Page 1 - LN2-SUMMARY

A Question of Trust

Summary

The story is about a 50 year old man who makes locks and lives with his
housekeeper. He is a good citizen but not an honest one as he commits a
robbery every year. He plans his robberies in such a way that the money he
gets from there lasts him for at least a year and he is able to buy rare and
expensive books with it. He buys these books because he is really fond of
collecting rare and expensive books. He plans to commit a robbery at Shotover
Grange. He takes all the information about the house like where the family had
gone, how many servants were there in the house, what was the name of the
dog, the wiring in the house, the safe in the house and even information like
how much worth of jewels were there in the safe. The real twist in the story
comes when he reaches the Grange to commit a robbery and a woman
claiming to be the owner’s wife enters. She gives him an option that she will
forget that she had seen him if he opens the safe for her as she has forgotten
the code of the safe and has to go to a party. He does not realize that he is
opening the safe for another thief and that she is not the actual owner of the
house. He leaves happily thinking that he is safe but doesn't realize the fact
that he had opened the safe for someone else that too without wearing his
gloves. 3 days later a police officer comes and arrests him saying that his
fingerprints had been found at the Shotover grange. He then realizes that he
had been fooled by a lady who was herself a thief and from the same
background as his. He is sent to the jail and becomes an assistant librarian. He
feels angry whenever someone talks about honour among thieves as he had
been cheated by one from his own community.