It is said that you must set a thief to catch a thief. But it is also said that there is honour among thieves. Which saying does this story illustrate?
This story illustrates the saying that you must set a thief to catch a thief. In the story, Horace Danby, who is a thief, is outsmarted and caught by another thief. The young lady, who is in the same profession, tricks Horace by pretending to be the owner's wife and manipulates him into opening the safe and handing over the jewels to her.
Conversely, the story completely negates the idea of honour among thieves. The young lady shows no loyalty or solidarity towards Horace. Instead, she deceives him, escapes with the loot, and leaves him to be arrested based on his fingerprints left at the scene. Horace himself gets very angry when anyone talks about 'honour among thieves', confirming that the first saying is what the story truly illustrates.
Explanation
The question asks students to evaluate which of the two sayings is reflected in the story. The text explicitly states that the young lady was in the same profession as Horace and tricked him, which supports 'set a thief to catch a thief'. Furthermore, the text notes that Horace gets angry when anyone mentions 'honour among thieves', directly contradicting the second saying because the lady betrayed him rather than showing any thief-like solidarity.
Solution Steps
Step 1: Identify the two sayings presented in the question: 'set a thief to catch a thief' and 'honour among thieves'.
Step 2: Analyze the story's ending where another thief tricks Horace and escapes, leaving him to be arrested.
Step 3: Relate this betrayal to the saying 'set a thief to catch a thief'.
Step 4: Note Horace's anger at the phrase 'honour among thieves' to conclude that the story does not support the second saying.