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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does the narrator say that Ned and Mary are "two romantic Americans" (83)?
(a) Because they are clearly deeply in love.
(b) Because they tell Alida a far-fetched story about their previous home.
(c) Because they are not being practical about their search for a house.
(d) Because neither one has any common sense.

2. What is the only descriptive detail that the maid is able to give Mary about the stranger's appearance?
(a) He wore foreign clothing.
(b) He had an unusual hat.
(c) He walked with a limp.
(d) He was not very tall.

3. What does Mary learn about the Blue Star Mine deal from her visitor in section "V"?
(a) It was not nearly as lucrative a deal as Ned pretended.
(b) Ned's actions caused the mine to go bankrupt.
(c) Ned cheated Bob Elwell in order to make more money from it.
(d) Ned committed a crime in order to make the deal.

4. When Mary searches Ned's desk, to whom does she find he has been writing?
(a) Bob Elwell.
(b) Parvis.
(c) Alida Stair.
(d) The Waukesha Sentinel.

5. What does Mary suddenly remember finding one day in October?
(a) A book on the house's history.
(b) A hidden staircase.
(c) A letter addressed to a previous occupant of the house.
(d) A mysterious portrait.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the story refers to "Boyne," who or what is being referred to?

2. From what period is Ned and Mary's new home?

3. What does Ned's motive seem to be when he first brings up the subject of whether the house has a ghost?

4. When section "III" opens, Mary is spending the morning working outdoors. She goes into the area where the "espaliered" pear trees are (89). What kind of pear trees are these?

5. When Ned speeds off to talk with the mysterious visitor on that day in October, why does it take Mary so long to follow?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Mary doing on the morning that Ned disappears?

2. What does Mary remember happening earlier in the day in October when she and Ned first climbed Meldon Steep?

3. What strange conclusion does Mary come to about the relationship of the ghost to the house, Lyng?

4. After she finds out that he has gone out with the mysterious man and not yet returned, why is Mary immediately alarmed?

5. What does Ned tell Mary about the Blue Star lawsuit?

6. What does Alida Stair tell the Boynes about Lyng?

7. What do Mary and Ned plan to do with their time at Lyng?

8. What do the Boynes tell Alida Stair about why Lyng's drawbacks are not problems from their point of view?

9. On the day of his disappearance, what is so frustrating for Mary about her conversation with her staff about where Ned is?

10. What horrifying chain of events does Mary understand once she sees Bob Elwell's picture?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,123 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample