The Thief Lord

Answers to Ch. 1-9 questions

1) Victor had many disguises because he had to conceal his identity while doing his detective work.

2) Esther and Max Hartlieb assumed their nephews were in Venice because their mother had nourished their interest in the city by telling them enchanting stories. Esther and Max wanted Victor to find the runaway boys because they wished to adopt one of them.

3) Bo lied about the way he obtained the wallet to avoid being scolded for stealing by his brother Prosper.

4) Prosper and Bo managed to survive in Venice because they were under the protection of a band of street children led by Scipio, nicknamed “the Thief Lord.” Prosper was uncomfortable with this arrangement because he did not want to be a thief or be supported by thievery.

5) The abandoned movie theater made a good home for the children because it was well-hidden from passersby and was spacious enough for their beds and stolen loot.

6) Scipio provided food and luxuries for the band of children by selling the valuable objects he had stolen to Barbarossa, the owner of a local junk shop.

7) The children though it was mysterious that the Thief Lord would not stay the night with the band, and also that he would not reveal where he was when he was not with them.

8) Scipio sent Prosper to Barbarossa’s junk shop on the recommendation of Bo and the other children. They attested to his ability to strike the best deal with Barbarossa, who had cheated the children in the past.

9.) Prosper told Riccio about his past to explain why a detective was following them.

10.) Prosper worried that if the detective found him, he and his brother Bo would be separated with Bo having to return to his uncle and aunt. He also worried that Scipio and the other children would become wards of the state, no longer free to lead their independent lives.