Final answer:
The provided excerpts do not contain information about Rukmani or her suspicions about nighttime footsteps; they tell other stories, therefore an accurate answer isn't possible without the specific context.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question about Rukmani hearing footsteps in their house at night and whom she suspects is actually not directly related to the excerpts provided. The passages do not give any information about a character named Rukmani. Instead, they convey separate stories: one involving the character Gil-Dong confronting assassins, another describing Chitra preparing weapons to protect villagers from robbers, and additional unrelated narratives.
To answer your query about Rukmani's assumption regarding the footsteps, it is critical to refer directly to the literature or text where this character and situation are mentioned. Since that specific context is not given here, I'm unable to provide an accurate answer to the question.
In the novel 'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry, the character Rukmani does not appear. Therefore, the answer to the question is none of the above options. Rukmani is not a character in this story, so she does not think it is any of the mentioned choices when she hears footsteps in their house at night.
Therefore answer is a) Thieves.