Becker tossed down his pen. “It’s good you’re bringing this up now,” he said. “That’s fine with me. Let’s take the matter to court. If you were to win—assuming that you really would win—what would that bring you? First you’d already be a guest in a concentration camp, you can bet your life on that. And as for your money? Everything would be in a blocked account, and by the time the matter made its way through the courts all Jewish property would have long been seized. And then there’s the billion-mark atonement levy. So be my guest, let’s take this to trial.” He stood up once again.

“Idiot,” Silbermann said, with disdain. “On top of everything else, you expect me to cheer you on, is that it?”

Becker sat down again. “What you should do is shut up,” he said. Then he continued writing and muttered, “I won’t put up with your taunting. You … you are far too common, too coarse for my taste!”

Despite his indignation and distress, Silbermann couldn’t help laughing.

Becker finished his draft and handed it to Silbermann to look over.

Silbermann merely glanced through it and said, “I see you’ve mastered the technical side of theft as well as the theoretical. Should I sign this, or do we want to have it notarized?”

“It’s already six thirty,” Becker stated. “The notary will be closed, but if you sign the contract and the receipt—naturally you’ll receive a counter-receipt from me—and if you hand me the letter, I’ll pay you your share right away. You can keep the company shell, as long as my name is removed. There are hardly any liabilities, and in any case they’ll be fully covered by what’s in the postal checking and bank accounts. As far as the receivables are concerned, well, I’ll let you have fun with that. I don’t think you’ll get Ollmann to pay, now that nothing’s left … Apart from that there aren’t any. You have methodically dismantled the business. If it were up to you, in half a year I would be penniless and you’d be in Paris. I’m not completely stupid.”

“I didn’t dismantle anything, we just took the entire capital in order to … but it’s pointless to talk about it. Here is your letter.”

Becker opened his briefcase, took out a few packets of bills, and began to count.

“Forty-one thousand five hundred marks,” he said, when he was finally finished. “So there, I gave you fifty percent after all. Be so kind as to count it.” Then he bent over the table and whispered confidentially, “See that you manage to get it over the border.”

“Spare me your advice,” Silbermann said dismissively.

After they finished the transaction, Becker sighed. “No offense, Otto,” he said, suddenly lapsing back into the old, friendly tone. “Once I really start winning, you know my system, you’ll get your money back with interest. Yesterday I lost nine thousand marks because I had to stop too early. But now I’m going to win back every penny I ever lost.”