Question

(scene - the dining room in the country house of james k. gardner on long island...the time is the day after christmas, near midnight. after the curtain rises, one hears the noise of a file scraping on iron. it comes apparently from outside the house at a point distant from the dining room. the filing is repeated cautiously, with a wait between each stroke, as though the person using the file had paused to listen. alice gardner enters...and goes to telephone. she speaks in a whisper.) alice: hello, central. hello, central...(there is a pause, during which the sound of the file grows louder. alice listens apprehensively.) hello, are you the station agent? good! listen! i am miss gardner, james k. gardner’s daughter. yes, james k. gardner, the president of the road. this is his house. my mother and i are here alone. there are three men trying to break in. yes, burglars, of course. my mother is very ill. if they frighten her the shock might—might be very serious... stop the engine at the foot of our lawn. yes, yes, at the foot of our lawn. and when you have the house surrounded, when the men are all around the house, blow three whistles so i’ll know you’re here. what? oh, that’s all right. the burglars will be here. i’ll see to that. all you have to do is to get here. if you don’t you, you’ll lose your job! i say, if you don’t, you’ll lose your job, or i’m not the daughter of the president of this road. (a pane of glass falls from the window and breaks on the sill.) hatch: (speaking over his shoulder) hush! be careful, can’t you? harry: hush, you fool. hatch: has he broken anything? reddy: (on floor, rubbing his head) i’ve broke my head. hatch: that’s no loss. has he smashed that silver? harry: (feeling in bag) it feels all right. (the light from a candle is seen approaching the curtains.) hatch: hush! look there! alice: (whispering) hush! don’t make a noise. don’t make a noise, \locomotive\ is another word for a train. in the passage, what is the significance of the three locomotive whistles? ○ they signal the arrival of help. ○ they indicate the burglars’ escape. ○ they are a signal between burglars. ○ they are part of alice’s imagination.

Explanation:

Alice tells the station agent to blow three whistles once help has arrived and surrounded the house, so the whistles are a pre-arranged signal that assistance is present.

Answer:

A. They signal the arrival of help.