5 A.M.
You have such splendid self-control . '' Though there were sobs in her throat , she pressed her hands to her lips and stifled them . Only her pallor and her wet lashes showed the horror and grief she felt . I wanted desperately to comfort her , but there was no time for it ; and besides , who ever heard of a leather-coated comforter in a kitchen garden at 5 A.M. ? `` What I wanted to speak about , '' I went on rapidly , `` was our plans . This may prove a rather nasty mess , I 'm sorry to say . The French police , you know , are -- well , they 're capable and very thorough ; and since you are here at the scene of a murder in an _ infirmiere 's _ costume , they will never rest till they have seen your papers , learned your errand , asked you a hundred things .