The police believe they are on the track of the
man or men who murdered old Mr. Smith on Muswell Hill on February 13th. They have been most persevering in their investigation of this case, and they recently discovered the owner of the only article left behind by the murderers. This was a common bull's-eye lantern, which they succeeded in tracing to a lad of sixteen who lodged with a couple of ticket-of-leave men named Millsom and Fowler. These men had suddenly dis- appeared from their lodgings, but two Inspectors (Marshall and Nutkins) followed them to Bristol, to Liverpool, to Cardiff, to Newport, to Bristol, to Southport, to Birmingham, to Bristol for the third time, and finally to Bath, where they seemed to have exhausted the funds presumably obtained at Muswell Hill. At Bath they were lodging with a showman, and on the appearance of the police to arrest them, one of the two, Fowler, a most powerful ruffian, fought like a wild beast, striking, kicking, and biting in his efforts to reach a loaded revolver hidden under his mattress. Fortunately he was disabled before he could reach it, but his desperation was so unusual as to convince the police that he was afraid of arrest upon some very serious charge.
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