Question 1 : Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
Inspector : Then we’ve got it fixed between 11:15 and 11:30. [Jots]
Now, sir, before we go further I’d like to see your butler and
the footman that valets this gentleman.
Winsor : [With distaste] Very well, Inspector; only-my butler has been
with us from a boy.
Inspector : Quite so. This is just clearing the ground, sir.
Winsor : General, d’you mind touching that bell?
(i) Where has the Inspector come from? What has he got ‘fixed’ between 11:15 and 11:30? How could he have been so accurate about the timing?
Answer : Inspector Dede has come from Newmarket. He has fixed the time of the robbery that took place in the room of De Levis. De Levis told Dede that it was 11:15 when he has put his watch under the pillow and went to the bath. Winsor informed Dede that it was 11:30 when De Levis came running to him. Using these two facts, Dede was able to conclude that the robbery took place between 11:15 and 11:30.
(ii) What information did the footman Robert supply regarding his movements, when questioned by the Inspector?
Answer : Robert, De Levis’ valet was questioned by Dede and he told him that the last time he came into De Levis’ room was at ten o’clock to take his clothes. He then went straight to his room but did not go to bed. He and the other servants played bridge there. He did not come up until he was asked to.
(iii) What two things in particular had Robert noticed about Mr De Levi’s clothes?
Answer : Two things that Robert noticed about De Levis’ clothes were firstly, they were very good and, secondly, one of his shoes was missing. Dede asked him what he made of the missing shoe. Robert said that he thought Mr Levis had probably thrown it at a car or something.
(iv) Why does De Levis strongly suspect Ronald Dancy of committing the theft?
Answer : De Levis thought that Dede was on a totally wrong track as he was fooled by the crushed creeper. Dede thought that it had been crushed deliberately to mislead people. He measured the distance to the next balcony and it was just over seven feet and he thought that it was not difficult for a person who could make a four foot stand jump. He was referring the Dancy who had done that earlier in the parlour.
(v) What conclusions did the Inspector arrive at regarding how the theft was committed?
Answer : Dede comes to four possibilities about the nature in which the robbery might have taken place. He says that either the thief was in the room all the time, waiting under the bed and slipped out after De Levis and gone to Mr Winsor. Or he came in with a key that fits the lock. Or he came in with a skeleton key and went out through the window, probably dropping from the balcony. Or he came in through the window with a rope or ladder and went out the same way.
Question 2 : Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
Canynge : Inspector-you er-walked up to the window when you first
came into the room.
Inspector : [Stiffly] I had not overlooked that, General.
Canynge : Of course.
[A knock on the door relieves a certain tension.]
(i) Where is the present scene set? Who is the Inspector? What is the Inspector doing there?
Answer : The present scene is set in the room occupied by De Levis at Meldon Court, which was owned by Charles Winsor. The Inspector is Inspector Dede. He is there to enquire into the case of thievery of almost a thousand pounds from De Levis.
(ii) When Canynge tries to say that it was the Inspector who had walked up to the window, the Inspector became stiff. Why did he become stiff?
Answer : Inspector Dede saw a footmark near the window. It meant that someone had been out in the rain and came in from the balcony. Most probably, it was the thief. However, Canynge commented that it was the Inspector who had walked to the window. He was trying to say that the footmark belonged to Dede. This made Dede stiff because he was annoyed with his own stupidity about not understanding this simple fact.
(iii) Was the Inspector really wanted at the scene? If no, why was he called?
Answer : No, the Inspector was not at all wanted at the scene even though the robbery had been committed. They did not want any type of unpleasantness and turned hostile to De Levis. However, De Levis insisted that his money was very important to him and he wanted it back. He was adamant about it. Winsor had no choice but to call the police.
(iv) Does any of the possibilities put forth by the Inspector actually come to be true?
Answer : None of the possibilities put forth by the Inspector Dede comes out to be true. It turned out that De Levis was actually right when he thought that it was Dancy who had made a seven foot jump into De Levis’ balcony and stole the money. He had seen him jump earlier and knew that Dancy could do it easily. Inspector Dede was fooled by the crushed creeper but De Levis was not.
(v) What were the four possibilities that the Inspector puts forth?
Answer : Dede comes to four possibilities about the nature in which the robbery might have taken place. He says that either the thief was in the room all the time, waiting under the bed, and slipped out when De Levis had gone to Mr Winsor. Or he came in with a key that fits the lock. OR he came in with a skeleton key and went out through the window, probably dropping from the balcony. Or he came in through the window with a rope or ladder and went out the same way.