Chapter 7 Seven lawyers - factory owners - painters (1)

One winter morning, when it was snowing outside the window, and it was foggy and gloomy, K was sitting in his office.It was still early, but he was exhausted.To at least save face with his subordinates, he instructed his clerk not to let anyone in.Excuse that you are busy with an important matter.But he didn't work, but twisted his body in the chair, and lazily arranged the things spread on the desk; sitting. He's been thinking about his case now.He often thought that maybe it would be better to write a defense and submit it to the court.In his defense, he will briefly describe his life, explaining a few words every time he mentions a major event: why he did that at that time, whether he now approves or condemns what he did at that time, and what is the reason.There is no doubt that such a written defense has many advantages over the oral defense of a lawyer who is not in itself invulnerable. K. wondered what the lawyer was working on with the case; it was not very successful anyway.More than a month ago, Holder sent someone to look for him. After a few initial contacts with the lawyer, he left the impression that the lawyer could not be of much help.In the beginning, lawyers rarely cross-examined him, although there were many worthy questions.Asking questions is definitely important. K felt himself capable of asking all the necessary questions.But the lawyer never asked any questions, either chatted nonsense, or sat silently opposite K.He was leaning slightly towards his desk, probably because of his poor hearing; he was stroking the beard in the middle of his chin and staring at the carpet, probably at the spot where K. and Leni had been lying.Often he would give K. advice that was meaningless, as one gives advice to children.These admonitions were useless and tiresome, and K. would certainly not have paid a penny for them in the final reckoning.After the lawyer thought he had ridiculed K., he would usually say a few words of consolation to cheer him up a little.He will claim that he has won many such cases, sometimes all and sometimes partly.Although those cases were not as difficult as this one, they seemed even less hopeful at first glance.In a drawer of his desk—he patted one of them—there was a list of these cases, but he apologized to say that the list could not be shown because it was an official secret.But the vast experience he had gained in these cases would be of use to K. now.Of course he has already contributed to K's case, and the first plea ① is almost ready for submission.The first defense is important because the first impression the defense makes often determines the entire course of the lawsuit.Unfortunately—and he felt obliged to remind K.—sometimes it happened that the courts did not even look at the previous pleadings.The judges stuffed the plea into other texts, saying: At this time, it is more important to examine and try the defendant than to read any formal complaint.If the complainant insists on his point of view, they often add a sentence: Before making a judgment, the entire case file will be carefully studied, including of course various documents related to the case, including the first statement of defense.It is a pity that this kind of thing cannot be completely done in the trial of many cases. The first statement of defense is often misplaced or even disappeared. Even if it survives to the end, few people have read it; of course—the lawyer admits— The above are just rumors.This is all regrettable, but not entirely without merit. K. should remember that proceedings are not public; they can of course be public if the court deems it necessary, but the law does not require them to be.Of course, the court documents involved in the case—the indictment, first and foremost—are not available to the defendants and their defense attorneys; therefore, it is generally not known, or at least not known exactly, which allegations should be refuted in the first plea.Therefore, only by sheer coincidence will the defense contain substantive content.One can file a hard-hitting and convincing defense only after one has learned or guessed at trial the charges and the evidence upon which they are based.In this case, defense lawyers face a tricky and complicated situation, but they insist on doing it.Because the law does not encourage defense, it only allows defense, and there are even differences of opinion on whether it can be understood as the law allowing defense.Strictly speaking, the law does not allow the defense of the accused, and people who appear as defense lawyers are in fact only regarded as litigators, which puts a black face on all lawyers. The next time K. visited the courthouse, he had to visit the lawyer's office, which should be an eye-opener for a lifetime.He would probably be terrified out of his wits by the people gathered there.That office was small and crowded, which showed that the courts did not take lawyers seriously.The interior is lit only by a small skylight, which is so high that if you want to see outside, you have to be carried by a colleague, but the smoke from the nearby chimney will choke you, and Darken your face.Here's another example of what the place is like: A little over a year ago, there was a hole in the floor, not big enough to slip a person in, but big enough to slip a leg in.The lawyer's office was at the top of the attic, so if you slipped your foot in the hole, it would pass through the attic floor and hang high above the aisles where clients waited to be seen.If lawyers think the situation is disgraceful, they are not exaggerating.They complained to the authorities to no avail; complete repairs and alterations at their own expense were strictly prohibited.The authorities have taken this approach for a reason: they intend to eliminate defense lawyers, preferably none; the responsibility for the defense rests entirely with the defendant himself.There is good reason for this view; but it would be a great mistake to conclude from this that the defendant does not need counsel for his appearance in this court.On the contrary, this court, more than any other, requires the presence of counsel, because the proceedings are kept secret from the public and from the accused; only so far, of course, but it turns out that secrecy can go a long way.Therefore, since the defendant cannot see the court documents, it is very difficult for people—particularly the defendants, who are parties and have many distractions to distract them—to guess from the course of a trial what material the court has Defense attorneys stepped in.Generally speaking, defense lawyers are not allowed to participate in the review, and have to question the defendant immediately after the trial, if possible, at the gate of the examining court, and then sort out the mostly messy materials he has obtained, so as to get some possible use for defense. worthy material.But this is not the most important thing, because not much material can be obtained in this way; of course, here, as elsewhere, capable people can get a little more information than others.The most important thing is the personal relationship between the advocate and the judge; that is where the advocate's main value lies. K. has now probably discovered from personal experience that the lower levels of the court organization are not pure and spotless, and there are many corrupt officials among them, causing a considerable gap in the seamless judicial system.Many junior lawyers have attempted to exploit this gap by paying bribes or by soliciting gossip; document thefts have actually occurred, at least in the past.It is undeniable that the above-mentioned methods can temporarily obtain results in favor of the defendant, and lawyers are proud of this, and use them as bait to attract new clients; but these methods have no effect on the development of the case, or can only play a bad role.Nothing is of real value but an enviable personal relationship with a high-ranking official; and by a high-ranking official, of course, he means a lower-ranking official.It is only through this relationship that one can exert influence on the course of the proceedings; this influence is subtle at first but becomes more and more pronounced as the case progresses.Of course, there are very few lawyers with this kind of relationship, and K's choice can be said to be very lucky.Perhaps only one or two other lawyers can boast of having the kind of connections Dr. Holder has.These people don't care about the morons sitting in the lawyer's office, they have nothing to do with the mediocre lawyers, and they have a very close relationship with the judges.Dr. Holder didn't even need to be present at every court session, to wait in the antechamber of the examining judges, or to humiliate them in order to achieve a false success or a more boring outcome.None of this is necessary, K. saw with his own eyes that the judges, many of them very high-ranking judges, came up to Holderman, willingly, frankly, giving him information, at least hinting at him boldly, and discussing with him. The next turn in each case; sometimes they were even persuaded by him to accept a new point of view.They may be persuaded quickly, but don't expect too much of it, for they may readily accept a new point of view in favor of the defendant's defense, only to immediately return to their office and decide exactly the opposite, The defendants were given heavy sentences, much heavier than the original sentence they had said they would waive.It is of course impossible to object to the judgments that have been delivered, for what they say to you in private is only to say to you in private, and cannot be done in public, even if the defense lawyers try to win the favor of these gentlemen for other reasons. Support is also useless.On the other hand, it should be taken into account that these gentlemen do not come to visit counselors--they only visit experienced lawyers--without good intentions or friendly feelings; Defense counsel.They all know that the justice system, which has insisted on secrecy from the beginning, has many shortcomings.The judges live in seclusion and have no contact with the public; they are well-trained enough to handle ordinary cases, the trial process of which is almost always very mechanical and requires only a push; however, if the case is too simple, or particularly difficult, They are often at a loss; they are completely incapable of understanding human relations, since they are only exposed to the work of the judicial system by day and by night - and an understanding of human nature is essential in dealing with these cases of.So they go to lawyers for advice, always accompanied by a servant with confidential papers.Many gentlemen one did not expect to meet sat at the window of the lawyer's house, looking hopelessly out on the street; while the lawyer sat behind his desk, poring over their papers, hoping to give them a good idea.On such occasions, it will be seen how seriously these gentlemen took their duties, and how desperate they were when they encountered insurmountable obstacles.In other words, their situation is not easy, and it would be unfair to them to think that their situation is easy.In this judicial system, the ranks of officials rise so infinitely that even experts do not know the whole picture of the hierarchy.Court proceedings are generally kept secret from lower-level officials, making it difficult even for them to know what is going on in a case they once worked on.They often do not know where the particular cases that come under their purview come from or where they are referred.They knew only a few isolated stages of the case; the officials were ignorant of the final judgment and the reasons for it.They are forced to confine themselves to the stage of the case in which they are required by the law to intervene, and they often do not know as well as defense lawyers about the subsequent situation—in other words, the results of their own cases.Defense attorneys usually have access to the accused, almost until the case is over.In this respect, therefore, low-level officials can learn a lot from defense lawyers worth knowing.Now that K. was aware of these circumstances, he was not surprised when he found that the judges were short-tempered and rude to the accused.This is an experience that everyone has.Judges, without exception, have short tempers, even when they appear to be calm.Little lawyers might be offended by this.For example, the following story has been widely circulated and appears to be entirely true.A good-natured, even-tempered, elderly judge had a difficult case at hand, which was further complicated by the lawyers' filing of several petitions.He had been thinking about it all day and night—the judges were indeed more serious than anyone expected.And so, after twenty-four hours of almost fruitless toil, at dawn he went to the door, hid behind it, and pushed every lawyer down the stairs who tried to come in.The lawyers gathered downstairs to discuss countermeasures.On the one hand, they really have little right of access, so it is very difficult to take any legal action against the judges, and, as has been said, they try to avoid offending the judges.But on the other hand, one day less of them going to court means.A day was lost, so getting in was a crucial move.In the end they agreed that dragging the old gentleman down was the best policy.The lawyers ran upstairs one by one, taking the most effective posture of passive resistance, allowing the judge to push them downstairs, and the colleagues downstairs would reach out their arms to catch them anyway.After this went on for about an hour, the old gentleman—who had been up all night and was indeed exhausted—felt tired and went back to his office.The lawyers downstairs didn't believe it at first, so they assigned someone to go upstairs, hid behind the door and observed for a while, and they went in only after they were sure that there was really no one in the room.It is said that they did not even dare to murmur when they went in, for although penniless lawyers, to a certain degree, were prone to make their own analysis of the situation in the courts, they never dared to propose or insist on improving the administration of justice. system.However, almost every defendant, even the simple-minded among them, showed from the outset an enthusiasm for proposing reform that was typical.However, this kind of enthusiasm is often just a waste of time and energy, which can be used more effectively in other areas.The only sane thing to do is to adapt yourself to existing conditions.Even if a few partial improvements could be made here and there--but whoever thinks so must be a madman--the advantage thus gained can only benefit the future defendant, at the great detriment of the person who made the suggestion, Because he offended the vengeful judges.Do not do such a crime!No matter how much against your will, you should compromise; you must understand that this vast institution is so to speak maintained in a delicate state of balance. If anyone tries to change the order of things around him, he will stumble and completely destroy. dangers, and the institution can be restored to balance by the compensating effects of other parts of itself, because its parts are interrelated; more harsh.more brutal.Lawyers should really be free to do their work and not interfere with them.Accusation is of little use, all the more so when the accuser himself does not quite understand why he is making the accusation.In any case, Dr. Holder pointed out that K.'s disrespect to the court clerk had done a great deal of damage to the case.The name of this influential man could almost be crossed off the list of people who might be able to help K.He was now deliberately indifferent to any circumstances connected with K's case.Judges are like children in many respects, and over trifles—unfortunately, K.'s behavior cannot be classified as such—they get very angry, and even old friends are ignored, and they turn their heads and throw their heads at them. Go, and fight them in every way imaginable.But then, at a little joke you've made--which you only dare to do when it's absolutely safe--they'll laugh out loud, in the most startling way, for no apparent reason, and then talk to You are back together.In short, it is neither difficult nor difficult for you to manipulate them. When you deal with them, it is difficult to set a fixed principle.You are sometimes amazed how in one ordinary life it is possible for a man to accumulate all the knowledge necessary to enable him to achieve something in such a profession.Of course you sometimes feel that there is darkness before you—everyone has those moments—and you think you’ve got nothing; Without the help of a lawyer, those lawsuits would have been won.And those lawsuits that are destined to be lost, no matter how hard you try, how hard you work, how much you indulge in some false small successes, you will lose in the end.It is, of course, only a state of mind, a state of mind in which nothing seems to be certain; you cannot refute the accusation that certain cases have gone awry because of your meddling, and that, if you had not intervened, what would have been It will go well.You lose your self-confidence and are on the verge of despair, and that's the only state of mind you can be in when you're on the verge of despair.This emotion--it can only be an emotion, of course, and nothing else--makes lawyers very miserable; especially when they are quite satisfied with carrying the case to its intended purpose, the client does not allow him to intervene in the case.This is certainly the worst situation a lawyer can encounter.However, there has never been a case where the client dismissed the lawyer and prevented him from intervening in the case; once the defendant hired a lawyer, he would stay with the lawyer no matter what happened.Because how could he do it on his own, since he had hired someone to help?So it never happened, but it did happen a few times: the case took a turn and the lawyer couldn't continue with the case.The case, the defendant, and everything else suddenly throws the lawyer away; at this moment, it doesn't matter how good his relationship with the judges is, because even the judges don't know anything.The case has developed to the stage where it is not allowed to continue to sit in on the hearing, and it is transferred to some remote courts that ordinary people cannot enter, where the defendant cannot even find a lawyer.And then, some day you come home to find on the table countless pleas pertaining to this case, written with much thought and hope; and returned to you because in this new phase of the trial, They are no longer accepted as relevant material; they have become a pile of waste paper.But that doesn't mean the case is lost, not at all, at least there's no solid evidence to suggest it; you just don't know anything about the case anymore and never will.Fortunately, this was an exception, and K's case, even if of the same nature, would have reached this stage much later.At the present stage, there are still many opportunities for legal means, and K can be sure that these means will be used to the maximum extent.As I said just now, the first statement of defense has not been submitted yet, so there is no need to be too anxious; consultation with the relevant judges is a more important thing, and this has already been done.Frankly, only partially successful.It would be better not to reveal details at the moment, because it might affect K in a bad way, either making him too happy or making him too depressed.What is certain is that some judges spoke eloquently and expressed their willingness to help; while other judges did not refuse to cooperate even though their speeches were not very pleasant.On the whole, the results are satisfactory, although no final conclusions should be drawn from them, since all negotiations are conducted in this way in the initial stages, and it is only later in the course of development that one can judge whether they were really worthwhile.At any rate, nothing so far has been misguided; and if the clerks of the court can be won over by them--and they have taken some steps to that end--then the case may be regarded as a A wound that has been—in the words of the surgeon—cleared, one need not be nervous while waiting for the next step to progress.

-------- ① Defense: The defendant raises special or new circumstances that make the lawsuit untenable. K.'s lawyer went on talking like this tirelessly. Every time K came to see him, he repeated the above.There is always progress every time, but he doesn't say what kind of progress it is.The lawyer had been busy with the first pleading, but never got it done; but it was a good thing when K. came next, because the last few days were very inconvenient to submit pleadings, and this kind of No one can predict things.If K. gets tired of the lawyer's babbling - this happened several times - point out to him that, taking all the difficulties into account, the case seems to be moving too slowly; the lawyer Just retorted that the progress was not slow at all.Of course, if K. could come to him in time, things would go a little faster.It is a pity that K did not do this. This negligence caused K a disadvantage, and not only a temporary disadvantage.

Leni, who interrupted such conversations, was very welcome and always took advantage of K.'s presence to serve the lawyer tea.She would stand behind K.'s chair, as if watching the lawyer greedily leaning over his teacup, pouring tea into it, and taking a sip, all the while letting K. secretly squeeze her hand.There was silence.The lawyer was sipping tea, K. squeezed Leni's hand, and sometimes Leni ventured to stroke his hair. "Are you still standing here?" the lawyer would ask her after his tea. "I have to take the tea tray away," Leni would reply; then K. squeezed Leni's hand one last time, the lawyer wiped his mouth, and resumed his grand discourse to K with renewed vigor.

Is the lawyer trying to comfort K, or is he trying to make K despair? K. could not say, but he soon concluded that he had the wrong attorney, and that this was already a fact of life.It is of course possible that what the lawyer said was completely true, although his attempt to exaggerate his own importance was obvious; it is quite possible that he had never been involved in a case which seemed to him to be as important as K.'s.Yet his constant boasting of his personal friendship with the judges is suspicious.Who can be sure that he uses these connections only for K.'s benefit?Lawyers never forget to say that these judges are very low-ranking, that is to say, they take orders from others; certain turns in various cases are likely to play a very important role in their promotion.Is it possible for them to use lawyers to take the necessary turn of the case against the accused?Maybe they don't do it consistently, that's impossible; sometimes they might give the lawyer a little upper hand as a reward for his services, since it's also in their interest to protect the lawyer's reputation.But if that was the case, in what category did they think K.'s case would fall?Lawyers insisted that the case was tricky and therefore important, and that the court had taken a keen interest in it from the start.There is no need to doubt what they will do, there is already a clue: the first pleading has not yet been filed, although the case has been dragged on for months.According to the lawyer, the proceedings are still in their infancy, and these words were obviously made with the intent of coaxing the defendant into a passive position in order to finally overwhelm him with a sudden judgment; or at least to say to him , the pre-trial has ended, the result is unfavorable to him, the case has been transferred to the higher authority for trial.

K.'s personal intervention was absolutely necessary.On this winter morning, he felt exhausted, powerless to shake off such beliefs, the thoughts swirling in his head.For a time he had dismissed the case as a matter of course, and now he could no longer do so.If he had been alone in the world, he would have easily laughed off the whole affair, though in that case the sort of thing itself wouldn't have happened.But now, it was his uncle who had dragged him to the lawyer, so he had to take family into account.Nor was his position entirely irrelevant to the progress of the case, for he himself, with an inexplicable complacency, ill-consideredly raised the matter in the presence of several of his acquaintances.Some other people also knew, but he didn't know how.His relationship with Miss Burstner also fluctuated with the case itself-in short, he could no longer choose between the two possibilities of accepting trial or refusing to accept trial, because he was already in trial and had to Proceed with caution.He thought it was a bad omen that he was exhausted.

However, there is still no need to be too nervous.He has managed in a relatively short time to obtain a high position in the bank, he has maintained his position, and has won the recognition of many people; , that will certainly yield good results.If he wanted to achieve his goal, he must first completely abandon the idea that he could commit a crime.He has not committed a crime.At best the legal action resembled a banking operation, and K. always benefited the bank when he handled such transactions.Of course, there are risks lurking in this legal action that must be ruled out.The correct strategy is: Avoid thinking only about your own shortcomings, and try to see your own advantages.From this point of view, the conclusion that the case was withdrawn from Dr. Holder was inevitable.And the sooner the better, preferably in the evening.From the lawyer's point of view, this was unheard of and probably an insult; but K. could not bear that his efforts in the case should be overshadowed by some action taken by his lawyer in the office. offset.Once freed from the lawyer, the plea could be filed immediately, and he could go to the judge every day and, if possible, draw their special attention to the case. K. would never sit docilely in the top aisle and wait with his hat tucked under the stool like everyone else did. K. himself should go to the judges every day, or send a woman or someone else, and force the judges not to watch the passage through the latticed windows, but to sit behind their desks and study K.'s case files.This strategy should be pursued consistently, with everything organized and checked.The court finally encountered a defendant who knew how to protect his own interests.

But although K believed he could manage to do all this, the difficulty of drawing up the defense seemed insurmountable.Less than a week before, he had thought of the possible shame of drafting a plea, but never had he thought of the difficulties involved in drafting it.He still remembered that one morning when he was immersed in his work, he had a sudden whim, pushed aside what he had in hand, picked up the notebook, and planned to draw up an outline for a statement of defense, and handed it to Dr. Holder for a reminder; but , just at this time, the door of the manager's office opened, and the deputy manager walked into the room laughing loudly.This was a very painful moment for K, although the deputy manager was certainly not laughing at him for writing the plea, because the deputy manager knew nothing about it.The deputy manager had just heard a joke in the stock exchange. In order to explain the true meaning of the joke, he needed to draw a picture, so the deputy manager bent over K.'s desk, took the pencil from K. On the page where you are going to draft the statement of defense, take the paper and draw the required diagram.

Today K. is no longer ashamed, and the defense must be written.If you don't have time in the office -- which seems quite possible -- then you'll have to write at home at night.If there is not enough time at night, you have to ask for leave.You can do whatever you want, but you must never give up halfway; whether you are talking about business or doing anything else, it is the most stupid to give up halfway.Undoubtedly, this was a task requiring endless labor; and one need not be timid and scrupled to believe that such a plea is in fact quite impossible.Not because K. was lazy or procrastinating--only lawyers have such evils--but because he didn't know why he was charged, let alone the other charges that resulted from it.He had to recall the experiences of his life, and even the most insignificant actions and events had to be explained and analyzed clearly from all angles.This would be a tedious task!This is the kind of thing that might be appropriate for a retiree in his second childhood who has to kill the day.But K now needs to concentrate all his energy on his work. Every hour of his time is full and will disappear in a blink of an eye, because he is still working full-time and will soon become the deputy manager's opponent.Evenings and nights are too short for a bachelor, for he needs pleasure.But now he has to sit down and complete this task!Again his imagination wandered, and he felt sorry for himself.This has to end!Involuntarily he pressed his finger on the button: the anteroom bell rang.As he rang the bell, he looked at his watch.At eleven o'clock he wasted two hours, a precious time, in wild thoughts.He was certainly more tired than before, but the time was not entirely wasted.He makes decisions that may prove worthwhile in a few months.The waiter brought some letters and the cards of the two gentlemen who had been waiting for a long time.They are extremely important customers of the bank, and they should not have been kept waiting so long.Why did they come at such an inopportune time?However, they might ask back at the door: Why would hard-working K spoil the best hours of the day by letting his own private affairs go to waste? Annoyed by the past and having to wait wearily for the coming, K got up and went to meet the first customer.

He was a cheerful, small man, a factory owner K. knew well.He regretted that he had disturbed K., who was busy with important business, and K. apologized for keeping the factory owner so long.But K. expressed his apologies in a rather rigid manner and in a tone of insincerity, as the factory owner would have sensed if he had not been absorbed in the business at hand.The factory owner took out a handful of documents full of statistical figures from his pockets, spread them out in front of K., explained them to K one by one, and corrected minor mistakes along the way—even though he read them so hastily, he could spot them.The manufacturer reminded K of a similar transaction he had concluded with K about a year ago, and casually reminded K that another bank was currently making great sacrifices in order to take over the business.At last he fell silent and waited anxiously for K.'s answer.At first, K. listened carefully, and such an important transaction attracted K.; but, unfortunately, K. stopped listening to him after a while.The factory owner was still talking with great interest, but K just nodded now and then; at last K lost all interest in it and just stared at the factory owner's bald head bent over the papers. K. asked himself when the factory owner would realize that his speech was a waste of words.The owner stopped talking, and K thought for a moment that the owner's pause was to give him an opportunity to declare that he was not in the right place for business discussions.He noticed with regret that the intent look in the mill owner's eyes and the alert look on his face seemed to be preparing for his offer to be rejected; this meant that the conversation must continue.Then, as if commanded, K. lowered his head and moved the tip of the pencil back and forth over the papers, occasionally pausing in thought to stare at a figure.The factory owner suspected that K. had made a mistake in the form, that the figures might not be reliable, or that they were of no decisive importance in the transaction. Anyway, the factory owner stretched out his hand to cover the figures, approached K.'s face, and explained the matter to him. The general idea behind the transaction. "It's hard," said K., pursing his lips; these documents were the only thing he had to know, and now that he was caught, he leaned listlessly on the arm of his chair.He raised his eyes slightly and looked up. The door of the manager's office opened, and the deputy manager came out: just a vague figure, as if wrapped in a layer of tulle. K. did not want to know why the deputy manager appeared, but only remembered the effect of the deputy manager's presence, which K was very happy to see: it turned out that the factory owner jumped out of his chair and ran towards him when he saw the deputy manager. Go; K would really like the factory owner to increase his speed tenfold, because he is afraid that the deputy manager will disappear again.His worries were unfounded: the two gentlemen met, shook hands, and walked together to K.'s desk.厂主指着Ｋ发牢骚，说他的建议没有受到襄理的足够重视；Ｋ当着副经理的面，再次低下头去研究文件。接着，两位先生倚在他的办公桌上，厂主千方百计地想说服副经理接受他的设想；而Ｋ却觉得，这两位大亨正在他头顶上高谈着有关他的事。他慢慢抬起头，壮着胆子向上看，打算弄明白他们到底在谈些什么；然后他从桌上随意拿起一份文件，平摊在自己的手掌上，慢慢举起手，自己也随着站起来，站得和他们一样高。他这么做并没有什么确定的目的，只是觉得，当他完成了这项艰巨任务——草拟那份能彻底开脱自己的抗辩书——以后，便应该这么做。副经理把全部注意力都集中在谈话中，只是瞥了一眼文件，连上面写着什么也没看，因为凡是襄理认为重要的东西，他都认为是鸡毛蒜皮；他从Ｋ手里接过文件，对Ｋ说：“谢谢，我都知道了。”然后把文件轻轻放回桌上。 Ｋ痛苦地看了他一眼，但副经理没有察觉，或者是，即使察觉了，也只是觉得好玩而已。副经理大笑了几次，他机智地反驳了厂主一次。显然使厂主很难堪；然后他又立即收回前言，最后他请厂主到他的私人办公室里去，一起把这桩交易谈妥。 “这个提议很重要，”他对厂主说，“我完全同意。至于说襄理——”他即使提到襄理，也只是对着厂主说，“我深信，如果我们把它接过手来，他会感到如释重负的。这桩交易需要认真考虑，而他今天似乎忙得不可开交；另外，有几个人已经在前厅里等了他好几个钟头啦。”Ｋ还有足够的自制力，他转过脸去，故意不看副经理，只对厂主报以一个友好而专注的微笑；除此之外，他没有作出任何干预。他两手支在桌子上，身体微向前倾，像是一个必恭必敬的职员。他看着那两个人一边说话，一边收拾文件，走进经理室；厂主走到门口的时候，转过身来说，他还不想和Ｋ告别，因为一会儿要把谈话的结果告诉襄理，这是理所当然的，另外，他还有一桩小事要和Ｋ谈谈。

Ｋ终于独自呆着了。他没有丝毫愿望再接见任何顾客。他恍恍惚惚地想道：外面等着的那些人以为他还在和厂主交谈呢，这真使人愉快；这样的话，任何人——甚至包括侍者在内——都不会来打扰他了。他走到窗前，坐在窗台上，伸出一只手扶着窗框，俯视着下面的广场。雪还在下着，天还没有放晴。 他就这样坐了好久，不知道到底是什么事情使自己心烦意乱，只是时时转过头去，不安地朝前厅方向看一眼。他似乎听到那边发出了一个声响，其实是幻觉，谁也没有进来；他又恢复了平静。他走到洗脸池边，用冷水擦把脸，清醒一下头脑，又回到窗前，坐在窗台上。他现在感到，决定为自己辩护这件事，比以前想像的要严肃得多。此案由于一直由律师负责，Ｋ实际上还没有真正操心过。他总是用某种超然的态度观察此案，没有直接与此案接触；他可以监视案子的进展，也可以完全游离于案子之外，这都随他高兴。现在则是另一码事了，他打算自己进行辩护；这样，他就完全受控于法院，至少目前如此。这种做法可能导致彻底宣判无罪的判决；但同时也可能，至少暂时可能使他卷入一个更严重的危险之中。假如他以前对此还有疑问的话，今天他看见副经理和厂主时的思想状态便足以使他信服了。他只是由于决定自己行使辩护权，便头脑发昏到这种地步！那以后会发生什么事呢？等待着他的是些什么样的日子呢？他能从重重困难中找到一条正确的道路吗？要进行彻底的辩护——任何其它形式的辩护都是白费时间——要进行彻底的辩护，不就意味着他得抛弃其它所有活动吗？他有能力坚持到底吗？他在银行里怎么能过问自己的案子呢？这不只是拟一份抗辩书而已——写份抗辩书只要请几个星期假就可以了，尽管目前要求离开是十分冒险的——；这还牵涉到审判的全过程；而审判到底会延续多久，现在不可能预言。这是一个突然出现的、使Ｋ的事业受阻的障碍！

目前难道是他为银行尽力的时候吗？他俯视着自己的办公桌。现在是接见顾客、与他们洽谈业务的时候吗？他的案子正在进展中，法官们正在阁楼上斟酌起诉书，在这种时候，他应该把全部注意力投入银行业务吗？这看样子是法院授意加在他身上的一种刑罚，一种来自案件并与案件有关的刑罚。当人们评价他在银行里的工作时，会不会考虑到他地位特殊而原谅他呢？不会的，永远也不会的，谁也不会这样做。银行里并不是完全不知道他的案子，虽然到底谁知情，知情程度如何，还不十分明白。不过，这个消息显然还没有传到副经理耳中，否则Ｋ准会觉察到，因为副经理会不顾同事关系和为人的准则，尽量用这件事大做文章。还有经理，他会怎么样？他当然对Ｋ很友好，一旦知道案子的事，还可能会在力所能及的范围内减轻Ｋ的工作负担；但是他的好意会受挫，因为Ｋ的日益衰落的声望已经无法与副经理的影响抗衡。副经理对经理的控制已经越来越紧，正利用经理有病这一点来为自己谋好处。既然这样，Ｋ还能指望什么呢？他转着这些念头，也许只会削弱自己的抵抗能力；然而，不抱幻想，尽可能对形势有一个清醒的认识，还是应该的。 他打开窗，没有任何特别的动机，只是不想回到办公桌前去。窗很不容易打开，他不得不用双手使劲推着窗档。一股雾气和烟尘随即通过窗口涌进来，室内充满一种淡淡的煤烟味。几片雪花也飘了进来。“一个可怕的冬天。”Ｋ身后传来厂主的声音；他和副经理谈完话后，神不知鬼不觉地进来了。Ｋ点点头，焦虑不安地看了一眼厂主的公文包：厂主准会从包里拿出所有的文件，向Ｋ介绍谈判的经过。但是厂主注视着Ｋ的双眼，只是拍了拍公文包，并没有打开。他对Ｋ说：“你希望知道结果吗？最后达成的解决方法很合我的意。你们这个副经理挺讨人喜欢，不过跟他打交道也很危险。”他笑出声来，握住Ｋ的手，想让Ｋ也笑起来。然而，Ｋ现在正疑心厂主不愿意让他看文件，因此觉得没什么可笑的。“Ｋ先生，”厂主说，“你今天不舒服吧，你看起来精神不好。”“是的，”Ｋ说，他用手按住眉头，“头痛，家里有点事。”“噢，是这么回事，”厂主说，他是个急性子，从来也不会安安静静地听人讲完，“我们都有自己的烦恼事。”Ｋ不由自主地朝门口走了一步，好像是送厂主出去，可是厂主却说，“Ｋ先生，还有另外一件小事，我想跟你谈一谈。我怕现在用这事来打扰你不合适，好像不是时候；可是我前两次上这儿来时，把这事给忘了。如果我再不提，这事就要彻底失去它的意义了。这会很可惜的，因为我提供的消息也许对你会有真正的价值。”Ｋ还没有来得及回答，厂主就已走到他面前，伸出一个指头，敲敲他的胸口，低声对他说：“你牵涉到一件案子里去了，是吗？”Ｋ朝后退了一步，大声说道：“准是副经理告诉你的。”“根本不是，”厂主说，“副经理怎么会知道呢？”“那你是怎么知道的？”Ｋ镇静下来问道。“我经常搜集有关法院的消息，”厂主说，“我要对你讲的事也是这么知道的。”“看来和法院有联系的人真是不少啊！”Ｋ低下头说，他把厂主带回办公桌跟前。他们像先前那样坐好，厂主开口说：“遗憾的是，我不能向你提供很多情况。在这种事情里，应该尽量多想办法。我有强烈的愿望要帮助你，尽管我的能力很有限。到今天为止，我们在业务上一直是好朋友，对不对？既然这样，我就该帮助你。”Ｋ想为上午的做法表示歉意，可是厂主不想听Ｋ道歉，他把皮包紧紧夹在腋下，表明他急着要走。他接着说：“我是从一个叫蒂托雷里的人那儿听说你的案子的。他是画家，蒂托雷里是他的笔名，我根本不知道他的真名叫什么。他常常到我的办公室里来，几年来已经成了习惯。他给我带几幅小画，我给他一些钱，类似于施舍——他简直像个要饭的。那些画例并不差，画的是荒野、丛林等等。这种交易进行得甚为顺利，我们已经习惯了。可是有一段时间，我觉得他来得太频繁了，我把自己的想法告诉了他，我们开始交谈起来。我感到好奇的是，他怎么能完全靠卖画谋生，我吃惊地发现，他其实是靠给人家画肖像来维持生活的。他说，他在给法院里的法官们画像。我问他，为哪个法院。他便给我讲了关于这个法院的事。根据你的经验，你很容易想像得出，我听了他讲的话后感到多么吃惊。从那以后，他每次来的时候，都给我带来一些法院里的最新消息。久而久之，我对法院内部的事情有了相当深刻的认识。当然，蒂托雷里说话太随便，我常常得让他闭上嘴；这并不只是因为他爱说谎，主要是因为像我这样一个实业家，本身就有很多头痛的事，不想再为其他人多费脑子了。这些只不过附带说说而已。也许，我心想，蒂托雷里可能会对你有用的，他认识很多法官，虽然他本人没有多大影响，但他至少可以告诉你怎样跟有影响的人物挂上钩。另外，即使你无法把他当作一个预言家，但我觉得，他提供的消息一巴到了你手里，将会十分重要。因为你和律师一样精明。我常常说：襄理差不多就是位律师。噢，我用不着为你的案子操心多虑。好吧，你愿意去看看蒂托雷里吗？有我的介绍，他肯定会尽力为你效劳的；我确实认为你应该去一趟。当然不必今天就去，以后找个时间去，任何时间去都行。请允许我补充一句：别因为我建议你去，你就觉得非去不可，千万别这样。如果你认为不用去找蒂托雷里照样能行，那当然最好别让他跟这件案子有丝毫瓜葛。你自己大概已拟定了一个详细计划，蒂托雷里一介人，很可能会打乱这个计划的。如果是这样的话，你还不如不去找他。去向这么一个家伙求教，准会使人感到丢脸。不管怎么说，你爱怎么干就怎么干吧。这是我的介绍信，这是地址。” Ｋ接过信，塞进口袋里，精神很颓丧。即使一切十分顺利，这封介绍信能给他带来的好处也会被下面这个事实所包含的坏处所抵消：厂主知道审判他的事，画家正在宣扬这个消息。他很难说出一句感谢厂主的话来，厂主已经在往外走了。 “我会去看画家的，”Ｋ在门口与厂主握手告别时说道，“或者写封信让他到这儿来，因为我很忙。”“我早就知道，”厂主说，“你能找到一个最好的解决办法。不过，我得坦白告诉你，我认为你最好避免在银行里会见像蒂托雷里这样的人，避免在这里和他讨论你的案子。另外，和这种人通信也不大合适。当然我相信你已经慎重考虑过了，你知道该怎么办。”Ｋ点点头，陪厂主穿过会客室，又送了他一段路。 Ｋ表面上镇静自如，内心则因自己这么欠考虑而感到害怕。他说要给蒂托雷里写信，只不过向厂主表明，他珍视厂主的介绍，打算尽快和画家联系；可是从他自己这方面来说，只有当他认为画家的帮助确实非常重要，他才会打消顾虑，给画家写信。但他居然还需要厂主来告诉他，采取这类行动潜伏着那些危险。难道他已经如此丧失自己的判断能力了吗？如果他想公开请这个品行可疑的人到银行里来，在和副经理只有一门之隔的地方，与这个人商谈自己的案子，那他就有可能——完全有可能——忽略了其它危险，或者会陷入危险而仍不知道。Is it not?他身边并非总有人告诫他。在他想集中精力考虑案子的时候，却开始怀疑起自己的警觉能力来了！他在办公时遇到的困难也会影响这件案子吗？总而言之，他不明白自己怎么会想到给蒂托雷里写信，还请那家伙到银行里来。 他思索着这些事，不住地摇着头；侍者走到他跟前，指着坐在会客室长凳上的三位先生。他们要见Ｋ，已经等了好久啦。他们看见侍者走到Ｋ身边，便匆忙站起来，每个人都争取先引起Ｋ的注意。既然银行职员毫不在乎地让他们在会客室里浪费时间，他们便认为自己也可以不必拘泥礼节。“Ｋ先生，”其中一个人开了口；然而Ｋ已经派人去取大衣了。在侍者帮他穿大衣的时候，他对这三位先生说：“请原谅，先生们，十分遗憾，我现在没有时间和你们商谈，很抱歉。我有要事，必须出去，马上就得离开银行。你们自己也看到了，最后那位客人占了我多少时间。你们可以明天或其它日子再来吗？或者，咱们也许可以在电话里商量吧？你们也可以现在用三言两语把事情简单说说，然后我给你们一个详细的书面答复，行不行？当然，更好的办法是你们另约一个时间。”那三位先生已经白白浪费了这么多时间，听见这些建议后，惊愕得面面相觑，一句话也说不出来。“就这么办吧，好吗？”他转向侍者，侍者已经给他拿来了帽子。办公室的门开着，他看见门外雪越下越大了。于是，他竖起大衣领子，把扣子一直扣到脖子上。 正在这时，副经理从旁边的办公室里走出来，他微笑着看了一眼穿着大衣和顾客讲话的Ｋ，问道：“你要出去吗？Ｋ先生？”“是的，”Ｋ说，他挺直了身子，“我得出去办点事。”副经理已经朝那三个顾客转过身去了。“这些先生怎么办？”他问道，“我相信他们已经在这里等了很久啦。”“我们已经讲妥怎么办了。”Ｋ说。可是这几位顾客现在可不那么好说话了，他们围在Ｋ身边，抱怨说：他们之所以等了几个钟头，是因为他们的事情十分重要，而且很紧急，需要在没有旁人在场的情况下，立即进行详细讨论。副经理一边听他们说，一边观察着Ｋ。Ｋ拿着帽子站在那儿，痉挛似地弹着帽子上的灰。副经理说：“先生们，有一个很简单的解决方法。如果你们同意的话，我很高兴代替襄理，为你们效劳。你们的事当然应该马上商议。我们和你们一样，都是搞实务的人，我们知道，对一位实业家来说，时间是多么可贵。劳驾，你们愿意跟我走吗？”他打开了通往他的办公室会客厅的门。 副经理闯进Ｋ被迫抛弃的领地，干得多巧妙啊！可是，Ｋ是不是绝对有必要抛弃这些领地呢？他如果怀着最渺茫——他不得不承认这点——最微弱的希望，跑去找一个素昧平生的画家，他在银行中的声望肯定会受到无可挽回的损害。或许，他应该脱掉大衣，至少满足那两个还在等着副经理接见的顾客的要求，这样对他来讲要好得多。Ｋ完全可以试着这么做，可是Ｋ正好在这时发现副经理在Ｋ的办公室中乱翻Ｋ的文件，好像这些文件是属于他的。Ｋ局促不安地走到办公室门口。副经理高声说道：“噢，你还没走啊。”他朝Ｋ转过脸来——脸上一条条深陷的皱纹似乎是权力的象征，而不是岁数的象征——，随后立即继续翻寻。“我在找一份协议书的副本，”他说，“商行代理人说，副本应该是在你的文件堆里。你能帮我找找吗？”Ｋ向前迈了一步，但是副经理说：“谢谢，我已经找到了。”他拿着一大叠文件，回自己的办公室去了，其中不仅有那份协议书的副本，显然还有许多其它文件。 “我现在还不能和他平起平坐，”Ｋ自言自语道，“但是，等我的个人困难一解决，他将第一个知道我是不好惹的，我得让他吃点苦头。”想到这一点，Ｋ稍微得到了一些安慰。侍者开着过道的门，已经等了很长时间。Ｋ让侍者在合适的时候跟经理打个招呼，就说他有事出去了；接着他离开了银行。他想到终于可以完全为自己的案子奔走一段时间了，心里很愉快。