Willy sent out word through a bootlegger who supplied some of the opera singers with their favorite beverages. The next night, after final curtain, a greying, bespectacled and very distinguished looking gentleman in formal dress met Willy and Walther in a vacant dressing room backstage. He spoke tersely, and Willy translated: "He says he has friends who could be interested in your proposition, if there's money enough in it." "Tell him there's money enough," Walther replied grimly. Willy digested this, and their visitor smiled his scepticism. Not accustomed to having his financial standing questioned, Walther faced the man himself and demanded: "How much money do you want?" The man understood Walther's tone, if not his words. After a brief calculation, he named a price that shocked Willy, who turned to Walther with dismay: "Ten thousand credits for every usable piece of art that can be bought outright. An additional deposit of ten thousand if it has to be sent away from Earth to be duplicated. You are to pay all shipping costs, as well as legal expenses if any of their men are arrested." Walther accepted the terms with a nod. Their underworld contact stared respectfully at Walther, took off his suede gloves and proceeded to get down to business. It was soon arranged for Walther to set up letters of credit in banks of all major cities. Shipments of "tools and machinery" would be billed against these credits, after bills of lading had been inspected by Walther or a designated representative. From the level of the discussion, they might have been transacting legal business on a corporation scale. Their visitor shook hands with each of them, doffed his top hat and left with a courteous bow. Willy wiped shining beads of sweat from his forehead. "High finance," he gasped, "is not a part of my daily routine!" He dug into a wardrobe trunk, brought out a bottle and poured two drinks. Raising his glass high in the air, he toasted: "To art ... and crime! I hope we don't have to pay too much for either!" * * * * * "How are you getting along with Maria?" Willy asked a few days later. "Just what do you expect to accomplish by throwing the two of us together so much," Walther asked bluntly. "Oh, I enjoy it, mind you--but, really, we're worlds apart. When I go back...." "With the young everything is possible--even the impossible," Willy answered evasively. "Well, tell me something more about her. Where does she come from? Has she ever been engaged? Married?" Willy filtered a cloud of smoke through his nostrils.