                       DEADLINE             Part One

Here is the solution for solving Infocom's mystery game, Deadline.  All 
commands which should be typed in exactly as you see them are in quotes. 
Directional movements are in brackets.  E.g., "OPEN DOOR" and [N,N,E]. 

Robin Hood did an excellent job of explaining the solution, but because of 
typos or perhaps because of different versions of Deadline, it didn't work 
on my copy.  So, the corrections are attributable to me, Tamerlane of the 
Ring. 

From the front path of the Robner's estate, go [N] to the front door of the 
house.  Type "OPEN DOOR" and go [N] into the Robners' house.  From inside 
the door, go [N,E] and type "CLIMB STAIRS" twice (or you can just go [U,U]) 
to get to the second level of the estate.  From there, go [W,W,W,W,N] to the 
library where you will start the first of a series of Sherlock Holmes-type 
activities. 

In Deadline, you need to establish the motive and method for the murder 
beyond all reasonable doubt before you can arrest the guilty party.  If you 
don't have an air-tight case, the jury will acquit the defendant.  It is 
here in the library where we go about establishing the method by which poor 
Mr.  Robner was done in. 

First off, type "EXAMINE RUG" (or just "LOOK RUG").  You will find some mud 
spots which is your first clue.  Now, "GET THE CUP, PAD, CALENDAR AND 
PENCIL" and "RUB PENCIL ON PAD" and then "TURN PAGE OF CALENDAR."  Aha! 
Perhaps a clue as to the motive? Let's see if we can substantiate the method 
a little more...that mud on the rug was very interesting.  Type "OPEN 
BALCONY DOOR" and go [N] onto the balcony.  Check out the railing by typing 
"EXAMINE RAILING" and you will see some scratches, lending credence to the 
theory that perhaps the murderer climbed up the balcony from the ground 
below where he (or she) got mud on his shoes.  Let's have a look below and 
check for some indication that the murderer was indeed below the balcony. 


                       DEADLINE             Part Two

To leave the balcony, go [S,S,E,E,E,E,D,D,W,S].  Type "OPEN DOOR" and go [S] 
back to the front door.  Now go [E,E,SE] to the shed where you will see a 
ladder.  Type "EXAMINE LADDER." 

Hmmm!  This ladder- and-balcony theory is looking good!  Let's see if we can 
prove the ladder was below the balcony.  This will have to wait a while, 
though, because it's getting late in the morning and we have to do some more 
checking in the house before the reading of the will takes place.  And 
besides that, we need to talk to Mr. McNabb and he doesn't seem to be in the 
mood right now. 

Go back to the house by heading [N,S,N] and head back upstairs with 
[N,N,E,U,U].  Let's see what else we can find upstairs. Go [S,S] into 
Dunbar's bathroom. Type "OPEN CABINET" and "EXAMINE LOBLO."  Aha, again!  
Now we go back downstairs and see if we can find Mr.  McNabb to see if he 
knows anything about a ladder under the balcony.  Go [N,N,D,D,W,S,S].  Let's 
take a break for a while.  Type "WAIT UNTIL 11:30." 

And now for Mr.  McNabb.  Let's try the garden path first with [E,NE,E,W].  
If McNabb is not around, just wait for a while or snoop around the area and 
he will soon show up.  Deadline is very unpredictable when it comes to the 
various characters moving around the scenario.  Once you spot McNabb, go to 
him and say "HEY MCNABB" followed by "WHAT IS WRONG."  He will tell you 
about some holes he found in his garden so, naturally, you say "SHOW ME THE 
HOLES."  He will take off and you "FOLLOW HIM." When he stops, type "EXAMINE 
HOLES."  Eureka!  The ladder was here and the depth of the holes proves 
somebody climbed it up to the balcony! 

To make sure we cover every angle, type "EXAMINE GROUND" and "DIG AROUND 
HOLES." Hmmm...wonder what this could be about?  To find out, type "ANALYZE 
FRAGMENT FOR LOBLO." Oops, it's later than we thought!  Back to the house 
for the reading of the will.  Go [N,SW,SE,E] to the house and [N,N,W] into 
the living room. Now just "WAIT" for the will to be read. 


                       DEADLINE            Part Three

After the will is read, you decide to see if you can roust some of those 
present into giving you some clues as to the guilty party and, perhaps, the 
motive for the crime.  Let's start with George.  Type "SHOW GEORGE THE 
CALENDAR."  He will get very nervous and start heading out of the room.  
Type "FOLLOW HIM" until he finally goes to his room.  He will keep telling 
you to leave him alone, but just keep following him until he enters his 
room.  At this point, you decide to see if George knows more then he's 
telling.  You aren't going to get anything from him here, so let's go to the 
balcony and wait to see if he does anything.  Go [W,N,N] to the balcony and 
type "WAIT 10 MINUTES."  Voila!  Here he comes!  Wait until he goes behind 
the bookshelf and then type "WAIT 4 MINUTES" to give him time to really get 
his hands into the cookie jar. 

When your 4 minutes are up, go [S], "EXAMINE BOOKSHELF," "PRESS BUTTON," and 
go [E].  Ha! Caught him red-handed!!  Type "GET WILL," "LOOK SAFE," "GET 
PAPERS," and "READ PAPERS." Things are beginning to look up! Let's see if we 
can substantiate some of this stuff.  Go back to the living room with 
[W,S,E,E,E,E,D,D,W,W].  My, isn't this cozy!  Type "HEY BAXTER," "WHAT ABOUT 
FOCUS." You know he's lying so you "SHOW PAPERS TO BAXTER."  Ah, that's 
better!  Now for some clever psycho-detective work.  Type "SHOW LAB REPORT 
TO DUNBAR" and "SHOW LAB REPORT TO BAXTER." Whip around and "ACCUSE DUNBAR." 
Hmmm...a tad nervous, isn't she? Perhaps we should go off and wait to see 
what develops. Go [E] to leave the room and "WAIT FOR DUNBAR."  Just as we 
suspected!  When she passes you, type "FOLLOW HER."  Once outside the house, 
she will drop a ticket.  Type "GET TICKET" and "READ TICKET."  WOW!  This is 
getting good!  Type "SHOW TICKET TO DUNBAR."  You know you've got her on the 
run now so head off to the shed to wait and see what develops.  Go [E,E,SE] 
and "WAIT FOR BAXTER."  When they both show up, "SHOW TICKET TO BAXTER" and 
"ARREST BAXTER AND DUNBAR." You didn't believe them for a minute, did you? 

Due to the dynamic nature of Deadline, there are several ways to end up 
accusing Baxter and Dunbar of the murder.  There are also more puzzles to 
solve, but this is all that is necessary to put together an air-tight case 
against them.  If you have other methods of solving Deadline, let us know!