Chapter 3 Three in the empty interrogation room - students - office

During the following week K. waited day after day for news of his rearraignment, unable to believe that his objection to stand trial had been accepted; by Saturday evening he had not yet been informed.He then thought it self-evident that they must be expecting him to go to the old place at the original time.So he went there again on Sunday morning, and this time he walked down the corridor, up the stairs, and went straight to the hall; Anyone asking for directions.He quickly came to the door of the interrogation room, and as soon as he knocked on the door, the door opened.The woman who opened the door for him was standing by the door, and he didn't even turn his head to look at the woman before walking directly into the next room. "There's no court today," the woman said. "Why isn't there a court?" he asked; he didn't believe it.He didn't believe it until the woman opened the door of the next room.The room was indeed empty, and looked more uncomfortably than last Sunday.The table on the podium was still as it was last time, and there were a few books on the table. "Can I go and look at the books?" asked K., not out of any particular curiosity, but just so that the visit would not be in vain. "No," said the woman, closing the door, "that's not allowed. The books belong to the examining magistrate." "I understand," said K., nodding, "they may be legal books, which are enforced here." In those books are the main parts of the laws by which you are punished for your innocence or your ignorance." "Probably so," said the woman, not quite understanding him. "Well, in that case, I'd better go," said K. "Need me to leave a message for the examining magistrate?" asked the woman. "Do you know him?" asked K. "Of course," replied the woman, "you must know that my husband is a porter at the court." It was only then that K realized that the anteroom, which contained nothing but a washtub the previous Sunday, had now been furnished. Fully furnished living room too.Seeing his astonishment, the woman said, "Yes, this house is our home, but on court days we have to vacate the house and move everything. My husband has a lot of errands. disadvantage." "I'm not particularly surprised about the house," said K., looking at her gravely, "but you're already married." "You probably mean what happened at the last court session. Bar: I disturbed the order while you were speaking," said the woman. "Of course I meant that," said K., "it's an old story now, I've almost forgotten it, but it made me very angry at the time. Now you say yourself that you were married "The interruption didn't do you any harm at the time; judging from what people said later, what you said that day made a very bad impression." "It's possible," said K., thinking Changing the subject, "But this cannot be your excuse." "Anyone who knows me will forgive me," the woman said, "The man you saw with his arms around me has been pursuing me for a long time. I Maybe not attractive to most men, but he is very attractive. I can't get rid of him, and even my husband is slowly letting it go; my husband has to live with it if he doesn't want to lose his job. Because the person you saw is a student, and he is likely to become a powerful person in the future. He is always chasing after me, and he came here today, just before you came." "It's all interconnected," "I don't think it's surprising," said K. "I think you're anxious to try to improve the situation here," said the woman slowly, looking at K as if what she said was dangerous to both her and him. "I guessed it from your words. I liked your speech very much, although I only heard part of it. I didn't listen to it at the beginning. When you were about to finish, I was lying on the floor with the student." Come on, it's terrible here." She paused for a moment, took K.'s hand and said: "Do you want to try to improve the situation here?" K. smiled and stroked her soft fingers. "Actually," he said, "it's not what you say it is. It's not my job to improve the situation here. Therefore, if you tell the examining magistrate about this, he will either laugh at you or punish you." Don, I can say this up front. Honestly, I would never have the illusion of being able to intervene here of my own free will, so I would never lose an hour of sleep to consider the necessity of reforming the judiciary here. But , I seem to have been arrested - you know, I have been arrested - and this has forced me to intervene in order to protect my own interests. However, if in the meantime, I can help you in some way, I certainly Will be happy. It's not entirely altruistic, because you'll help me in return." "How can I help you?" asked the woman. "For example, let me look at the book on that table." "Of course!" the woman said loudly, and immediately led him to read.They were old books, all rolled up at the corners, and the hard cover of one book was almost torn in two, with only a few thin threads between them. "Everything here is dirty!" said K., shaking his head, and the woman had to use her apron to wipe the thick layer of dust off the books; An unsightly painting.A man and a woman sit naked on a sofa. The artist's obscene intentions are obvious, but his painting skills are poor. There are only two stiff and rigid figures sitting there upright in the picture, and nothing else; Also poorly mastered, the artist apparently couldn't figure out how to paint them sitting facing each other. K. did not turn the pages of the rest of the book, but glanced briefly at the inside cover of the second book, a novel entitled How Hans Tormented His Wife Gretel. "These are the legal books that are studied here," said K., "and these are the people who have been ordered to judge me." "I would like to help you," said the woman, "do you want me to help you?" "Do you really want me to help you?" Can you help me without causing trouble to yourself? You told me just now that your husband obeys orders in front of high officials." "That's all right, I'm still willing to help you," said the woman "Well, let's talk about it in detail. Don't worry about any danger I'm going to run into. I'm only afraid of danger if I want to be afraid of it. Come on." She sat on the edge of the podium and let K. beside. "You have lovely dark eyes," she said, looking into K.'s face after they sat down. "I've been told mine are lovely too, but yours are much cuter. Your first visit When I was here, I fell in love with you at first sight. It was because of you that I sneaked into the conference hall later. I have never done this before, and it can be said that I am not allowed to do so." "So it is ’ thought K., ‘she has come herself, she is as depraved as they are. She is quite understandably weary of the officials here; no matter which stranger comes, her fantasies are aroused. , she will try to seduce him in various ways, for example, flattering his eyes." K stood up, as if he had spoken his thoughts aloud, and explained his attitude clearly. "I don't think you can help me," he said. "To help me, you'd need connections with high-ranking officials. And I'm sure you know only a few low-level clerks who hang around here. You're very I have no doubt that I know these low-level clerks well enough to get them to do a great deal. But their best efforts cannot make any difference to the final outcome of the case. And some of your friends will Alienated from you because of it. I don't want that. Keep friendships with those people because I think you need them. I'm sorry to say this because I have to admit, I like you too - let me use this Answer your compliments. I especially like the way you look at me sadly, as you do now, though I can assure you there's no reason you need to. You're in a position where I'm wrestling with Among those people, you are at home among them, there is no doubt that you love that student, or, if you do not love him, at least you think he is better than your husband. It is easy to see from your speech That." "No," she said aloud, she did not get up, she just grabbed K.'s hand tightly, and K. did not withdraw it immediately, "you can't go now, you can't leave here with wrong ideas about me." Do you really have the heart to go away like this? Don’t you want to pay me a favor and stay a little longer because I am so worthless in your eyes?” “You have misinterpreted me,” said K., repeating himself. sat down again, "if you really wish me to stay, I shall gladly stay, and I have plenty of time; I came here expecting the courts to be in session. All I want to say is, please Don't have to do anything about my case. Please don't be offended if you think I don't care how the case turns out; I'll just laugh it off if I get sentenced - of course we have to assume the case will lead to a Appropriate conclusions, which I very much doubt, as I think the case has actually been, or is about to be shelved, due to laziness, forgetfulness, and perhaps even fear of those in charge. Of course, they may also pretend to continue case, trying to blackmail me; but they don't have to, because, I can tell you right now, I'm never going to bribe anyone. You can do something for me, you can tell the pre-trial The judge, or anyone who can get my word out, said that nothing could induce me to bribe these officials, notwithstanding their intrigues, and they are no doubt very shrewd and competent in their endeavors. There won't be any hope, you can tell them plainly. But they've probably come to that conclusion, and even if they haven't, I don't care if they get the news. It'll just save them trouble , will save me a little trouble, of course; but I will happily bear with any unpleasant incident that is not in their favor either. I will proceed with caution, and I will see this happen. By the way, do you really Do you know the examining magistrate?" "Of course," said the woman, "that was the first thing that came to mind when I offered to help you.it's him.I didn't know he was just an insignificant official, but since you say so, it is of course true.Even so, I think his report to his superiors has had some impact.He writes many reports.You said that officials are lazy, but that statement certainly does not apply to all officials, and especially not to the examining judge: he is always writing.Last Sunday, for example, the meeting lasted very late; everyone else left, but the examining magistrate remained in the interrogation room.I had to carry him a lamp, I only had a small kitchen lamp, but it was enough for him.He started writing right away.At this time, my husband came home, he was not at work that Sunday, and we moved the furniture back and rearranged the house.Later, several neighbors came to see us, and we chatted by candlelight.To be honest, we completely forgot about the examining judge.We went to bed; in the middle of the night—it must have been very late—I was suddenly awakened: the examining magistrate was standing by our bed, shielding the lamp with his hand so that it would not shine on my husband.This was unnecessary caution as my husband was a heavy sleeper and no amount of light would wake him up.I was so scared that I almost cried out, but the examining magistrate was very polite, told me to be careful, and whispered to me that he had been writing until now, and that he had come to return the lamp; and that he would never forget I'm lying in bed sleeping.I tell you this only to say that the examining magistrate has indeed been busy with his reports, especially with regard to you, since your trial must have been one of the main topics of the two-day meeting.A report as long as this is sure to be important.But, apart from that, you can tell from what has happened that the examining magistrate has also taken an interest in me, and in the beginning—because he may have had his eye on me for the first time—I could impose on him. big impact.So far, I have other evidence that he is eager to win my favor.Yesterday, he sent me a pair of silk stockings through the student who works at his place, they are very friendly; he said it was in return for me cleaning the interrogation room for him.But that's just an excuse, because it's my job to clean the house, and my husband gets paid for it.Nice socks, you see." She stretched out her legs, lifted her skirt up to her knees, and began to admire her socks, "nice socks, but too beautiful for a woman like me. "

She stopped abruptly, put her hand on K.'s, as if to reassure him, and went on: "Hush, Berthold is watching us." K. slowly raised his eyes.A young man was standing in the doorway of the interrogation room, a short man with slightly bent legs and a short dark red beard that was shaggy to make his appearance as imposing as possible; he kept smoothing it with his fingers. K. looked at him with interest. This was the first student in the mysterious court that K. had met. He was still unknown, but one day he would probably get a high-ranking post.But the student paid no attention to K. He temporarily stopped stroking his beard, greeted the woman with a finger, and walked towards the window.The woman leaned over K. and said in a low voice: "Don't be angry with me, don't think I'm bad, I've got to go to him now, he's a horrible looking man, just look at his bowed legs. You know. I'll be back in a minute, and then I'll go with you, if you'd like to take me; I'll go with you wherever you want, and you can do whatever you want with me. As long as I can You'll be happy to be away from here for a long time; I'd like to be away forever." She touched K.'s hand one last time, jumped up, and ran to the window. K.'s hand stretched out involuntarily following hers and remained in the air.The woman had indeed attracted him, and he thought, on reflection, that he could give in to the temptation, and there was no valid reason why he should not do so.It was easy for him to reassure himself that she might be trying to lure him into a trap, at the behest of the court.Was there any way she could make him fall into a trap?Was he not free enough to perpetually defy the authority of the courts, or at least the judgments of the courts against him?Couldn't he trust himself in such a small area?Her offer to help sounds sincere and perhaps not entirely unworthy.To take the woman from the examining magistrate and his subordinates for his own might be the most fitting revenge for them.Thus, one night, when the examining magistrate came to the woman's bedside, after having worked his way through the night to write out his deceitful report on K., he would find it empty.The bed was empty, because she had eloped with K., because the woman standing at the window, this soft, warm, voluptuous body wrapped in dark coarse cloth, belonged to K already, and K alone.

He shook off his doubts, and after pondering this for a while, he began to feel that the whispering going on at the window had gone on too long, and he tapped his knuckles on the table, and then began to pound with his fists.The student looked over the woman's shoulders and paused for a moment on K. He was not ashamed, but moved closer to her, and put his arms around her.She tilted her head, as if to concentrate on what he was saying, and while she was tilting her head, he continued to speak incessantly, and kissed her loudly on the neck. K saw from this gesture that the student could indeed do whatever he wanted with the woman, just as she had complained; K stood up abruptly and began pacing up and down the room.He squinted at the student, thinking about how to get rid of him as soon as possible. K.'s pacing turned into an angry stamping, and the student, evidently annoyed by him, said to him: "If you get impatient with waiting, you can go. You should have gone long ago, and no one stopped you." You, no one will miss you. In fact, as soon as I come in, you should go away as soon as possible." The student said these words with anger and arrogance, just like a future judge who is lecturing to a hated prisoner . K went up to the student and said with a smile: "I am impatient to wait, it is true; but the easiest way to get rid of my impatience is for you to leave us. Of course, if you come here Reader - I hear you are a student - I will gladly take this woman away to make room for you. I think you have a long way to go in your studies before you become a judge. I admit that I am not very familiar with the details of legal training, but I think that legal training does not only teach students to be rude-it seems that you have mastered it to a shameless degree." "Don't let him run around outside. said the student, as if trying to explain to the woman K.'s insulting words just now. Sometimes I just can't understand the examining magistrate." "What's the use of talking?" said K., holding out his hand to the woman. "Come on!" "Oh, that's what happened," said the student." No, no, you can't have her." Then he stretched out a hand and lifted her up, no one expected him to have such strength; while gazing at her tenderly, he ran towards the door, and because of his hand Slightly bent over due to the weight on it.This behavior of the student made it clear that he was somewhat afraid of K.; but he still risked further provoking K. by stroking or squeezing the woman's arm with his free hand. K. chased him a few paces, was about to grab him, and if necessary choke him, when the woman said: "It's no use, the examining magistrate sent him to me, I dare not go with you." "You little devil," she said, patting the student on the face, "this little devil won't let me go." "You don't want to be free yourself," K. shouted; he put his hand on the student's shoulder, and the student Bite his hand with his teeth. "No," cried the woman; she stretched out her hands and pushed K. away, "no, no, you can't do that, what do you want? It will ruin me. Let him go, oh, let him go." Let him go! He was only taking me to the examining magistrate at the order of the examining magistrate." "Well, I'll let him go, and as for you, I never want to see you again," said K.; Furious with disappointment, he shoved the student in the back.The student stumbled for a while, but he didn't fall. He was really relieved, and walked away with more agile steps. K. walked slowly behind them, admitting that this was the first time that he had lost to these people clearly.Of course, he had no reason to be upset, he was frustrated, he asked for it, because he wanted to pre-empt the strike.When he was quietly at home, and when he was out on business, he was better than these people, and if any of them got in his way, he could kick that person away.He pictured in his mind a very ridiculous scene that might arise, for example, that this obnoxious student, this pompous young man, this ugly, bow-legged monster, would one day kneel before Elsa's bed, in agony. rubbing his hands together, begging for her favor.He was very happy to think of this scene, so he decided to take the students to visit Elsa at the first opportunity.

Driven by curiosity, K. hurried to the door to see where the woman had been taken, since it was impossible for the student to carry her across the street.They didn't actually go very far, for as soon as they came out there was a narrow wooden staircase, which seemed to lead to the attic; the staircase turned a corner, and the other end could not be seen.The student carried the woman up the stairs. He walked slowly, humming and gasping for breath, because his strength was almost exhausted.The woman waved to K who was standing below and shrugged her shoulders, showing that she was not to blame for the hijacking; however, she barely resisted and let the pantomime go on. K. looked at her expressionlessly, as if she were a stranger; he decided not to show his disappointment in front of her, nor to let her know that he could easily overcome any disappointment he might feel.

The two men had disappeared, but K. was still standing at the door.He was compelled to conclude that the woman had not only betrayed him, but had deceived him, and she said that she had been brought before the examining magistrate.The examining judge certainly wasn't sitting in the attic waiting.The narrow wooden staircase evokes no associations, no matter how long one looks at it.But K. noticed that there was a small piece of cardboard pinned to the side of the stairs.He walked over and saw a line on it that seemed to be written by a child who had never practiced calligraphy: "The court office is upstairs."So the courthouse was in the attic of this house?This arrangement does not seem to inspire reverence; the tenants are poor and destitute, and even they have nothing but useless old furniture in the garret, where the court has its offices; When the defendant thought that this court only had such a small amount of money on hand, he would feel much calmer.Of course, the possibility cannot be dismissed that there was plenty of money, but the judges pocketed it instead of using it for judicial business.Judging by K.'s experience so far, this is absolutely possible; In court, this is difficult to do. K also understood now why they were ashamed to bring him to the attic and chose to torture him at home. Compared with the judge, K. is in such a superior condition: the judge can only make do in the attic, but K has a spacious office in the bank, and there is a reception room next to it. He can admire the city through the large glass window. prosperous scene.True, he had no extra income, no bribes, no embezzlement, and he could not order a subordinate to find a woman and bring him to his room.K., however, renounced these privileges willingly, at least not in this lifetime.

K. was standing next to the cardboard when a man came up from below.He looked inside through the open door, and from here he could also see the interrogation room further inward.He asked K. if he had seen a woman somewhere. "You're the porter, aren't you?" asked K. "Yes," said the man. "Ah, you are the defendant K. I recognize you. Welcome, welcome." He held out his hand unexpectedly to K. "However, it has not been announced that there will be a court session today," continued the porter, seeing that K. was silent. "I know," said K., looking at the civilian jacket on which the man was wearing, which, in addition to the usual buttons, had two gold-plated buttons that looked like they had been ripped from an old military uniform, the only sign of his position. "I spoke to your wife just now. Now she's not here, the students have taken her upstairs to the examining magistrate." "Again," said the porter, "they keep taking her from me. Today is Sunday, and I don't need to do any work, but they sent me outside for nothing in order to distract me. They were careful not to push me too far, and let me hold on Time is the hope that I can get back in time. Because of this, I walked as fast as possible, and as soon as I ran to the door of the office, I yelled at the half-open door and passed the message in. I shouted angrily They were almost overwhelmed, it was difficult for them to understand what I was saying. Then I ran back at full speed, but the student still arrived before me. Of course, he came here not far, just follow the Just a short flight of wooden stairs down the attic. If my work hadn't been affected, I'd have cornered that student up to this wall and beat him to a meatloaf. Beat him to death in the Next to this piece of cardboard. I think about it every day even in my dreams. I saw him beaten up here, just a little above the landing: his arms spread out, his fingers straight, his bowed legs Twisted in a circle, the ground is covered with blood. But so far it's only a dream." "Is there no other way?" K. asked with a smile. "As far as I know, there is no other way," said the porter, "and the situation is worse than before: he used to take her only for his own pleasure; but now, I can say, he also takes her To the examining magistrate, I expected." "But isn't your wife also to blame?" asked K.; he had to suppress his emotions when he asked this question, because he was still jealous. "Of course," said the porter, "she is most to blame. She threw herself into his arms. As for him, he chased every woman he saw. My wife was the prettiest woman in the whole apartment, and I was in a position where I couldn't defend myself." "If that's the case, it seems like there's no hope ,” said K. "Why is there no hope?" asked the porter. "If he had been picked hard once or twice in courting my wife—a coward, anyway—he would never dare to do it again. But I I can't pick him up, and no one will help me beat him, because everyone is afraid of him, he is a very influential figure. Only people like you dare to beat him." "Why do people like me dare to beat him What?" asked K. in bewilderment. "You're under arrest, aren't you?" said the porter. "Yes," replied K. "That means I'm even more afraid of him, because although he probably won't affect the outcome of the case, he can probably influence the preliminary hearing." "Yes, that's the case," said the porter, as if K.'s opinion of the matter As self-evident as his opinion is. "However, as a general rule, our cases are decided in advance." "I don't think so," said K., "but this does not prevent me from dealing with the student." "Then I would be very grateful You," said the porter solemnly, who seemed not convinced that his long-cherished wish could be realized. "You still have some officials," continued K., "perhaps all officials should be treated in the same way." "Oh, yes," said the porter, as if he accepted a matter of common sense.Then he gave K a trusting look which he had not dared to give until now, despite his friendliness to K.The porter added: "It is impossible for a man not to rebel." But the conversation still seemed to unsettle him, for he did not want to go any further, and concluded with these words: "It is time for me to go up and report Yes. Would you like to go with me?" "I'll be fine there," said K. "You can go and see the office, no one will pay attention to you." "Why, is the office worth seeing?" K. asked hesitantly, and he suddenly had a strong desire to go up and have a look. "I think," said the porter, "that you will be interested." "Well," said K. at last, "I will go with you." So he ran up the stairs, faster than the porter.

He almost tripped when he entered because there was a step behind the door. "They don't think much of the public," he said. "They don't think about anything," replied the porter. "Look at this waiting room." It was a long corridor, lined with crude doors, leading to the various offices on this floor.Although there are no windows in the corridor and no light can come in, it is not completely dark, because some offices are not completely cut off from the corridor once the door is closed. .With this light, people can still see some of the staff in the office writing at their desks, and some standing in front of the small wooden window, looking at the people in the corridor through the wooden lattice.There were not many people in the corridor, probably due to Sunday.They looked very humble, sitting on a row of wooden benches fixed on either side of the corridor, at roughly equal distances from each other.They don't dress well at all, although judging from the expression of their faces, their manners, the style of their beards, and many subtle details, these people are clearly of the upper class.Since there were no coat hooks in the corridor, they all tucked their hats under the benches, probably in imitation.Those sitting closest to the door, seeing K. and the porter, rose politely, and the people next to them followed suit; they seemed to think it was right to do so.So when these two walked by, everyone stood up.They didn't stand very straight, their backs were hunched, and their knees were bent, like beggars begging along the street. When the porter who was walking behind caught up with him, K. said to him: "How courteous they are!" "Yes," said the porter, "they are accused, they are all accused." "That's right!" said K. " So they are my fellow sufferers." Then he turned to a man beside him, a tall, slender man with hair almost frosted. "What are you waiting for here?" asked K. politely.However, this unexpected question made the man very flustered, and K was very puzzled by this, because the man was obviously a man of the world, he should know what to do in various situations, and he would never give up easily. own innate sense of superiority.Here, however, he did not know how to answer such a simple question, and looked at the others as if it was their duty to help him.He seemed to be saying that if no one helped him out, no one could expect him to answer.Then the porter stepped forward and said something that reassured and encouraged him: "The gentleman just asks what you are waiting for, and you give him an answer." The porter's kind voice had the effect: " I was waiting for—" the man began, but couldn't go on.Evidently, he wanted to give an accurate answer to this question at first, but then he didn't know how to go on.Several other parties approached and gathered round them; the porter said to them, "Get out of the way." They stepped back a little, but did not return to their original positions.At the same time, the man regained his composure and replied with a smile: "A month ago, I submitted several affidavits about my case, and now I am waiting for the results." "It seems that you have added a lot to yourself." Trouble," said K. "Yes," said the man, "because it's my own case." "Not everyone thinks like you," said K. "For example, I was arrested too, but it's like I'm standing It's the same thing here, I've never filed an affidavit, or done anything like that. Don't you think it's necessary?" "I can't tell," replied the man, and he again He lost confidence; he evidently thought that K. was making fun of him, and seemed to want to answer K.'s first question in detail, so as not to make another mistake; but seeing K. looking at him impatiently, he just said Sentence: "Anyway, I've handed in the affidavit." "You don't think I've been arrested?" asked K. "Oh, of course I do," said the man, stepping aside, but there was no belief in his tone, only worry. "It seems that you don't really believe me, do you?" asked K.; inexplicably annoyed by the man's servile attitude, K. stretched out two fingers and grabbed the man's arm, as if to Force the man to believe his words.He did not want to injure the man, he made almost no effort, but the man cried out, as if K. were grasping his arm not with two fingers but with a pair of pliers.K. could not bear this ridiculous outcry; it would be better if the man did not believe that K. was under arrest; he probably really thought K. was a judge. When K. parted from the man, he gave him a firm squeeze, pushed him back on the bench, and went on by himself. "Most defendants are so sensitive," said the concierge.他们走后，差不多所有当事人都聚在那人周围；那人已不再叫唤了，他们好像在殷切地问他到底是怎么回事。一个卫兵走到Ｋ跟前，Ｋ主要是根据来者身上佩着剑知道他是卫兵的。卫兵的剑鞘是铝制品，起码从颜色上判断是这样。 Ｋ目瞪口呆地看着剑鞘，并且还伸出手去摸了摸。卫兵来调查这儿乱成一团的原因，询问发生了什么事。门房想用几句话把他支使开，然而卫兵坚持要亲眼看看到底出了什么事。他跟门房说声再见，便神气活现地继续往前走了；他走得很快，但步子不大，大概是患有痛风病的缘故。

Ｋ没有多费脑子去想卫兵和走廊里的人，因为当他走过半条走廊后，发现前面的一段比较宽，两边没有门，走廊从这里开始往右拐。他问门房往这儿走是不是对头，门房点点头，Ｋ便朝右边拐去。他老走在门房前面一两步，为此他感到很不自在；在这种地方，别人很可能会把他当成一个在押的囚犯。于是，他停下好几次，等门房赶上来，可是门房却总是故意拉在后面。最后Ｋ决定结束这种尴尬场面，他说：“这个地方我已经看过了，我想走了。”“你还没有全部看呢，”门房诚恳地说。“我不想都看，”Ｋ说，他现在确实很累了。“我想走了，通往外面的门在哪里？该怎么走？”“你不至于已经迷路了吧？”门房奇怪地问，“从这儿往前走，到了转弯的地方往右拐，然后沿着走廊一直走，就到门口了。”“你也去吧，”Ｋ说，“你给我带路，这儿有许多过道，我找不到路。”“这儿只有一条路，”门房语带嗔责地说，“我不能跟你一起往回走，我得去送口信，我已经在你身上耗费掉很多时间了。”“跟我一起走吧，”Ｋ更坚决地说，好像他终于发现了门房在说谎。“别这么嚷嚷，”门房低声说，“附近到处都是办公室。如果你不愿意自己回去，那就跟我再往前走一段，或者在这儿等着，我送完信回来后，将会很高兴带你回去的。”“不，不，”Ｋ说，“我不想再等了，你现在就必须和我一起走。”Ｋ还没有来得及环顾一下四周，看看自己是在什么地方，正在这时，一扇门打开了，Ｋ回过头看见门口出现了一位姑娘。Ｋ的大嗓门引起了她的注意，她问道：“这位先生想干什么？”Ｋ在她身后较远的地方看见一个男人的身影在半明半暗中逐渐走近。Ｋ看了一眼门房。门房刚才说过，谁也不会注意Ｋ的，可是现在却有两个人冲着他来了，用不了多久，所有的官员都会走到他跟前，问他为什么呆在这里。惟一可以使人理解和接受的解释是：他是被告，想知道下次审讯是在哪一天；但是他不想这么解释，尤其因为这不符合事实，因为他到这儿来只是出于好奇，或者说，是想证实他的假设：司法制度的内部和它的外部一样令人讨厌。当然，这更难以解释。实际上，他的假设看来是对的，他不想再进行调查了，看到的东西已经足够使他沮丧了；在这种时候很可能会从这些门后走出一个高级官员来，而此时他和任何高级官员交锋都会处于不利的地位，因此他想和门房一起离开这个地方，如果需要的话，也可以一个人离开。

他一句话也不说，一动也不动，因此很惹人注目；姑娘和门房都瞧着他，像是在盼着Ｋ身上出现某种大的变化，他们不想错过亲眼目睹这种变化的机会。Ｋ刚才远远看见的那个人现在站在过道的尽头；那人扶着低矮的门楣，踮起脚尖轻轻晃动，很像一个好奇的观众。姑娘首先发现，Ｋ的这种状态其实是由于体力稍感不支引起的；她端来一把椅子，问道：“你坐下好吗？”Ｋ立刻坐下来，胳膊肘靠在椅子扶手上，好让自己坐得更安稳些。“你有点头晕，是不是？”她问。她的脸凑近了他，她的脸部表情相当严峻，许多女人在青春初萌时脸部表情便也这么严峻。“别担心，”她说，“在这儿，这不是异常现象：差不多每个初到此地的人都有类似病症。你是第一次来吧？那好，用不着紧张。太阳照在房顶上，房梁给晒热了，所以空气闷热难忍。这个地方不适于做办公室，尽管这儿也有几个很大的优点。这儿空气污浊，特别是当这儿等候接见的当事人很多的时候更是如此，简直叫人透不过气来；而几乎每天都有许多当事人在这儿等待。如果你再想想，各种各样的衣服洗干净后都要拿到这儿来晾干——你不能禁止住户们洗他们的脏衣服——你就不会因为有点头晕而觉得奇怪了。久而久之会习惯的。你只要再来一两次，就不会觉得透不过气来了。你现在是不是觉得好点了？”Ｋ没有回答，他为自己突然头昏眼花，在这些人面前出了洋相而感到痛苦和羞愧；另外，虽然他现在已经知道头晕的原因，但并没有觉得好受些，反而更加难受了。姑娘马上看出了这点，她拿过那根支在墙上的，末端带有铁钩的木棍，用它把位于Ｋ头顶上方的天窗略微打开了一点，好让新鲜空气进来；她以这种方式帮了Ｋ的忙。可是，大量煤烟却随之冒了进来，她不得不立即把天窗重新关上，用自己的手帕把Ｋ的双手揩干净，因为Ｋ已经虚弱得不能照顾自己了。他真想在这儿安安静静地坐一会儿，等体力恢复后再走，这些人越少来麻烦他，他的体力就会恢复得越快。可是，姑娘却说：“你不能呆在这儿，我们在这儿挡了人家的路。”Ｋ露出疑问的神色，看了四周一眼，想弄明白自己到底怎么挡了人家的路。“如果你愿意的话，我可以把你带到病房里去。请帮帮忙，”她对站在门口的那人说，后者马上就走了过来。但是Ｋ不想到病房里去，尤其不愿意被人带到一个更远的地方去，走得越远，对他越不利。“我现在完全可以自己走了，”他刚说完，就从舒适的椅子上站起身来；刚才他在椅子上坐得很适意，所以乍一站起来，两腿直发颤，无法站直。“看来还不行，”他摇摇头说，叹息了一声，重新坐下。他想到了门房；虽然他很虚弱，门房倒照样可以很容易地把他带出去，可是门房好像早就不见了。Ｋ凝视着姑娘和他前面那人中间的那块地方，但是连门房的影子也没看见。

“我想，”那人说；他衣冠楚楚，还穿着一件十分时髦的灰颜色背心，背心的下襟是两个细长的尖角，“这位先生感到头晕是因为这儿空气不好的缘故，最好的办法是——他可能也最希望这样——别把他带到病房里去，而是带他离开这些办公室。”“对！”Ｋ大声说道，他兴奋得立即打断了那人的话，“那我立刻就会好的，肯定会好的；何况我并不是真的那么虚弱，只要有人稍微扶我一把就行了。我不会给你们添很多麻烦的，也用不着走远，只要扶我到门口就行了；然后我自己在楼梯上坐一会儿，体力马上就会恢复，因为我一般没这种病，这次连我自己也莫名其妙。我也是一个办事员，对办公室里的空气早已习惯；但是这里的空气坏得确实令人不能忍受，刚才你们自己也这么说。好吧，你们愿意行个好，让我靠着你们吗？我一站起来就头昏眼花，脑袋直打转。”他抬起手臂，以便让他俩搀着他走。 但是，那人没有回答Ｋ的请求，他的手仍然安安逸逸地插在口袋里，他笑了起来。“你瞧，”他对姑娘说，“我说得多对啊，这位先生只是在这儿才感到不舒服，在别的地方没事。”姑娘也笑了，但是她用手指尖轻轻碰了碰那人的手臂，好像他这样跟Ｋ开玩笑有点过头了。“嗬，哎哟，”那人说，他还在笑，“我搀这位先生到门口去，当然愿意！”“那好，”姑娘说，她那漂亮的脑袋微微侧向一边。“别对他的傻笑介意，”她对Ｋ说，Ｋ又陷入无名哀伤中，看来并不期待得到解释，“这位先生——我可以把你介绍给他吗？”（那位先生挥挥手，表示同意。）“好吧，这位先生是代表问讯处的。他解答人们提出的任何问题，公众不大清楚我们的诉讼程序，经常提出大量问题。对于每一个问题他都有一个答案，如果你愿意的话，你可以向他提个问题试试。除此以外，他还有一个惹人注目的地方，这就是他的衣服很时髦，这是我们——也就是说全体工作人员——决定的。由于问讯处的职员总要跟人们打交道，总是第一个看见他们，所以他的衣着必须时髦，以便给人们留下良好的初次印象。除了他以外，我们这些人都穿得很差，式样很陈旧，这点你可能一看见我就发现了，很遗憾，我不得不这么说；话再说回来，把钱花在穿着上没有多大意思，因为我们几乎不出办公室，甚至睡在办公室里。但是，正像我已经说过的那样，他却必须讲究穿戴。可是管理处在这方面有些怪，居然不给他提供服装，于是我们只好募捐——有的当事人也捐了钱——我们给他买了这套衣服和其它服装。如果只是为了造成一个好印象，那他现在不需要任何别的东西了。然而他的狂笑却吓退了人们，弄糟了一切。”“确实如此，”那位先生冷嘲热讽地说，“不过我确实搞不明白，小姐，你为什么要向这位先生透露我们的内部秘密，或者说得更确切一点，你为什么硬把这些秘密灌进他的耳朵中，因为他根本不想听。你看，他显然正忙于思考自己的事哩。”Ｋ不想反驳，姑娘的用意无疑是好的，她大概想让Ｋ散散心，或者给他提供一个振作起来的机会，仅此而已；但她走的路子不对。“怎么啦，我得向他解释一下你为什么笑，”姑娘说，“它听起来让人觉得是受侮辱。”“我想，只要我愿意带他离开这儿，再厉害的侮辱他也能宽容。”Ｋ什么也没说，甚至没有向上看一眼，听凭他们两人议论他，好像他是一个没有生命的物体似的；说实在的，他倒真希望成为一个没有生命的物体。突然他觉得那人的手挎起他的一只胳膊，姑娘的手则搀着他的另一只胳膊。“起来，你这个软骨头，”那人说。“谢谢你们两位，”Ｋ喜出望外地说，他慢慢站起身来，把这两个陌生人的手移到他觉得最需要搀扶的位置。“你可能会以为，”当他们走进过道时，姑娘在Ｋ耳边温柔地说，“我尽量想把问讯处的职员说得好些；不过，你可以相信我，关于他我只是如实禀告而已。他的心并不冷酷。他没有义务扶着病人离开这儿，可是他这样做了，这是你现在可以看见的。也许我们的心肠都不坏，我们乐意帮助所有人；然而因为我们是法院的职员，人们很容易根据表面现象断定我们的心肠很狠，不愿意帮助人。这真使我不安。”“你不想在这儿坐一会儿吗？”问讯处的职员问。他们现在已来到了外面的大走廊中，面前正好坐着刚才曾经和Ｋ讲过话的那个人。Ｋ在那人面前几乎有些难为情，因为当时他在那人面前站得笔直，现在却有两个人扶着他，他的帽子由问讯处的职员拿着，他的头发蓬乱，披散在汗水淋淋的额头上。可是那人好像什么也没发现，他低三下四地在问讯处职员面前站起来（问讯处职员目不转睛地瞪着他），一心想解释自己为什么呆在这里。“我知道，”他说，“今天还不能就我的宣誓书作出决定。但是我还是来了，我想我也可以在这儿等待，今天是星期天嘛，我有的是时间，我在这儿不打扰任何人。”“你用不着为自己辩解，”问讯处职员回答道，“你的焦虑是对的；你在这里额外地占了地方，我承认；不过，到目前为止，你还没有碍着我的事，所以我决不阻止你尽可能及时了解你的案子的进展情况。可耻地玩忽职责的人见得多了，人们也就学会忍受你这样的人了。你可以坐下。”“他多么善于和被告们讲话啊！”姑娘低声说。Ｋ点点头，但是他突然惊跳起来，因为问讯处职员问他：“你想在这儿坐一会儿吗？”“不，”Ｋ说，“我不想休息。”他尽可能用坚决的口气说了这句话，虽然他实际上很希望能坐一坐，他觉得像是晕船似的。他似乎在波浪翻滚的大海里行船，海水好像拍击着过道两边的墙壁，过道深处仿佛传来了波涛拍岸发出的哗哗声，过道本身好像在颠簸，在回转，在过道两旁等着的当事人似乎也在随着过道沉浮。因此，护送他的姑娘和问讯处职员的镇静简直令人难以理解。他掌握在他们手中，如果他们让他走，他就会像一截木头似地跌倒。他们用目光敏锐的小眼睛打量着四周，Ｋ知道他们正在正常地继续向前走，可他自己却没有走，现在几乎是被他们架着一步步往前挪。最后他发现他们在对他讲话，但是他听不清楚他们讲的是什么，他只听见挤在这儿的人发出的喧闹声，其它什么也听不见。人声中有一个声音很尖，持久不息，好像是鸣汽笛。“声音响一些，”他垂着头低声说，他觉得难为情，因为他知道，他们讲话的声音已经够响了，而他却仍然听不清他们在讲什么。接着，他前面的墙好像裂成了两半，一股新鲜空气终于朝他涌了过来；他听见身边有一个声音说：“他开头想走，后来虽然你向他讲了一百次，告诉他们就在他前面，可是他却一动也不动。”Ｋ看见自己正站在大门口，门是姑娘刚才打开的。他的力气好像一下子就恢复了。他想先尝尝自由的乐趣，便伸出脚去，踏上一级楼梯，在那儿与搀他到这儿来的两个人告别，他们低着头听他讲话。“十分感谢，”他反复说了几次，接着又一而再、再而三地和他们握手，直到他看出，他们确实只习惯于呼吸办公室的空气，一接触到从楼梯口涌进来的比较新鲜一点的空气就不舒服时，才离开他们。他们简直连回答他的力气也没有了。如果Ｋ不匆匆把门关上的话，姑娘很可能会晕倒在地。Ｋ又站了一会儿，掏出口袋里的镜子，把头发理理好，捡起掉在下面那级楼梯上的帽子——可能是问讯处职员扔在那儿的——然后便迈着轻快的步子，大步朝楼下走去，连他自己也对这种反应感到有些害怕了。他那往常很结实的身体从来没有使他出过这种洋相。也许体内正酝酿着一次剧烈的变革，让他再经受一次考验吧！以前的那些考验他都轻而易举地经受住了。他并没有完全抛弃一有机会便去找医生看看的念头，不管怎么说，他已经决定今后要把每星期天上午的时间花在更有意义的事情上——在这点上，他还是可以给自己出主意的。