A murderous mistake by h. A. Ripley. Look, professor, that's
how the murderer got in, all right, said Tracy, as Fordney walked
over to the ladder, Standing two feet from the back of the house.
He knelt down and carefully studied the heavy footprints around it. Whose room is
that, he inquired, pointing to a second story window against which the top
of the thirty foot ladder rested. That's uncle's study, replied Tracy. Going
into the house, Fordiney first questions Withers, who had discovered the body of
Lane Tracy's uncle. I was reading in my room, he said, about
two o'clock. I heard a noise, so I armed myself and crept out
into the hall. Then I heard it again, apparently in the study.
So I stole down the corridor, opened the door, and rushed in.
I turned on the light, ran over to the open window, looked out
and saw a man scurry down the ladder, jump off and run. I
fired twice, but evidently missed him. He concluded, were you home all
evening, mister Tracy? No. I had just put up the car when
I heard the shots and saw a figure dash around the house. I'll take
a look at your car. Later, Tracy Withers, show me exactly how
you found Lane before you lifted him onto the divan. As Withers righted the
overturned chair, fitted its legs carefully to four impressions in the rug at the
right of a smoking stand, sat down and slumped over to the left.
Fordney said, that's enough. Which one of you killed him? Solution These
murderers, like many others, betrayed themselves by a simple oversight. One look
at the ladder, and Fortney knew that no man could have climbed up or
down it. A thirty foot ladder was placed two feet from the house.
Any person ascending or descending the ladder in such a position would have fallen backwards
before reaching the top or bottom. The end of a murderous mistake by H.
A. Ripley