EnglishCBSE Class 10 · The Midnight Visitor

The Midnight Visitor: Ausable's Trick and the Twist, Class 10

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Ausable tricks Max, who threatens him with a pistol, by inventing a balcony outside the window and saying the police are at the door. When a knock comes, Max swings out of the window expecting to land on the balcony and falls. The knock was only the waiter, Henry. As Ausable says at the end, there is no balcony.

Understand The Midnight Visitor: How Ausable Tricked Max

The setup. Fowler, a young and romantic writer, has come to meet Ausable, a secret agent. After a dull evening, he follows the very fat Ausable to a small room on the sixth and top floor of a gloomy French hotel. He is disappointed, as it does not match the thrilling secret life he had imagined.

The surprise. Ausable puts on the light and Fowler gets his first real thrill of the day: a man with a small automatic pistol is in the room. It is Max, another spy, slender and fox-faced, who has come to take the report about some new missiles that Ausable expects at half past twelve.

The false balcony. Ausable grumbles, sits down heavily and complains calmly that it is the second time in a month someone has got into his room by that nuisance of a balcony, which he will report to the management. Max says he used a passkey and did not know about any balcony. Ausable then explains in detail: the room was once part of a larger unit, a balcony extends under his window and it can be reached from an empty room two doors down. His calm, precise story sounds true.

The false police. Ausable says he has asked the police to check on him that night, and warns that the door is unlocked and the police will not hesitate to shoot. When a knock comes, he smiles and says it will be the police.

The fall. Max panics. He backs to the window, swings his legs over the sill and warns Ausable to send the police away. As the knob turns, he pushes off the sill to drop to the balcony. He screams once, shrilly. The room is on the sixth floor, so he falls.

The reveal. The door opens and it is only Henry, the waiter, with a drink Ausable had ordered. Ausable explains that there were no police, only Henry, and that Max will not return because there is no balcony.

Why it works. Ausable uses calm, detailed lies. Max, who is alone and nervous, does not know the room. The title, Midnight Visitor, applies to Max.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

You see, my young friend, there is no balcony.
Ausable: Final lines, after Max falls.
Reveals the trick.
That will be the police,
Ausable: At the knock on the door.
Ausable's bluff that makes Max panic.
Some day soon that paper may well affect the course of history.
Ausable: Telling Fowler about the report.
Shows what is at stake.

The Midnight Visitor: How Ausable Tricked Max: key facts

The two lies: Lie 1 a balcony under the window
Lie 2 the police are coming
Real knock the waiter Henry; The two inventions behind the trick.
Why Max believed: Ausable stays calm
Gives exact details
Max is alone and nervous
Max does not know the room; Four reasons the bluff works.
Ausable and Max: Ausable: fat, calm, clever | Max: slender, fox-faced, armed, nervous; Appearance against ability.
Sequence: Max appears with a pistol
Ausable talks of a balcony
Knock at the door
Max swings out of the window
Waiter Henry enters; For a short summary.

Lie 1	a balcony under the window
Lie 2	the police are coming
Real knock	the waiter Henry

How to answer The Midnight Visitor: How Ausable Tricked Max questions

Use this for questions on the twist, the trick or Ausable's cleverness.

1Say who Max is and why he comes: to take the report.
2Describe the lie about the balcony.
3Describe the lie about the police and the knock.
4State the result: Max swings out of the window and falls.
5Reveal the waiter and the line: there is no balcony.

The Midnight Visitor: How Ausable Tricked Max in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Staying calm under pressure

Suppose a shopkeeper is confronted by a stranger who falsely claims to be a tax inspector and demands the cash box. The shopkeeper calmly says that the real inspector is already on his way and the door is open. The stranger leaves in a hurry.

Which quality of Ausable does the shopkeeper show?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

He stays calm.
He uses a believable story.
The other person's nervousness does the rest.

Answer: He shows Ausable's quality of presence of mind: calm, quick thinking works better than force.

Memory hook: Calm words can beat a pistol.

Tricks to remember The Midnight Visitor: How Ausable Tricked Max

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

B-P-K-F
Balcony, Police, Knock, Fall.
Use it when: The order of the trick.
No balcony
The last line gives away the whole trick.
Use it when: To recall the twist.
Henry the waiter
The knock was only Henry.
Use it when: To recall that there was no police.

The Midnight Visitor: How Ausable Tricked Max: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Who is Max · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Max in the story is
(a) a waiter (b) a policeman (c) a spy with a pistol (d) a hotel manager

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Max is another spy, slender and fox-faced, holding a small automatic pistol (1 mark).

Answer: (c)

Example 2: Ausable's reaction · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

How does Ausable react when he first sees Max with a pistol, and what does it show? Answer in 30-40 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Stays calm: blinks, says he thought Max was in Berlin, sits down heavily and grumbles (1).
This shows his presence of mind (1).

Answer: Ausable only blinks and says calmly that he thought Max was in Berlin. He then sits down heavily and grumbles. This shows his presence of mind: he stays cool under a threat, which later lets him plan his trick.

Example 3: The invented balcony · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

How does Ausable make Max believe that there is a balcony? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Grumbles as if it were a routine complaint (1).
Gives exact details of how the balcony can be reached (1).
Remains calm (1).

Answer: Ausable behaves as if the balcony is a familiar nuisance. He complains that it is the second time in a month that someone has entered that way and gives exact details of how it can be reached from an empty room. His calm tone makes the lie believable.

Example 4: The knock · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Why does Max swing out of the window when he hears the knock? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

He believes the police have come (1).
He thinks the balcony is an escape (1).
He panics (1).

Answer: Max believes Ausable's claim that the police are coming and that they will shoot. Frightened and alone, he thinks he can escape by dropping to the balcony that Ausable described. He swings over the sill and pushes himself off, but there is no balcony, and he falls from the sixth floor.

Example 5: Brains against force · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Ausable wins without firing a shot. What qualities help him, and what does the story suggest about courage and intelligence? Answer in 100-120 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Calmness (1).
Quick thinking and bluff (2).
Contrast with Max (1).
Message and expression (2).

Answer: Ausable wins through calmness and quick thinking. Although a pistol is pointed at him, he sits down heavily and grumbles about a balcony as if nothing is wrong. He gives such detailed information that Max believes him. When there is a knock, he says it is the police, and Max, nervous and alone, panics and jumps. Ausable is fat and ordinary-looking, while Max is slender and armed, yet intelligence defeats force. The story suggests that real courage includes presence of mind, and that a clever plan can be more powerful than a weapon. It also shows that appearances can mislead, as Fowler first thought.

Where students lose marks in The Midnight Visitor: How Ausable Tricked Max

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Saying the police actually came
The police were a lie.
Wrong working
The police arrived and Max fled.
Right working
There were no police; the knock was Henry the waiter.
Do this: Quote there were no police.
Usually costs: 2 marks.
Mistake: Saying Ausable shot Max
He used no weapon.
Wrong working
Ausable shot Max with a pistol.
Right working
Max fell because he jumped for a balcony that did not exist.
Do this: Say 'tricked, not shot'.
Usually costs: 2 marks.
Mistake: Forgetting the report
It is the reason for the danger.
Wrong working
Max came because he disliked Ausable.
Right working
Max came to take the report about new missiles.
Do this: Mention the report.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Describing Ausable as weak
He looks ordinary but is clever.
Wrong working
Ausable was a fat, helpless man.
Right working
Ausable looks sloppy but is calm, clever and resourceful.
Do this: Show appearance against ability.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks.

Exam tips

Use B-P-K-F to narrate the trick.
Say the police and the balcony were both inventions.
Quote there is no balcony to end an answer on the twist.
Show Ausable's qualities: calm, clever, quick-thinking.
Mention Henry the waiter to avoid errors about the knock.

Practice questions on The Midnight Visitor: How Ausable Tricked Max

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
The person who knocks at the door is
(a) the police (b) Henry the waiter (c) Fowler (d) a hotel guest
Hint
Ausable ordered a drink.
Answer
(b)
Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
What does Fowler expect of a secret agent, and how is he disappointed? Answer in 30-40 words.
Hint
Romantic ideas against a fat, ordinary man.
Answer
Fowler expects mysterious figures, pistol shots and drugged wine. Instead he meets a fat, sloppy man in a gloomy hotel who speaks French and German only passably, nothing like the agents he had read about.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why does Ausable say it is the second time in a month that someone has entered by the balcony? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Making the lie sound ordinary.
Answer
Ausable wants his story to sound like a real, familiar problem. Saying it has happened before and that he will complain to the management makes the balcony seem an ordinary hotel nuisance, so Max does not suspect a trick. The calm complaint also hides Ausable's fear and his plan.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why does the writer keep the identity of the person at the door hidden until the end? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Who is the visitor, and what happens at night?
Answer
Keeping the identity hidden builds suspense and lets the trick work on both Max and the reader. We, like Max, think that the police may be at the door. The reveal that it is only the waiter, Henry, gives a sudden twist and shows how Ausable controlled the situation.
Q5 · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Do you think Ausable was right to trick Max into a fall that probably killed him? Give your view in 100-120 words.
Hint
Weigh self-defence, the stakes and the outcome.
Answer
Ausable's act can be justified, though not without hesitation. Max entered his room armed and meant to take a report that might affect the course of history. Ausable had no weapon and was in real danger. His trick used words, not violence, and Max chose to jump. But it is troubling that the trick leads to a man's death, and the story shows no regret. As a spy, Ausable works in a world where such risks are normal. I think his action was self-defence and duty, yet the cost reminds us that deceit and secrecy can have terrible results. The story invites us to admire his cleverness and also to reflect.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who is Fowler?Show answer
A young, romantic writer who has come to meet Ausable.
2.On which floor is Ausable's room?Show answer
The sixth and top floor.
3.What does Max want?Show answer
The report about new missiles.
4.Who knocks at the door?Show answer
Henry, the waiter.
5.What does Ausable say about the balcony at the end?Show answer
There is no balcony.
6.How did Ausable defeat Max?Show answer
By a calm bluff about a balcony and the police.

The Midnight Visitor: How Ausable Tricked Max: frequently asked questions

What is the twist in The Midnight Visitor?

There is no balcony and no police; Ausable invented both, and Max falls.

Why did Max believe Ausable?

Ausable stayed calm and gave exact details, while Max was alone and nervous.

What kind of person is Ausable?

Clever, calm and resourceful, though he looks fat and ordinary.

Which questions come from this topic?

Extract questions on the knock and the balcony, and 40-50 or 100-120 word answers on the trick and Ausable.