loud, Max jumps out of the window and they heard a loud scream. The door opens and a waiter comes in. The waiter says that he has brought the wine that Ausable had ordered. He keeps the bottle, tray and glasses there on the table and leaves. Fowler is surprised after seeing all that. Fowler asked him about the police. Then Ausable replied that there was no police. Fowler again asked about Max, who was waiting in the balcony outside the window. Then Ausable replied that the person would not return as there was no balcony at all.

This shows the quick wit of Ausable as he took advantage of the situation and successfully made Max nervous. Under his nervousness, he jumped out of the window without any thought. He jumped from the top floor of the hotel and hence died. Thus, Ausable outwitted Max and saved himself from a very dangerous situation.

Conclusion of The Midnight Visitor

The ultimate message that one can get from this story is that in any situation we should not panic instead we should take a step and face the situation with our presence of mind.

Question : How is Ausable different from other secret agents?

Answer: Ausable stood out among other secret operatives in a number of ways. On the sixth and top floor of a dark French hotel, he had a modest room in a musty corridor, hardly the scene of a romantic adventure. He was a messy, obese man with an odd accent. Despite having lived in Paris for more than twenty years after moving from Boston, he still struggled to speak French and German and kept his American accent. Typically, a spy gets messages delivered covertly to him by gorgeous women; Ausable was not that kind of spy. He only received a routine call setting an appointment. He deviated from the stereotype of a secret agent in a number of ways, including the ones listed above. Additionally, we saw how he handled Max in the narrative by fabricating a false balcony and persuading Max to jump off the building in order to permanently get rid of Max.

Question : Who is Fowler, and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?

Answer: A young, amorous writer named Fowler had come to meet Ausable. He saw an unknown man in Ausable’s room pointing a small automatic pistol at him and Ausable, giving him his first thrill of the day.

Question : How has Max got in?

Answer: Max had used a passkey or master key to enter Ausable’s room.

Question : How does Ausable say he got in?

Answer: Max may have entered the room via the balcony, according to Ausable. He grumbled that someone had broken into his room through that obtrusive balcony for the second time in a month.

Think about it 

Question 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?)

Answer: In fiction, secret spies are typically portrayed as ideal gentlemen who are tall, dark, and handsome with amazing speaking abilities and an alluring manly voice. Usually, they are accompanied by lovely women and sturdy buildings. Some spies smoke cigars or pipes like Sherlock Holmes, and they pull off risky exploits just as in James Bond films. These films demonstrate the employment of cutting-edge tools that support the capture of criminals and the defeat of wicked villains. The definition of detectives or spies given above does, however, have certain exclusions. Satyajit Ray, a well-known Bengali director, invented the detective character Feluda, which is a perfect illustration. Feluda was a tall, attractive, and athletic secret agent with incredible analytical ability, keen perception, and excellent observation skills.

Question 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?

Answer: Ausable detailed in his conversation with Fowler how his room was a part of a larger apartment and how the living room that was connected by a door had a balcony. Further details were provided, and Max was immediately persuaded by the claim that someone had previously entered his office by that balcony. Max was more likely to believe Ausable’s story because of his quick wit and calm demeanour in the face of such chaos.

Question 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?

Answer: No, I don’t believe Ausable had planned to get rid of Max earlier. He kept his cool and capitalised on the circumstance and the events as they occurred. To get Max to believe him, he made up the tale of the balcony outside the window. When the doorbell rang, he pretended to have called the police to check on him and make sure everything was okay. Max became terrified and despondent as a result of all these things. Without looking outside, he jumped out of the window after becoming restless.... 

Short Answer Type Questions

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

Answer: 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?

Answer: 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 did not confirm the balcony and stepped out of the window and died.

3. How did Ausable kill Max without using a weapon?

Answer: 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. He convinced Max about the balcony. And thus, when someone knocked at the door, Max fearing it to be the police, jumped out of the window and died.

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

Answer: 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.

5. How was Ausable different from the other secret agents?

Answer: Ausable, unlike other secret agents, was very fat with an accent of German. 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.

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

Answer: Believing Ausable’s story about the balcony to be true, Max stepped out, however, had concocted a very convincing story, and knew that what awaited hit was a drop from the sixth floor. Hence, he was confident that Max would never return.

7. Did Max really deserve to get a chance to accomplish a risky task?

Answer: I do not believe that Max deserved a chance to accomplish a risky task, as his err very smart, gun. A spy without these nor very intelligent. He did not even look threatening to Fowler except seeing apparent qualities will most likely be a failure.

8. How did Ausable befool Max about the balcony?

Answer: Ausable was a very intelligent spy agent. When he found Max waiting for him in his room, he immediately thought of the plan. He told Max that there is a balcony from where people enter his room that Max must have also entered from there. Max got convinced about the story and hence when someone knocked at the door, he ran towards the balcony to hide and died.

9. Why did Fowler come to meet Ausable? Was he able to achieve his target?

Answer: Fowler was a young and romantic writer. He had come to see Ausable know about the life of a secret agent. Fowler was fascinated n by them and thought of them as mysterious and romantic. He was not able to achieve his target as Ausable was a boring man.

10. Why did so many people risk their lives?

Answer: Ausable had received a paper which had certain important information about new missiles. The paper was so important that several men and women had risked their lives to get it.

11. Why did Fowler feel let down when he met Ausable?

Answer: Fowler felt let down and disappointed to meet Ausable. He had a different picture of a secret agent in his mind. He thought they should look to be very mysterious and romantic but he found Ausable a very fat and boring man.

12. What was someone expected to bring to Ausable’s room?

Answer: Someone was expected to bring a paper containing important information to Ausable’s room.

13. Who was in Ausable’s room? What was in his hand?

Answer: A man named Max was there in Ausable’s room. He was another secret agent. He had an automatic pistol in his hand.

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

Answer: He told Max that it would be the police. He said that he had called the police for the protection of such an important paper that he was going to receive that night. He wanted to have extra protection for the report.

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

Answer: 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.

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

Answer: No, actually there was not a balcony outside the window. Ausable had falsely told 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.”

17. Did Fowler find this episode, thrilling or disappointing? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer: Fowler found this episode very thrilling. He was much surprised by the tactful nature of Ausable. He cocked-up a story about the balcony and the police. He got the intruder, Max, killed without firing a shot.

18. How did Ausable get rid of Max?

Answer: Ausable cocked-up a story. He told Max that there was a balcony just below his window. He told him that the balcony was a part of the next room. When the waiter knocked at the door, Ausable told Max that it would be the police. Max was nervous. He dropped himself to the balcony through the window. But outside there was no balcony. He fell down and died.

19. How did Ausable behave to see Max in his room?

Answer: To see Max in his room Ausable remained cool and silent. He was not afraid of Max. He seemed to be angry with the management of the hotel regarding the balcony below the window of his room.

20. Describe Ausable.

Answer: Ausable was a secret agent. He was a fat and sloppy fellow. He was not a romantic figure. He had Wine to Paris from Boston twenty years ago. He could speak French and German passably. He had a style of his own in the American language.

21. Fowler said that Max would soon come back from the balcony. What did Ausable tell him?

Answer: Ausable told Fowler that Max would never return. He said so because he knew that there was not any balcony outside. He said that Max had fallen down to the ground to meet his end.

22. Why did Fowler want to meet Ausable? Why was he disappointed?

Answer: Fowler was a young and romantic writer. He wanted to meet Ausable because he was a secret agent. He was disappointed to meet Ausable because he was a fat sloppy fellow. He was not romantic. He lived in a small room in a gloomy hotel.

23. Who was Ausable?

Answer: Ausable was a secret agent. A very important document concerning some new missiles was under his safe custody. He didn’t look like a secret agent as we read in books or see in films. He was fat and sloppy. His office was in a small room on the sixth and top floor. Fowler was very disappointed to meet him.

24. Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent. Comment.

Answer: Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent. He did not seem to be so smart, active, movable, aggressive and romantic as we read in books or see in films. He was very fat and sloppy. The crack of pistols, wine and dark-eyed beauties are normally associated with secret agents like James Bond. These qualities had nothing to do with Ausable.

25. Why did Fowler feel let down after meeting Ausable?

Answer: The young writer, the Fowler, had formed a very romantic and grand picture of a secret agent in his mind. This picture was based as it is found in books or shown in films. He found Ausable not cracking pistols or surrounded by dark-eyed beauties like James Bond. Rather he was a fat and sloppy man. He lived in a very small room on the sixth floor. Fowler felt rather let down after meeting Ausable.

26. What is the important paper that Ausable talks of?

Answer: Ausable is a secret agent. He has been assigned an important job. He has an important paper regarding some new missiles under his custody. The paper may well affect the course of history. It is of so much importance that several men and women have risked their lives to get them. Even Max, a secret agent himself, comes to grab them from Ausable’s room.

27. How did Fowler have his first authentic thrill of the day?

Answer: Fowler was rather bored and disillusioned after meeting the secret agent, Ausable. But soon, he had his first authentic thrill of the day. The moment Ausable switched on the light, he found a man standing halfway across the room. He had a small automatic pistol in his hand. Fowler was stunned. The man demanded the report concerning some new missiles from Ausable. Fowler had his first authentic thrill of the day.

28. Why and how did Max enter Ausable’s room?

Answer: Max’s entry was not merely accidental. He had entered Ausable’s room through a passkey. When Ausable switched on the light, he found him standing with a small automatic pistol in his hand. He had come to grab a very important paper that was related to some new missiles. Several men and women had already risked their lives to get that report.

29. Describe Max as a secret agent.

Answer: Max was a secret agent and a rival and enemy of Ausable. He was slender, a little less than tall. He appeared crafty and had pointed countenance of a fox. There was nothing especially menacing about him except his pistol. He came to Ausable’s room to steal a very important paper concerning some new missiles. He is outwitted by Ausable and made to jump out of his window.

30. What was the real story of the balcony below the window of Ausable’s room?

Answer: Ausable had an instant and fertile mind. He could cook up all kinds of stories that fit in different situations. Actually, there was no balcony below the window of his room. Ausable cooked up a story that the balcony below his room had become a big nuisance. It was the second time that someone had got into his room through it. Actually, he wanted to confuse Max and make him jump out of the window to get rid of him.

31. What position did Max take before he jumped out of the window?

Answer: Max kept his body twisted. In this way, he could keep his gun pointed at Ausable and Fowler. He grasped the frame with his free hand to support himself. He swung his other leg up and over the windowsill. The moment he heard the knocking getting louder at the door, he positioned himself to jump out of the window.

32. What story did Ausable cook up regarding the arrival of the police? How did it affect Max?

Answer: Ausable was very quick of mind. His sharp brain could cook up any story that could fit in a particular situation. When Max heard a loud knocking at the door, he got nervous. Ausable told Max that the knocking at the door announced the arrival of the police. After all, he was holding an important paper concerning missiles. He had sought police protection. He told the police to check on him to make sure that everything was all right. This unnerved and confused Max.

33. How did Max react when Ausable told him that the loud knockings at the door of the police?

Answer: Ausable cooked up the police’s story. He told that he himself had sought the protection of the police. The knockings at the door signaled their arrival. Max’s face was black with anger. Max swung a leg over the windowsill and shouted to send the police away. He threatened him to obey. If not, he would take his chances and shoot.

34. How did clever Ausable outwit and get rid of his rival or enemy secret agent Max?

Answer: Ausable very cleverly convinced Max that there existed a balcony below the windowsill of his room. Actually, it was a trap to make Max jump out of the window. He unnerved Max by cooking up a false story of the arrival of the police. Confused and panicky, Max jumped out on the balcony which did not exist. In this way, Ausable got rid of his enemy or rival.

35. Who was actually knocking at the door? Was it pre-planned?

Answer: Ausable could cook up any false story to suit his mission. He cooked up the story of the police. He told Max that he himself sought the protection of the police. He had a very important report with him. Actually, the knocking at the door was of Henry, the waiter. When the door opened, he was standing there with a bottle and two glasses. It was all cleverly planned in advance to outwit the crafty rival, Max.

36. What happened to Max after he jumped out of the window?

Answer: At last, the crafty Max was trapped in. He was outwitted by the cleverer secret agent Ausable. Ausable, the quick-witted secret agent, made Max believe that there was a balcony below his windowsill. He also made him believe that the knockings at the door were made by the police. The confused, panicked and unnerved Max jumped out of the window. He cried only for once. That was the end of the crafty rival secret agent and Ausable got rid of him forever.

37. How do you judge Ausable as a secret agent?

Answer: Ausable was fat in the body but exceptionally quick in mind and manipulations. He might look fat and sloppy but was much more than that. His sharp mind could cook up any story that could fit in a particular situation. The story of the balcony and the police were cooked up only to confuse and unnerve Max. Although he didn’t look like secret agents as described in books or shown in films, he was a highly competent and sharp-witted secret agent.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q.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?

Answer: 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 lessons can be learned from this?

Answer: 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.

3. Ausable was a successful secret agent. What qualities can be attributed to him? Give some examples.

Answer: 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 a hat was the police whom he had called for the extra protection of the papers.

Max wanted him to send them off quickly until 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 on 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 agent.

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.

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 found him quite boring. He did not want to be with him anymore. 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.

Answer: 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 center 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.

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.

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

Answer: Ausable was a secret agent. He was a 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?
Or
Though Max was very cunning, he was still but a little spy’ before Ausable. Explain.

Answer: 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 cooking 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 favor? What light does it throw on his character?

Answer: 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.

9. Give a character-sketch of Ausable highlighting his presence of mind and intelligence.

Answer: 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.

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

Answer: 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 often 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.

11. 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?

Answer: Naturally, it was a fight between two secret agents belonging to two different organizations. 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 of the police. In desperation, Max jumped out of the window and Ausable got rid of his crafty rival forever.

12. Describe in detail the two false stories planted by Ausable to get rid of Max, the secret agent of the rival organization. Did the false stories have the desired effect? Give a reasoned answer.

Answer: 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 signaled 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.

13. Sometimes, appearances can be very deceptive. How does this statement prove with this story?

Answer: 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.

Self-Assessment Test

Short Answer Questions

1. Did Max really deserve to get a chance to accomplish a risky task?
2. Why did fowler come to visit Ausable?
3. What element of drama did Ausable promise him?
4. Why was Max in the room?
5. How did Ausable react when he saw Max in the room?

Long Answer Questions

1. Presence of mind and intelligence are more powerful than a gun. How far is it true in the case of Ausable, the secret agent?
2. What makes you think Max was a careless and foolish fellow?
3. Ausable was a secret agent. What qualities can be attributed to him? Give some examples.