Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?
Horace Danby was a meticulous planner who carefully studied his targets before robbing them. For the robbery at Shotover Grange, he studied the house for two weeks, noted the servants' schedule, knew where the key was hung, and wore gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints. He even knew how to keep the dog quiet.
However, he faltered because he was easily deceived by a clever young lady who was actually a thief herself. She tricked him into thinking she was the owner's wife. Horace let his guard down and believed her act without verifying her true identity.
His biggest mistake was removing his gloves. To open the safe for her, he took them off, leaving his fingerprints all over the room. This completely ruined his careful planning of not leaving any evidence behind.
When he was arrested, no one believed his true story. The real wife, a gray-haired, sharp-tongued woman of sixty, dismissed his claim as nonsense. Thus, his lack of suspicion towards the young lady and the fatal error of removing his gloves led to his downfall.
Explanation
The question asks students to analyze Horace Danby's failure despite his careful planning. The context highlights that while Horace planned extensively (studying the house, wearing gloves, managing the dog), his weakness was his gullibility when confronted by the clever young lady. His fatal error was removing his gloves, which left his fingerprints everywhere, directly contradicting his usual meticulous habit. Furthermore, his story was not believable because the real wife looked completely different (a gray-haired woman of sixty), making his defense seem like a lie. Students should highlight both his psychological error (trusting the lady) and his physical error (removing his gloves).
Solution Steps
Step 1: Describe Horace's meticulous planning (studying the house, wearing gloves, knowing the dog and key).
Step 2: Explain where he went wrong psychologically (being tricked by the clever young lady pretending to be the owner's wife).
Step 3: Explain where he went wrong physically (removing his gloves and leaving fingerprints all over the room).
Step 4: Conclude with why his mistake doomed him (the real wife contradicted his story, making his fingerprints the only undeniable evidence).