Question 1
How does Ausable defeat Max without using force?
He stays calm and invents a plausible story about a balcony and approaching police. Max believes the details and jumps through the window, while the expected police are actually the waiter.
Chapter guide: central idea and structure
Ausable appears unlike the glamorous secret agent Fowler expected, but he outwits the armed intruder Max through calm observation and a convincing invented story about a balcony. A waiter’s knock completes the deception.
Key ideas
- Intelligence and self-control can defeat physical threat.
- Appearances do not reliably reveal competence.
- A believable detail can make a bluff convincing.
Reading checklist
- Identify who is speaking and what changes.
- Support each interpretation with a detail from the text.
- Explain how the title, structure or ending develops the central idea.
Plot or image sequence
- Fowler expects a dramatic spy and finds Ausable in an ordinary hotel room.
- Max enters with a pistol and demands a report.
- Ausable invents a balcony outside the window and claims police are coming.
- Max jumps toward the supposed balcony and falls; the waiter arrives with drinks.
Important vocabulary
- wheezily — with a whistling or breathy sound
- bluff — a deliberate attempt to deceive
- corridor — a passage connecting rooms
Answer-writing tip: Begin with a direct response, support it with a relevant event or image, and finish by linking the detail to the question. Avoid retelling the entire text.
Activity for close reading
In pairs, retell the scene from Fowler’s point of view. Identify which details Ausable controls and how the reader’s expectations change.
This is an original study activity based on the text; use the prescribed book for the full work and exact exercise wording.
Solved questions in CBSE/PYQ style
Newly written practice modeled on common extract, inference, theme and character question patterns; these are not copied past-paper questions.
Question 2
Why is Fowler disappointed at first?
He expects a secret agent to look adventurous and dramatic. Ausable appears ordinary and overweight, so Fowler initially misjudges him by appearance.
Question 3
What makes Ausable’s bluff effective?
He speaks confidently, adds details about the balcony and treats the knock as confirmation of danger. The setting and Max’s panic make the invented story believable.
Self-check
- Can I state the central idea in one or two sentences?
- Can I explain one important turning point, image or technique?
- Can I support my interpretation with evidence without copying long passages?
- Can I answer in the required word limit and keep the response focused?
Prepared as supplementary revision for CBSE Class X English Language and Literature 2026–27. Consult the current CBSE syllabus and your prescribed NCERT edition for assessment details.