Chapter 6 Liu K's uncle - Leni

One afternoon, when the day's mail was about to be sent, K. was very busy.Two clerks brought some papers and asked him to sign them; they were roughly pushed aside, and it turned out that K.'s uncle Karl, a small landowner from the country, strode into the house.K. was not surprised by his uncle's arrival, for K. had long been afraid that he would come.Uncle will definitely come, K. has been convinced of this almost a month ago.He often imagines the appearance of his uncle, and the uncle who appears in front of him now is no different from the one he imagined: his back is slightly hunched, and he holds a Panama-style hat in his left hand.As soon as the uncle entered the door, he stretched out his right hand: it reached across the table recklessly to K. and knocked everything on it.Uncle is always in a hurry, because there is always a sad idea in his mind: no matter when he enters the city, all the things in the original plan must be done on the same day; and entertainment opportunities. K. had to do his best to help him with all these things, and sometimes he had to find a place to live, because he had been K.'s guardian before, and K. was especially grateful to him. "A phantom of the past," K. was used to calling him.

No sooner had he greeted him than he asked K. to have a private talk with him; he had no time to sit down in the chair K. offered him. "It is necessary to talk," he said breathlessly, "it is necessary to talk, so that I can be at ease." K. immediately ordered the two clerks to leave and told them not to let anyone in. "What's the news I've heard, Joseph?" K.'s uncle asked aloud when they were alone in the room; Without looking at it, I just put it under my buttocks to sit comfortably. K didn't say a word, but he understood what was going on; he had just been released from a tense and complicated work, and he had to let himself relax for a while.So, through the window, he looked across the road.From where he sat, all he could see was a small triangle across the road, the front of a house sandwiched between two shop windows, nothing on it. "You sit here looking out of the window!" cried K.'s uncle, waving his arms. "For God's sake, Joseph, please answer me. Is it true? Can it be true?" "Darling Uncle," said K., who had returned from his reverie, "I don't understand at all what you mean." "Joseph," said the uncle anxiously, "as far as I know, you have always been telling the truth. Yes. Should I take what you just said as a bad omen?" "I can guess what you want to know," said K. casually: "You must have heard something about my trial. " "That's right," replied the uncle, nodding with a heavy heart, "I heard about your trial." "Who did you hear it from?" "Irna wrote to tell me " said the uncle, "she doesn't see you very often, I understand; you don't care much about her, I'm sorry to have to say. But she's heard about it anyway. As soon as I got the letter this morning, I Get on the first train and come here. I have no other reason for coming here, but that alone seems to be enough. I can read you the part of her letter that refers to you." He said from Take out the letter from the purse. "Here it is." She wrote: 'I haven't seen Joseph for a long time; I went to the bank to look for him last week, but he was busy and I couldn't see him; I waited almost an hour and then had to leave there , because I have to go to piano lessons. I really want to talk to him, maybe soon. He sent me a big box of chocolates for my birthday; he is so kind and thoughtful. I forgot to mention it when I wrote to you, but it only occurred to me when you asked me this time. Well, I can tell you why: chocolates are missing from boarding schools, gifts It's hard to remember someone giving you something when it's lost. There's one more thing I think I should tell you about Joseph. As I said, I couldn't see him that day because he was haunted by a gentleman After waiting obediently for a while, I asked one of the squires if their conversation was going to go on for a long time. He said it was likely so, because it might have something to do with a case involving the assistant. I asked what it was , was he mistaken? He said he was not mistaken, that there was a serious case; but otherwise he knew nothing. He was willing to help Mr. K himself, because Mr. K. He is kind and upright, but he doesn't know where to start, so he can only hope that some influential person will stand on the side of the assistant. Of course, things will go well, and the final result must be all the best. But according to him from K. According to Mr.'s mood, the situation seems to be quite bad. I certainly don't take the matter too seriously, so I put the simple mind at ease, and ask him not to tell anyone else about it. I am convinced that, What he said was nothing but nonsense. Anyway, dear father, it would be great if you could find out the next time you were in town. You would have no trouble finding out the truth, and if need be, Ask some influential friends of yours to intervene. Even if you don't think it's necessary - and it's quite possible - at least you can give your daughter an early chance to welcome you with a kiss, she thinks of the possibility I feel elated immediately.' What a good boy," said K.'s uncle after reading the letter, and wiped away the tears from his eyes. K. nodded.He had forgotten about Irna after all the troubles he had been having lately; as for the chocolate, she had obviously made it up, just to save him face with his uncles and aunts, which was touching.He had wanted to give her theater tickets on a regular basis in return, but it seemed that this was not enough; it was not appropriate to go to the boarding school to find her and chat with such an unreasonable eighteen-year-old girl. "What do you have to say now?" asked K.'s uncle; his daughter's letter made him forget his haste and uneasiness, and he seemed to be rereading the letter. "Yes, uncle," said K., "it's all true." "Really?" cried K.'s uncle. "How can it be true? How can it be true? What kind of case is it? Certainly not." A criminal case?" "A criminal case," replied K. "How can you sit here in peace when a criminal case involving you is still pending?" K.'s uncle asked loudly, his voice growing louder. "The calmer I am, the better it will turn out," said K. impatiently. "Don't worry." "That's a very nice request you made of me," cried the uncle. "Joseph, my dear Joseph, think for yourself, think for your relatives, think for the honor of our family. You have done us honor so far, and you cannot give this You bring misfortune to the family. Your attitude," he looked up at K., "displeases me, and an innocent person would not adopt such an attitude if he had any sense. Tell me quickly, What's the matter, so I can help you. It must have something to do with the bank?" "No," said K., standing up, "you're talking too loudly, uncle. I'm sure the footman is at the door." Look, I don't like it. We'd better go out and find a place. I'll try to answer all your questions. I know I have to explain to the whole family." "Well," said the uncle loudly, "very Well, but hurry up, Joseph, go!" "I still have a few things to explain to them," said K.; he called for his chief assistant, who arrived in a few minutes. K.'s uncle was very excited and waved to the assistant, explaining that K. had invited him, which was self-evident without saying anything. Standing by the desk, K. picked up some papers and began to explain in a low voice to the assistant, who listened calmly and attentively to what he was supposed to do in K.'s absence.The uncle, eyes wide open, biting his lip nervously, stood next to K, making K feel very uncomfortable; the uncle did not listen to what K was saying, but the way he seemed to be listening was enough to upset K. up.Then he began to walk up and down the room, often pausing for a moment at a window or a picture, and burst out a sentence, such as "I don't get it at all," or "God knows what's going on with it."The assistant didn't seem to notice anything, and listened intently to K's instructions, jotting down the main points while listening. After K. had finished speaking, the assistant nodded to K. and K.'s uncle and left them. K.'s uncle, with his back turned to him at this moment, was holding the curtain with both hands and looking out of the window.No sooner had the door closed than he shouted: "The fool is gone at last, now let's get out, we can go at last!" They came to the main hall, where there were several clerks and attendants, and the deputy manager just came to meet him. K.'s uncle wanted to know the circumstances of the case here, and the unfortunate K. could not silence him. "Now is the time, Joseph," said the uncle, who answered with a nod of his head as the clerks waiting in the hall bowed to him. "Tell me frankly what the case is," said K. speciously. He said a few words, smiled, and didn't explain to his uncle until he went downstairs that he didn't want to say these things in front of the staff. "That's right," said the uncle, "but now tell me what you want." He listened, puffing on his cigar. "The first thing to say, uncle," said K., "is that this is not an ordinary court case." "It's bad," said uncle. "What do you mean by that?" asked K., looking at his uncle. "What I said was, it's bad," repeated the uncle.They were standing on the steps outside the bank, and the concierge seemed to be listening to them. K hurriedly dragged his uncle away, and they immediately joined the crowd in the street.Uncle, holding K.'s arm, was no longer in a hurry to inquire about the case, and they walked on in silence for a while. "But how did this happen?" Uncle suddenly stopped and asked K a question; the pedestrians walking behind him hurriedly avoided, "This kind of thing doesn't happen suddenly, there is a process that accumulates over time. There must be signs. Why don't you write and tell me? You know, I can do anything for you; I am still your guardian in a sense, which I am proud of to this day. Of course I will I will help you in my own strength; but now that the case has begun it is very difficult to help you. Anyway, the best way is that you take a few days off and come to live in our country for a while. I find that these days You've lost a lot of weight. It will do you good to recover your strength in the country, because this trial must have worn you out. But, let's put aside that, in one sense you've got to Avoid the majesty of the courts. They have all kinds of machinery here, and they can set them in motion against you whenever they like; but if you are in the country, they have to send someone, or send a letter, or send a telegram if you are in the country. , call. Then of course the effect will be less; you won't get rid of them completely, but at least you'll get a little respite." "But they may prohibit me from leaving here," said K., ready to take over. Uncle's idea was done. "I don't think they'll do that," said the uncle confidently, "and they won't lose much by your departure." "I thought," said K., taking his uncle's arm and letting him go. Don't stand still, "You'll care less about it than I do, and now it seems you take it very seriously." "Joseph!" cried the uncle, trying to free his arms so that he could continue standing still, But K refused, "You have become very strong, your mind has always been clear, why are you confused now? Do you want to lose this lawsuit? Do you know what that means? It means that you will be completely destroyed. All your relatives will be in trouble, too, or at least a great disgrace. Take heart, Joseph. This indifference of yours will drive me crazy. People will look at you and almost believe the old saying: 'This kind of lawsuit, A fight is sure to lose.'" "My dear uncle," said K., "it's useless to get excited, not to you, and not to me. You can't win a lawsuit by emotional impulse. Think about my case a little bit." Experience it for yourself. You see, I have a lot of respect for you, even when you surprise me. Since you told me that the whole family would be involved in the scandal arising from this case— —I don’t really see how this could be, but this is a digression—then I will submit to your decision. I just think that even from your point of view, it is not advisable to go to the country, because it will be People think that absconding in fear of crime, in other words, is tantamount to admitting guilt. In addition, although I am under more pressure here, I can also use my own strength to fight for my case more vigorously." "This said Quite right," said the uncle, his tone becoming more relaxed, as if he had noticed that they were at last thinking of being together, "I'm just making a suggestion, because I don't think it matters to you if you stay here. Attitude jeopardizes the case, and it is better for me to run for you. But of course it is much better if you are willing to fight for the case yourself." "So we agree on this point, said K. "Now give me an idea: what should I do first?" years, and hardly ever left; my eye for such matters is not so keen as it was before. There are a few persons of influence who may be better at handling such matters than I am, but as we grow older, I and They have grown estranged. In the country I hardly know anyone. You know that. It is only in emergencies like the present that I realize the danger of doing so. And you have more or less. It was beyond my expectation; it is strange that after receiving Irna's letter I guessed something like it, and seeing you today I am almost sure of it. But none of that matters It's important, the important thing is not to waste time now." Before he could finish speaking, he stood on tiptoe and called a taxi.After giving the address to the driver aloud, he got into the car and dragged K in too. "Let's go straight to Lawyer Holder," he said. "He's a classmate of mine. Of course you know his name, don't you? You don't? It's strange. He is very human, and I am going to entrust the whole case to him." "I will try to do everything you want," said K., although his uncle's hasty and indiscreet handling of the matter made him He was quite disturbed.He, as a needy man, felt badly about being led to a poor man's lawyer. "I didn't know," he said, "that it is possible to have a lawyer in such a case." "Of course," said the uncle, "it goes without saying. Why not? Now, tell me what has happened so far. Tell me everything, so that I can see what is going on with us." K. immediately told the whole story, not missing a single detail, because only absolute frankness can stop his uncle from thinking that the case will be successful. Brings chilling shame.Miss Bürstner's name was only mentioned incidentally by K., which did not imply indifference, since Miss Bürstner had nothing to do with the case.As he spoke, he looked out of the window; he saw that they were approaching the suburb where the courthouse had its offices in the attic; he called his uncle's attention to this fact, but he seemed to ignore the coincidence.The taxi pulled up in front of a dark house.The uncle rang the doorbell of the first house on the ground floor; when they waited for someone to open the door, the uncle grinned and said in a low voice: "It is eight o'clock, and clients rarely come to him at this time, but Hall De will not be surprised." There was a police window on the door, and a pair of big black eyes appeared in the window, stared at the two visitors for a while, and then disappeared; but the door still did not open. K. and his uncle confirmed to each other that they had indeed seen a pair of eyes. "A new maid, probably afraid of strangers," said K.'s uncle, who knocked on the door again.The eyes reappeared, this time looking sad, but perhaps an illusion caused by the gas lamp, which had no shade and was burning directly above them, hissing harshly, but the light was very dim. "Open the door!" cried K.'s uncle, and began to pound the door with his fist. "We are friends of Mr. Holder." "Mr. Holder is sick," came a faint voice behind them.The door on the other side of the short hallway opened, and a man in pajamas emerged, breaking the news in a low voice. K.'s uncle, furious at having waited too long, turned around and shouted: "Ill? You say he is ill?" He approached the man aggressively, as if he were the personification of the so-called disease. "The door is open," the man said suddenly, pointing to the lawyer's door, then wrapped himself in his pajamas and entered the room.The door did open, and a young girl—K recognized the slightly protruding black eyes—in a long white apron stood in the hall with a candle in her hand. "Please open the door more quickly next time," K.'s uncle did not greet her, but lectured her; she curtseyed. "Come on, Joseph," he said to K., who was ogling the girl. "Mr. Holder is ill," said the girl, as K.'s uncle walked straight into the inner room. K. was still looking at the girl, who turned and shut the door; she had a round baby face, pale cheeks, chin. , even her temples and forehead are round. "Joseph!" K.'s uncle called again, and then he asked the girl: "Is it a heart attack?" "I think so," said the girl; Open.In a corner of the room out of the reach of candlelight, a bearded face was raised from a pillow. "Leni, who's here?" asked the lawyer, who was blinded by the candlelight and couldn't see the visitor clearly. "It's your old friend Albert," said K.'s uncle. "Oh, Albert," said the lawyer, throwing himself back on the pillows, as if there was no need to force himself before this guest. "Are you really unwell?" K.'s uncle asked the lawyer, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I can't believe it. But it's just another heart attack, and it will pass quickly like the previous ones." "Perhaps," said the lawyer, his voice weak, "but this time it's worse than ever before. I can't even breathe, I can't sleep, and every day I feel weaker." "I understand," said K. Uncle said his thick hand pressed the Panama hat to his lap. "It's terrible. But are the servants taking good care of you? It's very dark and gloomy here. It was a long time ago when I was last here, and the atmosphere was much more cheerful. Besides, Well, this young maid of yours doesn't seem very bright, maybe she's just pretending." The girl was still standing in the doorway with the candle in her hand; from her bewildered eyes, she seemed to be looking at K. instead of looking at K. She looked at K.'s uncle; even when he was talking about her, she did not look at him. K pushed a chair over, placed it beside her, and leaned back in it. "A man who is ill, as I am now," said the lawyer, "needs quiet. I don't think it's gloomy here." He paused a little, and added: "Leni has taken good care of me." She's a good girl." But K's uncle didn't believe it, he obviously had a prejudice against the nurse; he didn't reply to the patient, but just looked at the girl sternly; she went to the bed and put the candle on the bedside table up, leaning over the patient, and whispering to him as he arranged the pillows. K.'s uncle almost forgot that he was in the patient's room, got up abruptly and paced up and down behind the girl; if at this moment he grabbed the girl's skirt and dragged her away from the bed, K. would not have feel strange. K watched all this as an outsider.K. was not at all dissatisfied with the lawyer's illness: his uncle's interest in his case was growing and he could not restrain it; will be frustrated.Soon, his uncle probably wanted to annoy the nurse, and called out loudly: "Miss, please leave us alone for a while; I have some private matters to discuss with my friends." The sheet was smoothed; at this she turned her head and said calmly: "You know, my master is sick; you can't discuss anything with him." In stark contrast.She couldn't help repeating it.Still, even an unbiased outsider would think she was sarcastic. K.'s uncle seemed to have been stung by a wasp, and immediately flew into a rage. "Damn it, you—" he swore, his words hard to understand because of his anger. Although K. had expected his uncle to explode suddenly, he stood up in astonishment after hearing this, and ran towards his uncle, determined to stop his uncle's mouth with his hands to calm him down.Fortunately the sick man behind the girl straightened up from the bed at this moment; K.'s uncle made a hasty grimace, as if swallowing a bottle of disgusting potion, and said in a softer tone: "I beg you to believe that we did not Completely lost my mind; I would never have opened my mouth if it were not possible to do what I asked. Now go away." The girl straightened up beside the bed and turned to face K.'s uncle, but her One hand was still patting the lawyer's hand, or so K. imagined. "You can talk to me about anything in Leni's presence," the lawyer said pleadingly. "It's nothing to do with me," said K.'s uncle, "it's not my secret." He turned away as if he didn't want to ask about it, but he wanted the lawyer to have time to think about it. "Who is it about, then?" asked the lawyer feebly, lying down again. "It's about my nephew," said K.'s uncle, "I brought him here." He began to introduce his nephew: Joseph K., assistant. "Oh," said the patient, who was much more active, and held out his hand to K. "I beg your pardon, I didn't see you just now. Now you go, Leni," he said to the nurse, and then went on for a long time. He took her hand as if to say goodbye; Leni obediently went away. "So you came here," he said to K.'s uncle, who had calmed down and came back to the bed, "you didn't come to see me because I was sick, you came on business." He seemed to be unable to move when he thought of others visiting him as a patient, and he would feel better from now on.So he sat up with his arms propped up, looking much younger. Of course, it took a lot of effort to do so. He inserted his fingers into his beard and held it.Tangled. "Since that goblin left," said K.'s uncle, "you look much better." He stopped suddenly and said in a low voice: "I bet she's eavesdropping," and ran to the door to look. See, there was no one behind the door, and he walked back, not feeling embarrassed, because he felt that she didn't want to eavesdrop entirely out of malice, out of resentment. "You've been unfair to her," said the lawyer, though he didn't defend the nurse much; he probably thought his silence meant that she didn't need to be defended at all.Then he went on in a very friendly tone: "This case of your nephew is a very difficult task, and if I have the strength to do it, I will consider myself very lucky. I am very afraid that my strength is not enough; However, in any case, I will do my best; if I cannot succeed alone, you can ask others to help me. To tell you the truth, this case interests me deeply, and I cannot pass up the opportunity of asking about it. .Even if I am more than capable, it is worthwhile to be thwarted by this obstacle." K. did not understand a single word of this, and looked at his uncle, hoping for an explanation. But the uncle held the candle in his hand, Sit on the bedside table.A medicine bottle had rolled off the bedside table and onto the carpet, and no matter what the lawyer said, the uncle nodded, obviously in full agreement with everything the lawyer said; sometimes he glanced at K. as if asking K to agree.Has uncle already told Master Jin everything about this case?But that was impossible, and the way things were going, ruled it out. "I don't understand—" so he began. "Oh, I guess I misunderstood you?" asked the lawyer, just as surprised and perplexed as K. was. "Perhaps I've been too impatient. So what are you going to discuss with me? I thought it was about your case." "Of course it is," said K.'s uncle, and turning to K. "What are you worried about?" "Well, but how do you know about me and my case?" asked K. "Oh, yes," said the lawyer, laughing, "I'm a lawyer, you know, and I've been in and out of the judiciary arguing all sorts of cases, and the most notable ones are bound to stick in my mind." , not to mention a case involving the nephew of an old friend of mine. It's not very strange." "What are you worried about?" asked K.'s uncle again. "You're too nervous. " "So you are often in and out of the judiciary?" asked K. "Yes," replied the lawyer. "You ask questions like a child," said K.'s uncle. "If I don't associate with my peers, who should I associate with?" the lawyer added.This sounded justifiable, and K. could not reply. "However, you must be connected with the courthouse in the Judiciary Building, not with the courthouse in the attic," he was about to say, but did not say so. "You know," continued the lawyer, speaking as if he were explaining something self-evident, "you should know that this association has enabled me to get things done for my client in various ways, among which Some avenues are not even openly stated. Of course, now that I'm sick, there are some disadvantages; but it doesn't matter, because my good friends in the court often visit me, and I can learn a lot from them , probably knows more than a lot of healthy people who spend time in the courthouse all day. For example, a good friend of mine is here right now." He waved his hand toward a dark corner of the room. "Where is it?" asked K., surprised and therefore abrupt.He looked around suspiciously.The light from the small candle could barely reach the opposite wall, and a figure loomed in the dark corner of the room. K.'s uncle held the candle over his head, and by its light K saw an elderly gentleman sitting at a small table in the corner.He probably couldn't even breathe while sitting there, so that no one noticed after staying there for so long.He stood up hastily, clearly displeased at being found.His hands fluttered like the wings of a bird, as if to show that he disapproved of any kind of introduction and pleasantries, as if to let people know that he didn't want to disturb other gentlemen, but only wanted to go back into the darkness, and others had better forget his presence.But he can no longer enjoy this privilege. "I may say that you surprised them," explained the lawyer, beckoning the gentleman to come forward; the gentleman moved slowly, looked about him hesitantly, but had a good manner. . "The clerk of the court—oh, excuse me, I haven't introduced you yet—this is my friend Albert K., this is his nephew Joseph K., and this is the clerk of the court—I repeat, He treated me warmly and came to see me today. Only those who have been in the court for many years can really appreciate the value of such a visit, because they know that the work of the secretary's palace is as busy as hell. Even so, he came to see me , we chatted merrily, while my sickness persisted. We did not forbid Lainee from having visitors, indeed, for we did not expect any one to come, and of course we thought we would not be disturbed; but Then, Albert, there came your petulant knock at the door, and the clerk of the court withdrew into a corner with his desk and chair. But now I think, if you will, we shall have a chance at last. Let's talk, because this case concerns all of us, we can get together and have a chat. Please, dear Mr. Clerk," he bowed to the clerk, pointing with a polite smile. Pointing to an armchair beside the bed. "Unfortunately I can only stay a few minutes longer," said the clerk of the court courteously, and he sat down in an armchair and looked at his watch. opportunity of a friend of a friend of a friend." He bowed slightly towards K.'s uncle; K.'s uncle seemed honored to have made the acquaintance of this man, but he was not born to express his admiration, and he used a burst of admiration. People laughed inexplicably in response to the court clerk's words.How funny! K. was free to observe everything, because no one was paying attention to him.Now that the clerk of the court has gained a prominent position, it seems to have become his habit to express his opinion first.The lawyer had pretended to be weak at first, probably only to refuse the visitor; now he stretched out his hand, put it to his ear, and listened attentively. K.'s uncle, the candle-bearer--he balanced the candle on his lap, and the lawyer often cast him a disturbed glance--quickly got out of the embarrassment and was now listening with great interest to the court clerk's witty remark Lianzhu's speech, admiring the wavy movement of one hand made by the clerk when he spoke. K. leaned against the bedstead, and the clerk of the court completely forgot about him, perhaps deliberately slighting him; as a result he could only become the audience of another old man. K himself was not in the mood to listen to them, and first he thought of the nurse and his uncle's rude treatment of her, and then asked himself whether he had seen the court clerk before: Was the clerk in the audience at the first trial? K. might have guessed wrong, but the clerk of the court—the old gentleman with the stiff beard—was perfectly fitting in the first row of the audience.

There was a sudden sound like breaking pottery in the hall, and everyone pricked up their ears. "I'll go and see what's the matter," said K., walking slowly out to give the others a chance to call him back to the room.He had just entered the hall, and when he stretched out his feet to grope in the dark, a hand much smaller than his hand pressed on his hand that was still holding the door, and gently closed the door.This is the nurse, and she is waiting there. "It's nothing," she said quietly, "I threw a plate at the wall to lure you out." K. twisted.muddy said. "I was thinking of you, too." "That's better," said the nurse, "come this way." They took a step or two, and they came to a thick glass door, which she opened. "Go in!" she said.This room was evidently a lawyer's office; the moonlight came in through the two large windows, and illuminated two small squares on the floor in front of the windows; through the moonlight it could be seen that the room was full of antique furniture. "Come here," said the nurse, pointing to a dark chair with a carved back. K. sat down and continued to look at the room; the office was large, with a high ceiling, and the client of the "poor man's" lawyer would feel lost here. K. painted himself this picture: the clients, all embarrassed, were walking slowly towards the large lawyer's desk.But then he forgot all that and looked only at the nurse; she was sitting next to K., almost pushing him against the arm of the chair. "I thought," she said, "that you would come out by yourself, without waiting for me to call you. You behave very strangely. You kept your eyes on me when you came in; but you kept me waiting a long time. Just call me Lainie!" she added hastily, out of the blue, as if she had no time to waste. “我很高兴这样称呼你，”Ｋ说，“至于说我的行为古怪，莱妮，这很容易解释。首先，我必须听那几个老头唠叨。我不能没有任何借口就离开他们走出来。其次，我不是一个在女人面前胆大妄为的小伙子，说实话我很害臊；而你，莱妮，看样子也不像是个一说就愿意的姑娘。”“不对，”莱妮说，她的手臂搭在椅子背上，眼睛看着Ｋ。 “而是你开始时不喜欢我，现在没准仍然不喜欢我。”“喜欢这个字眼太没有力量。”Ｋ含糊其辞地说。 “啊！”她微笑着说。 Ｋ的话和这个短促的感叹使她略微占了上风，于是Ｋ一时什么也说不上来。他已经对这间黑暗的屋子习惯了，现在已能看清某些摆设的细节。给他留下特殊印象的是一幅挂在房门右侧的大型油画。他朝前倾着身子，想看清楚点。画面上是一个穿着法袍的人；那人坐在一个像宝座一样的高脚椅子上，这是一张镀金椅子，在整幅画里占据着一个突出地位。奇怪的是法官的坐姿看来并不威严，因为他的左臂搭在宝座的后背和扶手上，右臂却悬空吊着，手掌下垂，搁在另一个扶手上；法官似乎正要站起来，做一个激烈的、也许是忿怒的手势，发表一个带有决定性意义的看法，甚至作出判决。我们可以设想，被告站在通向法官宝座的最下面一级台阶上；最上面几级台阶上铺着的黄地毯已经画出来了。 “或许他就是审理我这个案子的法官，”Ｋ伸出手指，指着那幅画说。 “我认识他，”莱妮说，她也在看着画。 “他常到这里来。这幅画是他年轻时请人画的，但一点也不像，既不像他年轻时，也不像他现在。因为他个子矮小，几乎是个侏儒；可是他却让别人把自己画成了这个样子，原因是他和这儿所有的人一样，爱虚荣爱到了发疯的程度。然而我也是一个爱虚荣的人，说话颠三倒四，你肯定不会喜欢我的。”Ｋ听了最后这句话没有回答，只是伸出两臂抱住她，把她搂到胸前；她默默地把头枕在他肩上。他对她说的其它话倒作出了反应：“他担任什么职务？”“他是一位预审法官，”她一面说，一面握住Ｋ搂着她的那只手，抚弄起他的手指来。 “只是一位预审法官而已，”Ｋ失望地说，“高级官员们全藏得好好的。可是，他却坐在这样一个令人望而生畏的宝座上。”“全是瞎画的，”莱妮说，她把自己的脸伏在他手上。 “其实他是坐在一张厨房里用的椅子上，屁股下垫着一条叠成双层的旧马毯。可是，你干吗总是闷闷不乐地惦记着你的案子呀！”她慢条斯理地问道。 “不，我一点也没惦记我的案子，”Ｋ说，“相反，我考虑得可能太少了。”“你这样做没错，”莱妮说，“你太倔强，这是我听说的。”“谁告诉你的？”Ｋ问；他能感到她的身体贴近了自己的胸部；他朝下凝视着她那头浓密、乌黑、梳得整整齐齐的头发。 “如果我告诉你，我付出的代价就太大了，”莱妮回答道，“请别问我他们叫什么名字，记住我的忠告就行啦，以后别再那么倔强；你斗不过法院，你应该认罪。一有机会就认罪吧。你不认罪，就不可能逃出他们的魔爪，谁都无能为力。当然，即使认了罪，如果没有外来援助，你也达不到目的；不过你用不着为此煞费苦心了，我来想办法吧。”“你很熟悉法院和法院里的种种阴谋诡计！”Ｋ说；他把她抱起来，让她坐到自己的膝盖上，因为她紧紧靠着他，他觉得太重。 “这样更舒服，”她一面说，一面在他的膝盖上坐好，抚平裙子，拉直上衣。然后她伸出双手，搂住他的脖子，身体向后微仰，久久端详着他。 “如果我不认罪，你就不能帮助我吗？”Ｋ试探着问。 “我好像一直在找女人帮忙，”他想道，几乎吃了一惊，“先是布尔斯特纳小姐，后来是门房的妻子，现在是这个小看护。她看来对我怀有一种莫名其妙的欲望。她坐在我的膝盖上，好像这是她惟一该坐的地方！”“不能，”莱妮慢慢摇着头说，“那我就无法帮助你。不过你一点也不想要我帮忙，你无所谓，你很傲慢，从来不听别人的话。”过了一会儿，她问道：“你有女朋友吗？”“没有，”Ｋ说。 “嘿，不对，你有！”她说。 “嗯，对，我有，”Ｋ说，“你瞧，我否认有女朋友，可是我兜里却明明揣着她的照片。”在她的恳求下，他把艾尔莎的照片拿给她看；她蜷缩在他膝上，久久凝视着照片。这是一张快相，拍的是艾尔莎在跳粉面舞的最后一场，她常在酒吧间里跳这种舞；她的裙子在飘拂，犹如一把扇子，她把双手按在结实的臀部上，扬起下巴，对某个没拍进照片的人笑着。 “她的衣服紧紧裹在身上，”莱妮一面说，一面指着她认为衣服绷得过紧的部位。 “我不喜欢她，她太粗犷，太俗气。不过，她也许对你很温柔体贴，从照片上可以猜得出来。像她那样高大健壮的姑娘往往不由自主地对人温柔体贴。但是她能够为你而牺牲自己吗？”“不能，”Ｋ说，“她既不温柔也不体贴，更不能为我而牺牲自己。到现在为止，我既没有要求她做到前者，也没有要求她做到后者。说实在的，我从来没有像你这样仔细端详过这张照片。”“这么说来，她在你心目中的位置并不很重要，”莱妮说，“她根本不是你的女朋友。”“噢，她是我的女朋友，”Ｋ反驳道，“我不想食言。”“好吧，就算她是你的女朋友吧，”莱妮说，“不管怎么说，如果你一旦失去她，或者换一个女朋友，比如说换上我吧，你不会太想念她的，对不对？”“当然对，”Ｋ笑着说，“这是可以理解的，不过她有一点比你强得多：她对我的案子一无所知，即使她知道了，也不会为此伤脑筋。她更不会设法让我变得随和点。”“这并不是她比我强的地方，”莱妮说，“如果她比我强的地方就是这一点，那我还有希望。她有什么生理缺陷吗？”“生理缺陷？”Ｋ问。 “对，”莱妮说，“因为我有一个小小的生理缺陷。瞧。”她抬起右手，伸出当中两个手指，其间长着一层蹼状皮膜，一直连到指尖；皮膜和手指一样，很短。 Ｋ在黑暗中一时没弄明白她想给他看什么；莱妮便抓过他的手，让他摸摸皮膜。 “确实是只畸形的手！”Ｋ说，他仔细看了看整只手后又补充道：“但也确实是只美丽的小手！”莱妮颇为得意，她看着Ｋ不胜惊奇地把两个手指头掰开，然后又并拢，在放开它们之前还轻轻吻了一下。 “啊！”她立刻嚷道，“你吻了我！”她匆匆欠起身子，张大嘴巴跪在他的双膝上。 Ｋ抬眼看着她，惊讶得几乎目瞪口呆：她此时紧紧地挨着他，身上散发出一种胡椒粉似的很有刺激性的气味；她一把搂过他的头，俯下身去，咬着和吻着他的脖子，一直咬到他的头发根。 “你已经用我代替她了，”她一次又一次地大声说，“瞧，你毕竟用我来代替她了！”她双膝发软，有气无力地喊了一声，几乎倒在地毯上；Ｋ伸手想把她抱起来，结果却被她拽倒在地。 “你现在属于我了。”她说。

“这是门钥匙，你什么时候想来都可以，”这是她讲的最后一句话；他向她告别时，她无目的地在他肩上亲了最后一下。他走出门，来到马路上；外面正下着小雨。他朝街心走去，希望能最后看一眼也许正站在窗旁的莱妮；但是他的叔叔突然从一辆停在房子前面的汽车里走了出来，心不在焉的Ｋ刚才没有发现这辆汽车。叔叔抓住他的双臂，把他朝门口推去，好像要把他钉在门上似的。“约瑟夫！”叔叔嚷道，“你怎么能这样！你的案子本来有了点眉目，现在又被你搞糟了。你偷偷和一个不要脸的小荡妇溜走了，一呆就是几个钟头，何况她显然是律师的情妇。你连一个借口也不找，什么也不回避，便明目张胆地跑到她那儿去，呆在她身边。我们三个人在这段时间里一直坐在那儿，一个是你的叔叔，正在为你尽力奔走的叔叔；一个是应该努力争取过来的律师；特别是还有法院书记官，一个目前正在审理你的案子的重要人物。我们三个人坐在那里商量怎么帮助你，我不得不小心翼翼地和律师打交道，律师又谨小慎微地和法院书记官打交道。我原想你起码该助我一臂之力，可是你却溜走了。你离开了这么长的时间，谁都瞒不住；当然，这两位先生老于世故，没提起你不在的事，他们要照顾我的情绪。最后，连他们也不能再无视事实了，只是因为此事不便提起，他们才一句话也没说。有好几分钟之久，我们坐在那儿静听着，希望你能回来，但一切都白搭了。法院书记官在这儿呆的时间已经大大超过原定计划。最后他只好站起身来，道了夜安；他显然为我感到十分遗憾，因为他没能帮助我；他的热情确实是数一数二的。临走前，他在门口又等了一会儿。老实告诉你吧，他走后，我倒觉得宽心了；在那以前，我简直喘不过气来。身体欠佳的可怜的律师情况更糟，我和他告别时，这位好心人居然一句话也讲不出来。你很可能会促使他的身体完全垮掉，很可能会催他早日走进坟墓；而你却有赖于他的善意斡旋。你让我——你的叔叔——在雨中站了好几个钟头。我真为你发愁；你摸摸，我浑身都湿透了！”