I bent down to place the statuette on the floor, at an angle between the table and the floor. The heel of my shoe struck the center of the statuette and it cracked easily, opening slightly in the middle. I picked it up impatiently and looked inside. The brown end of a cloth pouch was sticking out, longing to land in my hands.

I tried to pull it out, but it balked, obviously too full, so I brought the statuette close to the wall and broke it after a few kicks. Without the slightest hesitation, I took out the bag and untied it.

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Holy crap! My poor, penniless brain could not comprehend what my eyes saw. Inside were at least twenty large, polished rubies. I was no connoisseur of gems, but from the looks of it, each one had to be worth more than fifty gold coins. Anyway, this wasn't the time to count. However, I hesitated.

[Write on a paper the code "cherries" before making your choice. It Will be used on latter chapters To keep track of your choices.]