Question 1:
How is Ausable different from other secret agents?
Answer:
Ausable was different from other secret agents in more ways than one. He had a small room in the musty corridor of a gloomy French hotel. It was on the sixth and top floor and it was scarcely the setting for a romantic adventure. He was extremely fat. Inspite of living in Paris for over twenty years, he spoke French and German only passably and had an American accent. Instead of getting messages slipped into his hands by dark-eyed beauties, he got only a telephone call making an appointment. In these ways, he was different from the conventional notion of a spy.
Question 2:
Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?
Answer:
Fowler was a writer and he had come to meet Ausable.
Fowler’s first authentic thrill of the day came when he saw a man in Ausable’s room pointing a pistol towards Ausable and himself.
Page No 15:
Question 1:
How has Max got in?
Answer:
Max had got into the room with a passkey or a master key.
Question 2:
How does Ausable say he got in?
Answer:
Ausable said that he thought Max had got into the room through the balcony. He said that it was the second time in a month that somebody had got into his room this way.
Page No 18:
Question 1:
“Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler hand 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. Hove you watched any movies featuring James Bond?)
Answer:
This question requires you to use your own perspective as well as your analytical skills. The answer to the question would vary from one person to another. It is suggested that you read the text carefully and try attempting it on your own.
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 created a convincing story about the presence of a balcony. He said that twice in a month somebody had entered his room through the balcony. On being questioned by Max about the balcony, he replied with extreme irritation that it was not his balcony. This reaction, which looked natural, played a part in convincing Max. He further told Max explanatorily that his room was earlier a part of a larger unit and the adjoining room was the one which had the balcony. He said that it extended under his window. His manner of description and speaking convinced Max that there was indeed a balcony under his window.
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:
It seems that Ausable had worked out the plan right from the beginning. He did not take any time to let Max know about the presence of a balcony. His story seemed pretty much thought out and he was convincing in his narration. The timing of the knock on the door was perfect because he had already asked the waiter, Henry, to bring him a bottle of drink and two glasses after he returned. Therefore, he was expecting his knock on the door and accordingly, he told Max that it was the police whom he had asked to check in to make sure everything was alright. At the end, the calm with which he told Fowler, who was terrified, that there was no police and that he had expected the waiter to come in with his order shows that he was not surprised by the sudden turn of events and Max’s turning up at his room. Such a detailed and well-knit plan gives the impression that it was pre-planned and that he was prepared for it
