The Midnight Visitor Class 10 Worksheet English Chapter 5

Q.1. Who is the author of the story “The Midnight Visitor”? 
(a) James Herriot
(b) Ruskin Bond
(c) Robert Arthur
(d) Victor Canning

Correct Answer is Option (c)

Q.2. Where was Ausable staying?
(a) Fowler’s home
(b) French hotel
(c) Max’s home
(d) French Inn

Correct Answer is Option (b)

Q.3. Why had Fowler wanted to meet Ausable?

Fowler was a writer and he had wanted to meet Ausable, a renowned secret agent. Fowler wanted to know how Ausable tackled dangerous situations. He was disappointed when he saw Ausable, as he didn’t look like what Fowler thought a secret agent should look like.

Q.4. ‘Ausable shows the great presence of mind in a situation of danger and surprise.” Do you agree with this statement? If yes, why?

Yes, I agree with this statement, as Ausable showed great presence of mind when Max pointed a gun at him when he entered the hotel room with Fowler, which surprised and endangered both of them. He remained calm and cool, inventing stories as required to fool Max into jumping to his death.

Q.5. Why did Ausable frame the story of the balcony?

Ausable framed the story of the balcony to counter the use of the pistol by the rival secret agent Max to threaten him. The rival would have been able to get the important report about the new missiles if Ausable had not concocted this story.

Q.6. Who actually had knocked at the door of Ausable’s room? Why did he come there?

The waiter in the hotel where Ausable stayed knocked at the door of Ausable’s room. He had brought the drinks that Ausable had ordered when he arrived in the hotel with Fowler.

Q.7. How do you know that Ausable was an intelligent secret agent?

Ausable was an intelligent secret agent, as he could easily fabricate stories and befoot his enemies and kill them without using any weapon. He is very fat and short but he is much alert in the mind. Actually he uses his mind to the maximum. He did not get nervous when Max entered the room with an automatic pistol. Rather he was easily able to outwit Max.

Q.8. Give a character sketch of Ausable.

Ausable was a smart, intelligent man who was an expert secret agent. He was very fat and sloppy. He spoke in an American accent which he had brought from Boston twenty years ago. He could speak French and German but possibly he was a spy who dealt in espionage and danger. He had a very important paper for which several men and women had risked their lives and even Max had come for that paper. He was quick-witted and had a great presence of mind. He cooked up a police story and of the balcony to befool Max. The story was so convincing that Max jumped down the window. Not for a moment did he think that it might be a fabricated story. In other words, he proved to be quite dangerous for Max, though he had a great sense of humour when he talked to Fowler. Ausable was very witty who fabricated stories on the spot with the presence of his mind. He narrated stories in such a cool manner that everybody believed him and nobody suspected him even once.

Q.9. 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 of 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.

Q.10. 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 imminent danger in the form of Max, a rival secret agent.