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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. When Mary tells Ned what she has learned from her mail, how does Ned react?
(a) He looks guilty and immediately leaves the room.
(b) He gets angry at her and asks whether she trusts him.
(c) He relaxes and tells her it is nothing to worry about.
(d) He snatches the mail from her and throws it into the fire.

2. When Ned begins to read the newspaper in the library in section "II," he tries to sound casual as he asks Mary a question. What is the question?
(a) He asks if the mysterious stranger has come back to the house at any point.
(b) He asks if Mary remembers seeing the ghost in October.
(c) He asks if she ever wonders exactly how he made the money they used to buy the house.
(d) He asks if she knows how long "afterward" it is when people realize they have seen the ghost.

3. When Mary finally catches up with Ned on that October day, what is he doing?
(a) Looking through his papers in the library.
(b) Pacing in front of the library fireplace.
(c) Staring out the front door.
(d) Searching the lower floor for the intruder.

4. Why does Mary believe that people should not talk about seeing ghosts?
(a) It is bad manners.
(b) It makes people wonder about your sanity.
(c) It is dangerous.
(d) It frightens the ghosts away.

5. While she is thinking it over in the library, where does Mary finally decide the blame lies for Ned's distracted, anxious mood?
(a) With herself.
(b) With Ned's business affairs.
(c) With the house and its ghost.
(d) With Ned.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Ned is still gone by the time Mary finishes lunch, where does she decide he must be?

2. In Mary's mind, what is the only possible source of information about what has happened to Ned?

3. What is the only descriptive detail that the maid is able to give Mary about the stranger's appearance?

4. When Mary thinks back on the October visit from the mysterious man, she thinks that it "had no mark of the portentous" (86). What does this mean she felt about the visit at the time that it happened?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. In the narrative present at the beginning of the story, where is Mary and what is she doing?

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

3. What is the name of Ned's book, and what is the thematic significance of this title?

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

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

6. How has Ned's mood changed on the morning after he and Mary first discussed the Blue Star lawsuit, and what does Mary believe changed his mood?

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

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

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

10. What draws the Boynes to England?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,198 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample