Question

notably stubborn and perverse. still, he was very old and very feeble, and there were two visitors. messrs. ricci and silva were experienced in the art of making unwilling persons voluble, and the screams of a weak and exceptionally venerable man can be easily muffled. so they moved up to the one lighted window and heard the terrible old man talking childishly to his bottles with pendulums. then they donned masks and knocked politely at the weather - stained oaken door.
waiting seemed very long to mr. czanek as he fidgeted restlessly in the covered motor - car by the terrible old man’s back gate in ship street. he was more than ordinarily tender - hearted, and he did not like the hideous screams he had heard in the ancient house just after the hour appointed for the deed. had he not told his colleagues to be as gentle as possible with the pathetic old sea - captain? very nervously he watched that narrow oaken gate in the high and ivy - clad stone wall. frequently he consulted his watch, and wondered at the delay. had the old man died before revealing where his treasure was hidden, and had a thorough search become necessary? mr. czanek did not like to wait so long in the dark in such a place. then he sensed a soft tread or tapping on the walk inside the gate, heard a gentle fumbling at the rusty latch, and saw the narrow, heavy door swing inward. and in the pallid glow of the single dim street - lamp he strained his eyes to see what his colleagues had brought out of that sinister house which loomed so close behind. but when he looked, he did not see what he had expected; for his colleagues were not there at all, but only the terrible old man leaning quietly on his knotted cane and smiling hideously. mr. czanek had never before noticed the colour of that man’s eyes; now he saw that they were yellow.
little things make considerable excitement in little towns, which is the reason that kingsport people talked all that spring and summer about the three unidentifiable bodies, horribly slashed as with many cutlasses, and horribly mangled as by the tread of many cruel boot - heels, which the tide washed in. and some people even spoke of things as trivial as the deserted motor - car found in ship street, or certain especially inhuman cries, probably of a stray animal or migratory bird, heard in the night by wakeful citizens. but in this idle village gossip the terrible old man took no interest at all. he was by nature reserved, and when one is aged and feeble one’s reserve is doubly strong. besides, so ancient a sea - captain must have witnessed scores of things much more stirring in the far - off days of his unremembered youth.
which statement of theme best fits “the terrible old man”?
○ don’t underestimate the power of kindness.
○ good things come in small packages.
○ loyalty is important in friendship.
○ things aren’t always what they seem.

Explanation:

1. Analyze the first option: The story doesn't focus on kindness or its power. The robbers' attempt and the old man's outcome don't relate to kindness being underestimated.
2. Analyze the second option: The story has no elements about "good things in small packages"—it's about a seemingly weak old man and robbers, not about small packages with good content.
3. Analyze the third option: There's no friendship or loyalty theme in the story. The characters are robbers and an old man, with no friendship dynamics.
4. Analyze the fourth option: The robbers see the old man as weak and vulnerable (what he seems), but he ends up dealing with them (what he really is), showing things aren't always as they appear.

Answer:

D. Things aren't always what they seem