(i) How did Dancy take a ‘tenner’ from De Levis? How does De Levis later connect this trick with the theft?

Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 

Lady Adela: Oh! Charlie, he did look so exactly as if he’d sold me a carpet when I was paying him. 

Winsor: [changing into slippers] His father did sell carpets, wholesale, in the City. 

Lady Adela : Really? And you say I haven’t intuition! [With a finger on her lips] Morison’s in there. 

Winsor: [Motioning towards the door, which she shuts] Ronny Dancy took a tenner off him, anyway, before dinner. 

(i) How did Dancy take a ‘tenner’ from De Levis? How does De Levis later connect this trick with the theft?

(ii) Why, according to Lady Adela, did Dancy leave the army? Why does she call him reckless?

(iii) Where had De Levis kept the money which was stolen? Where had he gone after keeping the money? How much did he lose? 

(iv) Why is Winsor outraged when De Levis says he had locked his door? What was the height of the room from the ground? How do they know that the thief did not use a ladder to climb up to De Levis’ room?

(v) How does General Canynge react when De Levis first accuses Dancy of committing the theft? What is your opinion of De Levis? Give one reason to justify your answer.

Answer 1

(i) Dancy took a ‘tenner’ from De Levis by jumping on to a book case four feet high and took ten pounds from De Levis who sneered at him for making money by parlour tricks. Later when De Levis’ money is stolen, he openly accuses Dancy by saying that the rail of his balcony and the rail of the next (which was of Dancy’s) were seven feet apart. So if a man could take a standing jump on to a narrow book case four feet high he could easily jump his balcony to the one of De Levis. 

(ii) According to Lady Adela, Dancy always hankered for excitement and thrill and left the army saying that it was too dull, and at that time there was no fighting. He got married at a later age and did unexpected things so she calls him a reckless person. 

(iii) He kept the money under his pillow. Then he went to take a bath. He lost around nine hundred and seventy pounds. 

(iv) According to Winsor, his house was a decent one and no one was supposed to be a thief there. And so there was no need to lock a door. The height of the room from the ground was twenty-three feet. Ladders were not used because there was only one ladder within three hundred yards and was kept in the stables. Also it was very heavy. When Canynge instructed him, Treisure went and inspected the ladder in the stables and found it was untouched. 

(v) Canynge reacts outrageously by saying that Dancy was a soldier and a gentleman, and that was an extra ordinary insinuation. De Levis was not at fault when he wanted his money back. But everyone supported Dancy as he was a Christian and cornered De Levis as he was a Jew. He was blackballed from the London Club. People tolerated him only because he had money and attacked him like a pack of hounds. His generosity can be seen when be announces to give one f thousand pounds in charity.