The Midnight Visitor

By Pranatpal Sharma


This story written by Robert Arthur is about a secret agent named Ausable. He was with a writer named Fowler who was there to experience the thrills in the life of a secret agent. Fowler soon realized that Ausable was exactly the opposite of what he had imagined secret agents were like. Ausable told Fowler that he need not be disappointed and very soon he would be looking at a very important report which could change the country’s future. When they returned to Ausable’s room, they found another agent named Max standing with a gun pointed at them. He asked them to be comfortable until the reports related to missiles arrived.

Sketch made by Pranatpal's mother
(Thank you ma'am)

This was really an adventurous experience for Fowler while meeting a secret agent. Meanwhile, Ausable started weaving a story about a hypothetical balcony outside the window of his room. While this talk was going on, someone knocked at the door. Ausable said that the police were at the door to check him and his room on a regular basis. Max, pointing his gun towards both of them, said that he would be waiting in the balcony and Ausable should send the police away, otherwise he would shoot them.

As the doorknob turned, Max jumped out of the window and they heard a loud scream. The door opened and a waiter came in. The waiter had brought the wine that Ausable had ordered. He kept the bottle, tray and glasses there on the table and left. Fowler was surprised to see all that. Fowler asked him about the police. Then Ausable replied that there were no police. Fowler then asked about Max, who was waiting in the balcony outside the window. Then Ausable replied that the person would not return as there was no balcony at all.

This shows the quick wit of Ausable as he took advantage of the situation and successfully got rid of Max. Convinced by Ausable’s story, Max jumped out of the window without any thought and fell from the top floor of the hotel to his death. Thus, we see that we can tackle any problem as long as we stay calm and think clearly.