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A murderous mistake by h. A. Ripley. Look, professor, that's

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how the murderer got in, all
right, said Tracy, as Fordney walked

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over to the ladder, Standing two
feet from the back of the house.

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He knelt down and carefully studied the
heavy footprints around it. Whose room is

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that, he inquired, pointing to
a second story window against which the top

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of the thirty foot ladder rested.
That's uncle's study, replied Tracy. Going

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into the house, Fordiney first questions
Withers, who had discovered the body of

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Lane Tracy's uncle. I was reading
in my room, he said, about

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two o'clock. I heard a noise, so I armed myself and crept out

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into the hall. Then I heard
it again, apparently in the study.

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So I stole down the corridor,
opened the door, and rushed in.

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I turned on the light, ran
over to the open window, looked out

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and saw a man scurry down the
ladder, jump off and run. I

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fired twice, but evidently missed him. He concluded, were you home all

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evening, mister Tracy? No.
I had just put up the car when

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I heard the shots and saw a
figure dash around the house. I'll take

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a look at your car. Later, Tracy Withers, show me exactly how

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you found Lane before you lifted him
onto the divan. As Withers righted the

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overturned chair, fitted its legs carefully
to four impressions in the rug at the

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right of a smoking stand, sat
down and slumped over to the left.

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Fordney said, that's enough. Which
one of you killed him? Solution These

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murderers, like many others, betrayed
themselves by a simple oversight. One look

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at the ladder, and Fortney knew
that no man could have climbed up or

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down it. A thirty foot ladder
was placed two feet from the house.

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Any person ascending or descending the ladder
in such a position would have fallen backwards

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before reaching the top or bottom.
The end of a murderous mistake by H.

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A. Ripley