Who Horace Danby Is
Everyone thought him a good, honest citizen.
↳ Six ordinary facts, and not one of them belongs to a criminal.
📚 Chapter Learning Kit
A Question of Trust · Class 10 English · Footprints Without Feet
English 3 topics 135 leveled MCQs 60 flashcards 4 games Free
Shared by a Veda teacher · Generated with Veda AI · Oct 2026
⚡ Veda Bites
💡 Key Idea
🚫 Warning
💡 Key Idea
💡 Key Idea
💡 Key Idea
🚫 Warning
The whole idea, one bite at a time
Veda Bites are swipeable micro-lessons — each one teaches exactly one idea. Here's a taste from this kit; the app has the full deck.
Good and Respectable — But Not Completely Honest
The story's own verdict.
Fifteen years earlier he had served his first and only sentence — and spent it in the prison library.
↳ A textbook question asks why this description is apt. Quote it and explain both halves.
One Safe a Year, for Books
Why does he steal at all?
↳ Not need, not greed for money — an annual expense with a hobby at the end of it.
“A Cold or Hay Fever?”
Her first words are about his health.
Horace answers before he can think — and sneezes again.
↳ The hay fever brought her downstairs, and gave her the opening line.
The Young Lady in Red
Who is standing there?
↳ Nobody tidies somebody else's mantelpiece.
Five Suggestions, No Claims
She never once says she lives there.
↳ Horace is never told she owns the house. He is allowed to conclude it.
📖 Smart notes
What you'll study, topic by topic
1
A Good, Respectable Man Who Robs One Safe a Year
Horace Danby makes locks, keeps two helpers and worries a housekeeper — and once a year he opens somebody's safe to pay for the rare books he loves. This July it is Shotover Grange: two weeks of study, four free hours, a…
- Everybody thought Horace Danby a good, honest citizen: about fifty, unmarried, living with a housekeeper who fussed over his health, and usu…
- He made locks, and was successful enough at the business to keep two helpers — which is exactly the skill his other occupation needs.
- The story's own verdict is that he was good and respectable, but not completely honest. Fifteen years earlier he had served his first and on…
~26 min · full explanation, examples & memory tricks in the app
2
The Young Lady in Red, and a Bargain
A voice from the doorway asks whether it is a cold or hay fever, and Horace answers before he can think. The woman in red pets the dog, straightens the ornaments, refuses to be frightened, and offers him his freedom on o…
- The first thing the stranger does is ask whether he has a cold or hay fever — and Horace, taken by surprise, answers truthfully before he ha…
- She advises a special treatment if he can find out which plant affects him, and suggests a doctor if he is serious about his work. She had h…
- Her voice is quiet and kindly, with firmness in it. She is young, quite pretty and dressed in red; the dog rubs against her; and she walks a…
~28 min · full explanation, examples & memory tricks in the app
3
Fingerprints, and the Joke About Honour Among Thieves
Horace opens the safe, hands over the jewels and goes away happy. Two days later he is thinking about books again; by noon on the third day he is under arrest, his bare fingerprints are all over the drawing room, and the…
- Within the hour Horace had opened the safe, given the woman the jewels and gone happily away — pleased with himself, and convinced that he h…
- He kept his promise to the kind young lady for exactly two days. On the morning of the third he thought about the books he wanted and knew h…
- He never got the chance to begin. Before midday a constable had him under arrest for the theft of the jewels at Shotover Grange.
~28 min · full explanation, examples & memory tricks in the app
❓ Leveled MCQ practice
Try the smart MCQs from this kit
135 questions laddered from warm-up to topper-level, each with an explanation. A taste:
How does the story describe Horace Danby?
Beginner
A As a hardened criminal known to the police for many years
B As a poor man driven to theft by his circumstances
C As a wealthy collector who had never broken the law
D As a good and respectable man who was not completely honest
Show answer & explanation
As a good and respectable man who was not completely honest
The phrase is the story's own, and a textbook question asks why it is apt.
Which set of details is true of Horace Danby?
Beginner
A About thirty, married, a librarian with a small collection of books
B About sixty, a retired policeman living alone in London
C About fifty, unmarried, a lock-maker with two helpers and a housekeeper
D About forty, a gardener employed at Shotover Grange
Show answer & explanation
About fifty, unmarried, a lock-maker with two helpers and a housekeeper
Every detail is deliberately respectable.
What does Horace Danby like to collect?
Beginner
A Valuable paintings
B Antique locks and safes
C Jewels of unusual quality
D Rare and expensive books
Show answer & explanation
Rare and expensive books
He buys them secretly through an agent.
Why does Horace steal one safe a year?
Intermediate
A Because his lock-making business was failing badly
B To pay for the rare books he loves, taking enough to last twelve months
C To support the housekeeper who looked after him
D Because he enjoyed the excitement of the risk
Show answer & explanation
To pay for the rare books he loves, taking enough to last twelve months
It is an annual expense, planned like any other.
🃏 Flashcards
Tap a card to flip it
60 flashcards in this kit — the app reviews them with spaced repetition so the right card returns on the right day.
🎮 Learning games
Play your way through this kit
Every game is built from this kit's own content — scores feed your mastery, so playing counts as studying.
Word Match
True False
Fill Blank
Word Scramble
Playable in the app
Study it properly — free, in the app
The full Veda Bites deck, complete notes, spaced-repetition flashcards, leveled MCQs, tests and games for this kit — plus Daily Facts and the Arena, every day.