With laboured breathing “ from the damp, death-laden air of the decaying house, to say nothing of his fatigue and fear “ Nicolae walked out into the chill evening air of the Transylvanian foothills, congratulating himself on account of the antique jewellery now residing in his pockets. It had taken a longer, more nerve-racking search through the old mansion than he had intended, and had he known beforehand that it would have taken him until sundown to find his quarry, he would sooner have attempted to hold up the Banca Nationala single-handedly and unarmed. But as luck would have it, here he now was, alive, unharmed, and significantly richer.