Dark and deserted it is in all conscience, is it not?
Just the place where a bully and a coward would decoy an unsuspecting stranger, murder him first, then rob him of his valuables, his papers, his very identity, and leave him there to rot.

The body was found in a disused barge which had been moored some time against the wall, at the foot of these steps.

It was in the last stages of decomposition, and, of course, could not be identified; but the police would have it that it was the body of William Kershaw.
"It never entered their heads that it was the body of _Francis Smethurst, and that William Kershaw was his murderer_.
"Ah! it was cleverly, artistically conceived! Kershaw is a genius.

Think of it all! His disguise! Kershaw had a shaggy beard, hair, and moustache.

He shaved up to his very eyebrows! No wonder that even his wife did not recognize him across the court; and remember she never saw much of his face while he stood in the dock.