A Question of Trust (Footprints Without Feet)

• Main Character: Horace Danby

  • Profession: Locksmith (makes safe locks, successful business).
  • Personal Traits:
    • About fifty years old, unmarried, lives with a housekeeper.
    • Generally respectable and honest.
    • Secret Passion: Rare, expensive books.
  • Criminal Habit: Steals from a safe once a year to fund his book-buying habit.
  • Physical Weakness: Suffers from hay fever in summer; smells trigger violent sneezing fits.

• The Setting: Shotover Grange

  • Location: A grand country house.
  • Target: A safe in the drawing-room containing jewels worth 15,000 pounds.
  • Preparation: Studied the house layout, wiring, gardens, and the dog (Sherry) beforehand.

• The Twist: The Encounter

  • The Intruder: A young, beautiful woman standing in the doorway dressed in red.
  • Her Demeanor: Cool, confident, acted as the lady of the house.
  • Horace's Reaction: Terrified, pleads with her not to call the cops; believes he is caught.
  • The Trap/Bargain:
    • She pretends she forgot the safe combination for her party.
    • Makes Horace open the safe for her in exchange for letting him go.
  • The Act: Horace removes his gloves, opens the safe without tools, and hands over the jewels.

• The Climax & Betrayal

  • Escape: Horace leaves successfully, destroys his notes, and thinks he is safe.
  • Arrest: Two days later, a policeman arrests him.
  • The Proof: Horace’s fingerprints were all over the safe because he took off his gloves to help her.
  • The Truth Revealed: The real mistress of the house is a sixty-year-old woman who knows nothing about it; the "lady in red" was actually another thief.

• Themes & Irony

  • Irony: A professional thief who prides himself on being smart is outsmarted by a fellow criminal.
  • Title Significance: "A Question of Trust" highlights that honor among thieves does not exist, and trust can be easily manipulated.