A Question of Trust

Horace Danby loved to collect rare and expensive books.

Horace robbed a safe every year so that he could buy the rare and expensive books that he was fond of collecting. Each year he planned carefully just what he would do, stole enough to last for twelve months, and secretly bought the books he loved through an agent.

A lady standing in the doorway spoke to Horace Danby. She was young and pretty and wore a red dress. She walked to the fireplace and straightened the ornaments kept there. She said she had arrived just in time. Otherwise, Horace would have robbed all the jewels from the safe. She asked him to break the safe for her, and she would let him go without informing the police. Thus, it was quite evident that she only pretended to be one of the family members living at Shotover Grange.

The real culprit in the story was the young woman who pretended to be a family member living at Shotover Grange. She tricked Horace Danby into believing her and managed to convince him to open the safe for her. In return, she would let him go without informing the police. Thereafter, she took away all the jewels that were kept in the safe.

Yes, we began to suspect before the story ended that the lady was the actual culprit who tricked Horace Danby into believing her.

• We noticed that she was unusually calm when she saw Horace trying to break the lock of the safe. This seemed weird because if she had been a family member, she would have raised a theft alarm immediately.
• On the contrary, she approached Horace from the doorway and asked him to take out all the jewels from the safe on the condition that she would not inform the police and let him walk out freely.
• All these events seemed suspicious. Therefore, it was evident and quite clear that she was using Horace to break open the safe for her.

The young woman’s confident walk, the way she touched up her make-up, her familiarity with the dog Sherry, and the easy way in which she picked a cigarette from the right place are some of the subtle ways in which she managed to deceive Horace Danby to believe that she was the lady of the house.

Horace was frightened and could not think properly. As a result, he didn’t suspect that she was trying to trick him into breaking open the safe for her.

Horace was a robber who would steal once in a year to buy rare and expensive books. He wasn’t a regular thief who robbed to make ends meet. He made locks and had two helpers who helped him in his successful business. Nonetheless, a crime, however small or big it may be, no matter how it is done, calls for punishment.

Horace was one of this kind, and he couldn’t be categorized as a typical thief or a regular offender like other thieves who robbed to feed themselves or their families. Horace’s motive behind a yearly robbery was merely to steal a big safe with proper planning that would last him for twelve months so that he could secretly buy the books he loved through an agent.

Horace Danby failed to execute his robbery properly even though he had enough information about the house at Shotover Grange, its rooms, location of valuable items, its electric wiring, its paths and its garden. But he did not have much information about the real occupants of the house. Although he exhibited smartness in knowing the dog’s actual name, he failed to get proper information about the occupants of the house. Hence, when the young lady caught him red-handed while trying to break the lock of the safe, he was too frightened and could not understand that the woman tricked him into believing her. When the lady assured him that she would let him go freely without informing the police, Horace’s clever mind gave way to carelessness. He opened the safe without wearing gloves, thereby leaving his fingerprints all over the place.

Yes, Horace Danby deserved to be punished. After all, a crime is a crime, no matter whether it is committed for one’s own selfish interest or to benefit someone else.

There is an old and time-tested adage which says, “The ends do not justify the means”. Nobody should harm others to satisfy their own selfish interests. However, we know that the world doesn’t function on idealism alone. There are several examples of trickery where dishonest people trick others for quick gains. Such acts should be condemned and dealt with with severity.