Characters in Brief

Ausable was a very sharp-minded and great planner.

He was an alert, agile, sharp-witted and When he knew that Max was in his
renowned secret agent. His appearance room at midnight, he panicked but
as a spy was quite disappointing as he was able to immediately make a plan
was a fat sloppy man with no fitness. to get rid of him.

Ausable

He used to speak French and German with an

American accent as he was originally from Boston.

Chapter in Detail
Fowler and Ausable
• Fowler was a young writer who wanted to write adventure stories about
spies and espionage.
• He had met Ausable, an American spy living in France in the hopes of
experiencing a real adventure.
• But he was disappointed to see that Ausable was very fat, spoke French
with a Boston accent, and did not look like a spy at all.
• Fowler's dreams of witnessing an adventure had not come true.
Character's Mood
 Disappointed, hopeless.
Fowler Gets His First Thrill
• Ausable was expecting some important documents to be delivered to his
apartment.
• He and Fowler were going to wait in Ausable's apartment for the
appointment.
• The moment they entered the apartment and switched the light on, they
saw a man standing in the room with a gun pointed at them.
• Ausable recognised the man as Max, a rival spy.
• Max had come to steal the documents which Ausable was about to
receive.

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Ausable Loses His Temper
• Ausable wanted to know if Max had entered his room through the
balcony.
• He was furious with the management since someone else had entered his
apartment like that a month ago.
• Max denied it saying that he had entered using a passkey.
• Max further added that had he known about the balcony, he would have
entered through it since it was easier.
A Knock at the Door
• A sudden knock at the door caught Max unaware.
• Ausable was relieved to hear it and informed Max that it was the police
who had arrived for extra protection.
• Max flung himself out of the window onto the balcony and they heard
him scream.
• The door was opened by a waiter holding a tray, bottle and glasses.
• He set them down on the table and left.
Example 1. Max fell from the sixth floor as there was no balcony. Justify.
(Evaluate)
Evaluation Points
Marks
(As per CBSE marking scheme)
Justify the given statement with the correct reason behind it.
3 ü Content: Write why Max jumped from the hotel room and how he fell
down the sixth floor. (2m)
ü Expression: Use words like in order to, but, etc. (1m)

Ans. In order to get rid of Max and save the research papers, Ausable lied
and made a false story of a 'non-existent' balcony that was attached to
the room. When Max heard that the police had came, he jumped out of
the window hoping to land the balcony but he fell off the sixth floor to
the ground and died.

•
•
•

The Midnight Visitor 3

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 Dictionary
Word Meaning Synonyms Antonyms
Gloomy causing sadness or dejected, unlit happy, illuminated
dull
Envisioned visiualize picture, imagine real, existent
Sloppy loose fitting baggy, shapeles fit, tight

•
•
•

4 English Language & Literature Class X

 OBJECTIVE Type Questions
[ 1 mark ]
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Inthe chapter ‘The Midnight Visitor’, Ausable tricked Max with a:
(a) staircase
(b) non-existent corridor
(c) non-existent balcony
(d) non-existent room
Ans.(c) non-existent balcony
Explanation: Ausable narrated a made up story to max about how his
room was always broken into by rival spies who climbed in from the
balcony below his window. Hence (c) is the right answer.
2. Where was Ausable staying when Fowler went to meet him?
(a) Countryside (b) French hotel
(c) Fowler's home (d) His home [Diksha]
Ans. (b)French hotel
Explanation: Ausable was staying at a cheap, gloomy French hotel
where Fowler went to meet him. Hence (b) is the right answer.

EXTRACT Based Questions

[ 5 marks ]
3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“You are disappointed,” Ausable said wheezily over his shoulder. “You were
told that I was a secret agent, a spy, dealing in espionage and danger.
You wished to meet me because you are a writer, young and romantic.
You envisioned mysterious figures in the night, the crack of pistols, drugs
in the wine.”
“Instead, you have spent a dull evening in a French music hall with a
sloppy fat man who, instead of having messages slipped into his hand
by dark-eyed beauties, gets only a prosaic telephone call making an
appointment in his room. You have been bored!” The fat man chuckled
to himself as he unlocked the door of his room and stood aside to let his
frustrated guest enter.
(A)“You are disappointed,” Ausable said wheezily over his shoulder.
Why was Fowler disappointed?
(B)Ausable dealt in espionage and danger. What is ‘espionage’?

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 (a) An act of spying
(b) A murder
(c) Terrorism
(d) Criminal activity
(C)Fowler was a young .................
(D)Pick the INCORRECT statement from the extract:
(a) Fowler spent a dull evening in a French music hall with Ausable.
(b) Ausable was a sloppy fat man.
(c) 
Ausable got messages slipped into his hand by dark-eyed
beauties.
(d) Fowler had been bored.
Ans.(A) F owler expected Ausable to be a fit and strong man as a secret agent
while he was a fat sloppy man.
(B)(a) An act of spying
Explanation: The term ‘espionage’ refers to an act of spy. Ausable was
a secret agent or a spy. Hence, (a) is the right answer.
(C) writer
Explanation: It is clear from the extract that Fowler was a young
‘writer’.
(D) (c)Ausable got messages slipped into his hand by dark-eyed beauties.
Explanation: Options (a), (b) and (d) are clearly given in the extract
while (c) is incorrect as Ausable didn’t get any message from the dark-
eyed beauties. Hence, (c) is the right answer.

SHORT ANSWER Type Questions (SA)

[ 3 marks ]
Answer the following questions in 40-50 words:
4. Why did Fowler feel disappointed to meet Ausable? [Diksha]
Ans. H
 e was disappointed to meet Ausable as he looked ordinary, slow,
sluggish and was a very fat person. He lived in a small room on the top
floor of a cheap hotel.
5. “Stereotypes are often misleading.” Elaborate on the given quote in
the context of “The Midnight Visitor”.
Ans. T
 he stereotype for a spy is a fit body facing thrilling situations every
moment. However, Ausable broke this stereotype by being very fat
and simple and thus, proved that stereotypes are often misleading.
Though Ausable looked like an ordinary man who wasn’t active, he

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 dealt with the dangerous event with the help of his amazing presence
of mind and saved himself and Fowler from his rival spy, Max.

LONG ANSWER Type Questions (LA)

[ 6 marks ]
Answer the following questions in 100-120 words:
6. This chapter reveals that presence of mind and intelligence are more
powerful than a gun. Give reasons. [Diksha]
Ans. A
 usable is not such a character about whom we read in detective stories
and books. Fowler is disappointed after meeting Ausable as he is fat and
sloppy and lives in a room which is rather small and that too on the sixth
floor. But appearances are generally deceptive and Ausable proves
that presence of mind, and intelligence are more powerful than a gun.
Presence of mind and intelligence are his twin assets. 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, at once he
understands the purpose of his visit. The rival secret agent who has
come to take away the important report that concerns some new
missiles must be outwitted and defeated in his own game. Without using
any guns, Ausable cooks up the stories of the balcony and the police so
convincingly that Max belives them and falls in his trap.

The Midnight Visitor 7