instruction:
You will be given a summary of a story. You need to create a question that can be answered from the story. You can create a question about characters, events, facts and beliefs, etc. Your question should be specific, try not to use pronouns instead of full names. As the stories are sometimes movie plots, they will contain actor names in parentheses. You should not use those names. Only use character names. Try to ask a question about all parts of the plot, not just the beginning.
question:
 Hermann, an ethnic German, is an officer of the engineers in the Imperial Russian Army. He constantly watches the other officers gamble, but never plays himself. One night, Tomsky tells a story about his grandmother, an elderly countess. Many years ago, in France, she lost a fortune at cards, and then won it back with the secret of the three winning cards, which she learned from the notorious Count of St. Germain. Hermann becomes obsessed with obtaining the secret.
The countess (who is now 87 years old) has a young ward, Lizavyeta Ivanovna. Hermann sends love letters to Lizavyeta, and persuades her to let him into the house. There Hermann accosts the countess, demanding the secret. She first tells him that story was a joke, but Hermann refuses to believe her. He repeats his demands, but she does not speak. He draws a pistol and threatens her, and the old lady dies of fright. Hermann then flees to the apartment of Lizavyeta in the same building. There he confesses to have killed the countess by fright with his pistol. He defends himself by saying that the pistol was not loaded. He escapes from the house with the aid of Lizavyeta, who is disgusted to learn that his professions of love were a mask for greed.
Hermann attends the funeral of the countess, and is terrified to see the countess open her eyes in the coffin and look at him. Later that night, the ghost of the countess appears. The ghost names the secret three cards (three, seven, ace), tells him he must play just once each night and then orders him to marry Lizavyeta. Hermann takes his entire savings to Chekalinsky's salon, where wealthy men gamble for high stakes. On the first night, he bets it all on the three and wins. On the second night, he wins on the seven. On the third night, he bets on the ace   but when cards are shown, he finds he has bet on the Queen of Spades, rather than the ace, and loses everything. When the Queen appears to wink at him, he is astonished by her remarkable resemblance to the old countess, and flees in terror. In a short conclusion, Pushkin writes that Lizavyeta marries the son of the Countess' former steward, a state official who makes a good salary. Hermann, however, goes mad and is committed to an asylum. He is installed in Room 17 at the Obukhov hospital; he answers no questions, but merely mutters with unusual rapidity: "Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, queen!"
answer:
What happens when Hermann threatens the countess with a pistol?


question:
 The novel starts when Sherlock Holmes receives a mysterious book ciphered message from an agent to Professor Moriarty using the pseudonym Fred Porlock. Holmes deduces the book used for encryption to be a monthly almanac; however, he initially uses the latest publication, which leads him to decipher Porlock's message as a statement that the "Maharata Government is pigs bristles." Upon realizing his error and using the previous month's almanac, Holmes successfully deciphers the message as a warning that "some deviltry is intended against one Douglas", a country gentleman residing at Birlstone Manor. Simultaneously, Inspector Macdonald arrives at Baker Street with news that Mr. Douglas has in fact been murdered. Holmes tells MacDonald of Porlock's warning, suggesting Professor Moriarty's involvement. However, MacDonald doesn't fully believe that the educated and well respected Moriarty is a criminal.
Holmes, Watson, and MacDonald travel to Birlstone, Sussex, where they investigate the old manor with a moat where Douglas was shot. They meet Cecil Barker, a regular guest of the Douglas. They also find a sawed-off shotgun and evidence suggesting that it was fired at close range, causing the head to be blown to pieces. Holmes explores Barker's claims that he was in his room when Douglas was shot. Moreover, they find a mark of blood upon the window sill suggesting someone entered and escaped by going through the moat. Beside the body they find a card with the initials "V.V. 341", and on Douglas's arm an old branded mark. Moreover, Douglas' wedding ring appears taken from his hand.
The police speculate that if the murderer must have escaped across the moat, but if this was so then the question of his clothes were wet as he walked through the town. Holmes establishing the timeline of events through interviews: Cecil Barker heard the shot, rushed down to the study and upon seeing Douglas murdered he rang the servants. Mrs. Douglas and the servants rushed to the scene. Mr. Barker persuades Mrs. Douglas to return to her room. Holmes notes Mrs. Douglas apparent lack of emotion over her husband's body.
Barker says that he believes a secret society of men pursued Douglas, and that Douglas retreated to rural England out of fear for his life. Mr. Douglas married after arriving in England five years earlier. His first wife had died of typhoid. Douglas met and worked with Cecil Barker in America, before departing for Europe. Some episode of Douglas's life in America caused the fear for his life, and Mrs. Douglas said her husband mention something called "The Valley of Fear".
By studying Cecil Barker's slippers, Holmes determines Barker's shoe made the mark on the window, to give the appearance that someone exited that way. In their lodgings, Holmes tells Watson that Cecil Barker and Mrs. Douglas are certainly lying: when a shotgun is fired at close range, the sound is muffled. Moreover, Holmes learns that the housekeeper heard a door slamming half an hour before the alarm, which Holmes believes was actually the murdering shot. White Mason, the Sussex detective, and MacDonald track a bicycle found on the grounds of the house to an American staying at a guest house. The American appears to be the murderer, but there is no sign of the man.
Holmes ask MacDonald to write to Cecil Barker, telling him that the police intend to search the moat the next day. That night Holmes, Watson, MacDonald and White lay in wait outside Birlstone Manor and see Cecil Barker fish something out of the moat. The four men rush Cecil and discover the bundle from the moat contain the clothes of the missing American connected with the bicycle. Barker refuses to explain the situation. At that moment, Mr. Douglas appears, alive and well. He hands Watson a written account called "The Valley of Fear", which explains why he feared for his life.
Douglas explains that he had spotted an enemy of his, Ted Baldwin, in the area and expected an attack. When Baldwin attempted to shoot him in his study, Douglas grabbed the gun and shoots Baldwin in the face. With Cecil's help, Douglas dressed the man in his own clothes, except for his wedding ring, to deceive the secret society which he and Baldwin had belong too, since both arms bore the society's Mark. Cecil and Mrs. Douglas had covered for Douglas who had been hiding in the house. In an interview with Watson, Douglas explains that his real name was Birdy Edwards acting as Pinkerton detective in Chicago. For the agency Edwards infiltrated a dangerous gang in Vermissa Valley (a.k.a. the Valley of Fear) and brought them to justice. Afterwards, the criminals attempted to kill him, after being released from jail.
Hounded Douglas had run to England, where he met and married his second wife. Holmes urges Douglas to leave England and warns that a new threat now hangs over him. Douglas takes this advice, but shortly after Holmes learns that Douglas was lost overboard on the vessel to Africa. Holmes believes Moriarty was responsible for ending Douglas' life. Holmes wants to bring Moriarty down, but warns Watson and Barker that it will take some time to achieve.
answer:
Which two people does Holmes believe to be lying about the murder?


question:
 In January 1865, President Abraham Lincoln expects the Civil War to end within a month. However, he is concerned that his 1863 Emancipation Proclamation may be discarded by the courts once the war has concluded and that the proposed Thirteenth Amendment will be defeated by the returning slave states. Lincoln feels it is imperative to pass the amendment by the end of the month, thus removing any possibility that slaves who have already been freed may be re-enslaved. The Radical Republicans fear the amendment will be defeated by some who merely wish to delay its passage; the support of the amendment by Republicans in the border states is not yet assured either, since they prioritize the issue of ending the war. Even if all of them are ultimately brought on board, the amendment will still require the support of several Democratic congressmen if it is to pass. With dozens of Democrats having just become lame ducks after losing their re-election campaigns in the fall of 1864, some of Lincoln's advisors believe that he should wait until the new Republican-heavy Congress is seated, presumably giving the amendment an easier road to passage. Lincoln, however, remains adamant about having the amendment in place and the issue of slavery settled before the war is concluded and the southern states readmitted into the Union.
Lincoln's hopes for passage of the amendment rely upon the support of Francis Preston Blair, a founder of the Republican Party whose influence can ensure that all members of the western and border state conservative Republican faction will back the amendment. With Union victory in the Civil War seeming highly likely and greatly anticipated, but not yet a fully accomplished fact, and with two sons serving in the Union Army, Blair is keen to end the hostilities as soon as possible. Therefore, in return for his support, Blair insists that Lincoln allow him to immediately engage the Confederate government in peace negotiations. This is a complication to Lincoln's amendment efforts since he knows that a significant portion of the support he has garnered for the amendment is from the Radical Republican faction for whom a negotiated peace that leaves slavery intact is morally unacceptable. Unable to proceed without Blair's support, however, Lincoln reluctantly authorizes Blair's mission.
In the meantime, Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward work on the issue of securing the necessary Democratic votes for the amendment. Lincoln suggests that they concentrate on the lame duck Democrats, as they have already lost re-election and thus will feel free to vote as they please, rather than having to worry about how their vote will affect a future re-election campaign. Since those members also will soon be in need of employment and Lincoln will have many federal jobs to fill as he begins his second term, he sees this as a tool he can use to his advantage. Though Lincoln and Seward are unwilling to offer direct monetary bribes to the Democrats, they authorize agents to quietly go about contacting Democratic congressmen with offers of federal jobs in exchange for their voting in favor of the amendment.
With Confederate envoys ready to meet with Lincoln, he instructs them to be kept out of Washington, as the amendment approaches a vote on the House floor. At the moment of truth, Thaddeus Stevens decides to moderate his statements about racial equality to help the amendment's chances of passage. A rumor circulates that there are Confederate representatives in Washington ready to discuss peace, prompting both Democrats and conservative Republicans to advocate postponing the vote on the amendment. Lincoln explicitly denies that such envoys are in or will be in the city   technically a truthful statement, since he had ordered them to be kept away   and the vote proceeds, narrowly passing by a margin of two votes.
When Lincoln subsequently meets with the Confederates, he tells them that slavery cannot be restored as the North is united for ratification of the amendment, and that several of the southern states' reconstructed legislatures would also vote to ratify. On April 3, Lincoln visits the battlefield at Petersburg, Virginia, where he exchanges a few words with Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Six days later, Grant receives General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.
On April 14, Lincoln is in a meeting with members of his cabinet, discussing possible future measures to enfranchise blacks when he is reminded that First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln is waiting to take them to their evening at Ford's Theatre. That night, while Lincoln's son Tad is watching Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp at Grover's Theatre, the manager suddenly stops the play and announces that the President has been shot, to the audience's shock and Tad's distress. The next morning at the Petersen House, Lincoln dies; Secretary of War Edwin Stanton declares, "Now he belongs to the ages". The film concludes in flashback to Lincoln delivering his second inaugural address.
answer:

Who wins the civil war?