Speaker 1: A murderous mistake by h. A. Ripley. Look, professor, that's
Speaker 1: how the murderer got in, all right, said Tracy, as
Speaker 1: Fordney walked over to the ladder, Standing two feet from
Speaker 1: the back of the house. He knelt down and carefully
Speaker 1: studied the heavy footprints around it. Whose room is that,
Speaker 1: he inquired, pointing to a second story window against which
Speaker 1: the top of the thirty foot ladder rested. That's uncle's study,
Speaker 1: replied Tracy. Going into the house, Fordiney first questions Withers,
Speaker 1: who had discovered the body of Lane Tracy's uncle. I
Speaker 1: was reading in my room, he said, about two o'clock.
Speaker 1: I heard a noise, so I armed myself and crept
Speaker 1: out into the hall. Then I heard it again, apparently
Speaker 1: in the study. So I stole down the corridor, opened
Speaker 1: the door, and rushed in. I turned on the light,
Speaker 1: ran over to the open window, looked out and saw
Speaker 1: a man scurry down the ladder, jump off and run.
Speaker 1: I fired twice, but evidently missed him. He concluded, were
Speaker 1: you home all evening, mister Tracy? No. I had just
Speaker 1: put up the car when I heard the shots and
Speaker 1: saw a figure dash around the house. I'll take a
Speaker 1: look at your car. Later, Tracy Withers, show me exactly
Speaker 1: how you found Lane before you lifted him onto the divan.
Speaker 1: As Withers righted the overturned chair, fitted its legs carefully
Speaker 1: to four impressions in the rug at the right of
Speaker 1: a smoking stand, sat down and slumped over to the left.
Speaker 1: Fordney said, that's enough. Which one of you killed him?
Speaker 1: Solution These murderers, like many others, betrayed themselves by a
Speaker 1: simple oversight. One look at the ladder, and Fortney knew
Speaker 1: that no man could have climbed up or down it.
Speaker 1: A thirty foot ladder was placed two feet from the house.
Speaker 1: Any person ascending or descending the ladder in such a
Speaker 1: position would have fallen backwards before reaching the top or bottom.
Speaker 1: The end of a murderous mistake by H. A. Ripley