SEBA Class 10 English Chapter 3 – The Midnight Visitor Solutions & Summary
Need reliable SEBA Assam Class 10 English solutions? At Ospin Academy, we provide comprehensive, NCERT-aligned solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 3 – The Midnight Visitor. Our expertly crafted resources are designed to help SEBA Assam students ace their board exams with clear summaries, detailed explanations, and exam-focused content.
📖 Chapter Overview:
Authored by Robert Arthur, The Midnight Visitor is an intriguing spy story featuring Ausable, a clever secret agent, who outwits a rival spy, Max, in a tense encounter. This SEBA Class 10 English chapter explores themes of intelligence, deception, and quick thinking, making it a captivating part of the Footprints Without Feet syllabus.
📌 Key Topics Covered in SEBA Assam Solutions:
- Introduction to Ausable – The unconventional secret agent and his character traits.
- The encounter with Max – The tense confrontation in Ausable’s room.
- Ausable’s clever deception – How he uses his wit to outsmart Max.
- The role of Fowler – The young writer witnessing the events.
- Themes of intelligence and quick thinking – Key lessons for SEBA students.
📌 Important Questions for SEBA Assam Board Exams:
- Who was Ausable, and how was he different from typical secret agents?
- How did Ausable outwit Max in the story?
- What role did the balcony play in the story?
- Who was Fowler, and what was his impression of Ausable?
- What is the main theme of The Midnight Visitor?
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- NCERT-based detailed solutions tailored for the SEBA Assam syllabus.
- Point-wise explanations for better understanding and retention.
- Concept-based questions and answers to prepare for board exams.
- Free downloadable PDF of Class 10 English solutions for offline study.
- Revision notes and summaries to enhance your exam preparation.
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Class 10 English (First Flight & Footprints) PDF Solutions 2025-26 | SEBA Assam
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Chapter 3
The Midnight Visitor
Read and Find Out Pg-14
Q.1 How is Ausable different from other secret agents?
Answer: Ausable does not fit into any description of a secret agent. He is very fat and looks like a very simple man who lives in a small room on the sixth and top floor. During the time, the author spends with Ausable in the hall there was no such event which could support his being a secret agent.
Q.2 Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?
Answer: Fowler is a young writer who wants to write a book on detectives. He comes to meet Ausable, a secret agent, to know about the experience of being a spy and the kind of life a spy has. However, he gets disappointed because Ausable does not have the appearance as that of an agent. His first authentic thrill of the day was when he saw a man standing before them in Ausable’s room holding a small automatic pistol in his hand.
Read and Find Out Pg-15
Q.1 How has Max got in?
Answer: Max had entered Ausable’s room using a passkey. He entered the room in his absence.
Q.2 How does Ausable say he got in?
Answer: Ausable wanted to confuse Max. So he said that it was the second time in a month that somebody had got into his room through the balcony next to the window. It unfolds later that there was no such balcony and Ausable had mentioned about it just to confuse Max and make him fall into a trap.
Think About it
Q.1 “Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had 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. Have you watched any movies featuring James Bond?)
Answer: According to me, secret agents in books and films look quite different. They usually wear a headgear (a cap or a hat), a long coat and gloves on their hands. They are usually portrayed with black goggles. They are quite sharp and intelligent. In the given plot when Fowler, a young writer, met Ausable, he was very disappointed because Ausable didn’t fit into the description of a secret agent. His appearance was quite different. He was a dull, fat man who knew French and German languages but had a predominant American accent in his speech.
There are many books and movies which portray detectives as very different from what Ausable has been portrayed in this plot. We can refer
to Sherlock Homes or James Bond for that matter to highlight the contrast well.
Q.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 is very clever, which he should be since he is a secret spy. He wanted to get rid of Max so he put up a story about a non-existent balcony and that it was the second time in a month when somebody had entered in his room through that balcony. He told that the balcony belonged to the adjacent apartment and that his room was once a part of that unit which was why the balcony extended under his window. He put this up in such a realistic way that Max and Fowler believed him and Max tried to hide in the balcony when somebody knocked at the door.
Q.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: Ausable was a clever and intelligent secret agent. When he entered his room, he found a man with a pistol in his hand. He put up a story on the spot and narrated it with such preciseness that both Max and Fowler believed him. He did this because he wanted to deceive Max. He knew that the waiter would come to his room so when the waiter knocked at the door, he threatened Max that it were the police and that they would arrest him. Ausable had told Max that he was the second person who had entered through the balcony in that month and so he was very disappointed by the management who had yet not taken any step for it. He had so precisely talked about his room earlier being a part of the adjacent one which was why the balcony extended under his window. Without noticing that there was no such balcony, Max jumped from the floor as he was afraid of being caught. Ausable’s presence of mind helped him get rid of Max.
Talk about it
Q.1 In this story, Ausable shows great ‘presence of mind,’ or the ability to think quickly, and act calmly and wisely, in a situation of danger and surprise. Give examples from your own experience, or narrate a story, which shows someone’s presence of mind.
Answer: Just like Ausable showed great ‘presence of mind’ or the ability to think quickly and act calmly and wisely in a situation of danger and surprise, we all must stick to our senses and wits and behave in a composed yet clever manner in times of crisis. I too remember having behaved in such a way some months back.
While playing in the park one day, one of my friends fell from the swing and was hit hard on his head. He fainted and his head started bleeding. We were five friends playing in the park and there was nobody around us. Everybody was scared and started crying. I sent one of them to that boy’s place to call his parents and rushed to fetch my bag which had a water bottle in it. I sprinkled some water on my friend’s face after which he regained consciousness. By this time, his parents came and they thanked me for acting wisely in such a situation and took him to the doctor timely. My parents were also very impressed with me.
Q.2 Discuss what you would do in the situations described below. Remember that presence of mind comes out of a state of mental preparedness. If you have thought about possible problems or dangers, and about how to act in such situations, you have a better chance of dealing with such situations if they do arise.
(i) A small fire starts in your kitchen
(ii) A child starts to choke on a piece of food.
(iii) An electrical appliance starts to hiss and gives out sparks. (iv) A bicycle knocks down a pedestrian.
(v) It rains continuously for more than twenty-four hours.
(vi) A member of your family does not return home at the usual or expected time.
Answer: (i) A fire in the kitchen is the most dangerous thing one can encounter. There are many inflammable things in the kitchen specially the gas cylinder. A fire in the kitchen can cause enormous damage not just to the kitchen but to the entire household. The presence of cylinder is the most dangerous thing as it can easily catch fire and may blast. Such a burst can be of any extent claiming entire house and lives as well. In such a situation, I will first switch off the regulator and turn the knob in the off direction. I will then open all the doors and windows and switch off the main power supply of the house. I will never use water to put it off but use sand, instead.
(ii) This can happen when the child is eating or playing. I will try and keep my cool and not panic in this situation. I will first pat on the back of the child very gently and give him some water to drink. I will keep rubbing his back until he feels better and relieved.
(iii) A sparking electrical appliance is as dangerous as a fire in the kitchen. I will cut off the main switch first. I will not touch any other switch. I will always remember to keep water away from such an appliance as it may be very dangerous and result in fire.
(iv) If a bicycle knocks down a pedestrian, I will not laugh at him. I will go to him and help him to stand. I will try and take him to the nearest clinic or hospital if he is hurt and will try to provide him first aid. If it is severe, I will call his/her parents or family.
(v) Continuous rain will cause water logging. It will make the drains over flow if good sanitation measures are not adopted. If water is not wiped out it will stand and cause breeding of mosquitoes. I will try and clean my premises and drains so that water flows on well.
(vi) If a member of my family does not return home at the usual or expected time and I am not able to communicate with him/her, I might become restless. Such a moment will scare me badly. I will first call his/her colleagues and friends. Even then if I do not get any information I will seek help from my elders and check at the place where he/she usually goes. If all attempts prove futile, I will ask my elders to lodge a police complaint immediately.
SEBA Class 10 English Chapter 3 – The Midnight Visitor FAQs
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