Answers to the questions given in the Reading section of the page no. 74 of New Pathways Literature Reader textbook for Class 8
1. Where did the narrator meet the mysterious man?
The narrator met the mysterious man
on the Embankment near the Waterloo Bridge.
2. Why is the narrator shocked when the man talks about throwing away
name, wealth, position, and doing a small business?
The stranger looked like a poor
man. He was ragged and dirty. He started talking about the worries of a big
business. His appearance and his words did not match. So, the narrator is
shocked by the stranger’s words.
3. How does the man prove that he was not lying about himself?
The man showed the narrator a
brown pebble. He claimed that it was a diamond made by him. The brown pebble
was pulled out of a canvas bag kept in the pocket of his tattered coat.
4. Why was the narrator not keen on buying diamonds from him?
The narrator was not keen on
buying the diamonds from the stranger because it was difficult to believe his
words and trust him. The narrator was not carrying enough money to buy it and no
one buys diamonds from an unknown person in dim-light.
5. Why did the man want to keep his diamond-making business a secret?
The diamond-making business was
against the law and risky. The process was dangerous. If others knew about it, they
would steal his idea and profit from it.
6. Why was the man unable to sell his diamonds?
The man was unable to sell his
diamonds because he could not convince any buyer. He made those diamonds
illegally, without the permission of the government.
7. What do you think happened to the man in the end?
I think that the man might have
died. He was poor and homeless. He had nothing to eat and he was suffering from
cough. He could not sell his diamonds and get any money. He never came back to
the narrator again. That leads to the conclusion that he was dead.
