Jacqueline's nativity.

I pried the plate from the leather and slipped it into my pocket. I
put the broken collar into my suitcase, together with the dagger, and
then I set about packing my things for the journey which we were to
undertake.

I had always accustomed myself to travel with a minimum of baggage, and
the suit-case, which was a roomy one, held all that I should need at
any time. When I had finished packing I went back to Jacqueline and
sat beside her while she slept. As I sat dawn I heard a city clock
strike five.

In a little while it would begin to lighten, and the advent of the day
filled me with a sort of terror.

I watched the sleeping girl. Who was she? How could she sleep calmly
after that night's deed? The mystery seemed unfathomable; the girl
alone in the city, the robbers, the dog, the dead man, and the one who
had escaped me.

Jacqueline's bag lay on the bureau and disgorging bills. There were
rolls and rolls of them--eight thousand dollars did not seem too much.

Besides these, the bag contained the usual feminine properties: a
handkerchief, sachet-bag, a pocket mirror, and some thin papers, coated
with rice-powder.

The thought crossed my mind that the bills might be counterfeit, and I
picked one up and looked carefully at it, comparing it with one from my