Original: On the night of 9 and 10 August Pottinger and a party of police surrounded the house of Gardiner's mistress, Kate Brown, but the bushranger escaped when Pottinger's pistol misfired.
Simplified: On the night August 9, Pottinger and a group of police surrounded the house of Gardiner's mistress, Kate Brown. The bushranger escaped when Pottinger's pistol fired accidentally.