Chapter 3 third chapter

In the bar, which was a large room with an open space in the middle, there were several peasants sitting against the wall on top of several barrels, but they did not look like the peasants in K.'s inn.They are relatively tidy, and they are all dressed in gray-yellow coarse cloth clothes, large coats and narrow trousers.At first glance, they looked exactly alike, both smaller, with flat, high-cheekboned faces and round cheeks.They all sat still, almost motionless, and only followed a newcomer with their eyes when he came in, and even then watched slowly and indifferently.But because they were a group and they were all so quiet, they had a certain effect on K.He took Olga's arm again, as if to explain why he had come here.A man, an acquaintance of Olga's, got up from a corner and came towards Olga, but K. took Olga's arm and turned her in the other direction.No one could perceive his movement except Olga, who gave him a sideways look with a forgiving smile.

The beer was served by a young girl named Frieda.It was a modest and amiable girl, with beautiful hair, sad eyes, sunken cheeks, and an air of self-importance. As soon as K. met her eyes, it seemed to K. that her look had determined something concerning him, something he didn't know whether it existed, but her look clearly told him that it existed.He stood looking at her intently, and even when she was talking to Olga he kept looking at her.Olga and Frieda were obviously not close friends, they only exchanged a word or two indifferently. K. still wanted to hear a few words from her, so he cut in and asked himself a question: "Do you know Mr. Klamm?" Olga laughed out loud. "What are you laughing at?" asked K. angrily. "I'm not smiling," Olga protested, but giggled all the same. "Olga is such a naughty child," said K., leaning towards the counter, trying to attract Frieda's attention once more.But she still lowered her eyes and smiled shyly. "Do you want to see Herr Klamm?" begged K., wishing to see him.Frieda pointed to the door just to her left. "There's a little hole there, through which you can see him." "Don't people gossip?" asked K.She pursed her lower lip and drew K. to the door with her extremely soft hand.This small hole was obviously opened for the purpose of spying on the movement in the room, and it was almost possible to see the room from here.There was a desk in the middle of the room, and beside it sat Mr. Crumb on a comfortable sofa, his face glowing in the light of an incandescent electric lamp hung low in front of him, a stout man of middle height. .His face was still smooth, but his cheeks had loosened a little from age.His thick black beard was long and pointed, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of sparkling pinches that rested obliquely on his nose.If he were sitting upright in front of the desk, K. could only see his profile, but since he was facing K., his whole face could be seen.His left arm was elbowed on the desk, and his right hand, with a Virginia cigar in it, rested on his lap.There was a beer mug on the desk, but there was a rim around the desk, which blocked TK's view, so he couldn't see if there were any documents on the desk; but he didn't think there were any.In order to find out whether there was anything on the table, he told Frieda to look into the hole and tell him if there were any papers on the table.Since she had been in this room not so long ago, she could tell him without thinking that the table was empty, that there was nothing there. K. asked Frieda if it was time for him to go away, but Frieda told him to keep on watching as long as he liked.K. was alone with Frieda now.Olga gave him a quick look, beckoned him to stay, and ran to her friend, who was sitting high on a bucket and dangling her legs. "Frieda," whispered K., "do you know Herr Klamm?" "Oh, yes," she said, "it's familiar." She leaned towards K., and he noticed that she was Playing coquettishly with her sloppily cut cream blouse, which looked awkward on her pitifully thin body.Then she said: "Have you ever noticed how Olga smiles?" "Yes, the wild girl," said K. "Well," she said evasively, "she's smiling for a reason. You asked me if I knew Klamm well, but you know I..." Here she involuntarily raised her chin a little, and She glanced again at K. with that triumphant look of hers, which in no way could be connected with what she was saying. "I'm his mistress." "Klamm's mistress?" said K.She nodded. "Then," said K., with a smile so that the atmosphere would not become too serious, "you are a most honorable person to me." "Not only to you," said Fry. Da said kindly, but didn't smile back. K. had a weapon against her pride, so he used it: "Have you ever been in a castle?" But it didn't hit the nail on the head, because she said: "No, but am I here?" Isn't that enough in the bar?" It was clear that her vanity knew no bounds, and Dan seemed particularly interested in K's satisfaction. "Of course," said K., "you're the innkeeper in the bar here." "No," she agreed, "I started out tending the cowshed at the inn by the bridge." Those delicate hands," said K. dubiously, not knowing whether he was merely flattering her or whether there was some force in her that compelled him to say so.Her hands are really small and tender, but they can also be called thin and ordinary. "But no one bothered about those hands back then," she said, "just now..." K. looked at her inquiringly.She shook her head, unwilling to say any more. "Naturally, you have your secret," said K., "you probably wouldn't reveal it to someone you've only known for half an hour, and he hasn't had a chance to tell you anything about himself." Miles." This was a bad remark, for it seemed to have awakened Frieda from this trance which was in his favor.She took a small cork from a leather bag hanging from her belt, plugged the hole, and then, evidently trying to hide her change of attitude, said to K.: "Oh, I know all about you, You're a land surveyor." Then she added, "But I've got to get back to work now." She took her old place behind the counter as people began to take their Empty glasses come for refills. K. wanted to talk to her again, took an empty glass from the shelf, went up to her, and said: "I have one more question, Miss Frieda, did you climb out of the cowshed with great difficulty?" To get this seat in the bar is a great feat and a sign of great spiritual strength, but for a man as ambitious as you, is this seat your ultimate goal? It is an absurdity. Thoughts. Your eyes tell me—don't laugh at me, Miss Frieda—that you have more to conquer than you have ever conquered. But the opposition one encounters in the world Power is great, and the higher a man aims, the greater the opposition he encounters, so it is never disgraceful to accept the aid of one who is also striving, though he may A small, insignificant person. Can we have a quiet talk some other time, away from all these people?" "I don't know what you're asking for," she said, seeming to go against her will this time. , her tone of voice did not so much reveal the proud pride of the past, it would be better to say that it contained a sigh of infinite disappointment. "Perhaps you want to take me away from Mr. Crumb, don't you? My God!" And she clapped her hands. "You see right through me," said K., as if troubled by the fact that he was so mistrustful, "that is indeed my real secret desire. You should leave Klamm and be my lover. Now I can go." Lah, Olga!" he cried, "let us go home." Olga obediently slid down from the barrel, but could not immediately get away from the friends around her.Then Frieda looked at K. threateningly and said in a low voice: "When can I talk to you?" "Can I stay here overnight?" asked K. "Okay," Frieda said. "Can I stay now?" "You go out with Olga first, so that I can drive the others away. Then you come back later." "Yes," said K., and he Impatiently waiting for Olga.But the peasants would not let her go; they danced a dance in which Olga was the central figure, and they all formed a circle around her, shouting loudly, and from time to time one of them left the circle. , wrapped her arms tightly around Alban's waist, and turned her around; the dance became faster and faster, and the shouting became more thirsty and deafening, until at last they merged unconsciously. There was an intermittent roar.Orr, who had been laughing loudly at first to rush out of the circle, now she just spun from one side to the other with her hair loose. "That's the kind of people I serve," Frieda said contemptuously, biting her thin lips. "Who are they?" K. asked her. "Klamm's squire," said Frieda, "he always brings those people, but they annoy me. I hardly remember what I said to you, but if I offend you, Forgive me then, it's the people who are the most despised and hated people I know, but I have to fill their glasses with beer. I've always begged Klamm not to take them Come up here, for though I still have to put up with the other lord's squires, he must think of me a little, but it's all for nothing, and when he comes here, they've been here an hour before Crowded in like cattle. But now is the time for them to go back to their sheds. If you hadn't been here, I would have opened the door long ago, and Klamm would have had to Come and drive them away." "So he can't hear now?" asked K. "Can't hear you," said Frieda, "he's asleep." "Asleep?" K. called out. "But when I looked in through the hole just now, he was sitting awake at the desk." "He always sat like that," said Frieda, "and when you looked at him, he was sleeping." It's ripe. If he ain't asleep, shall I let you look in? That's the way he sleeps, gentlemen can sleep, I don't know why. But if he doesn't sleep like that, he must I can't stand these attendants. But now I must drive them out myself." She took a whip from a corner, and with a single hop she hopped into the midst of the dancing crowd, but hopped like a lamb. Not very stable.At first, they faced her as if she was a new partner, but for a moment, Frieda seemed to be really holding up the whip to beat her down, but she immediately raised the whip again. , and shouted: "Klamm orders you to go back to your huts, back to your huts, all of you back to my huts!" Seeing her getting serious, they went to her with a panic that K. could not understand. The back wall squeezed away, and then, pushed open by the people in front, a door was pushed open, and a gust of evening wind came in, and they obediently let Frieda hold on behind, walking through the room in the evening wind. Crossed the yard and disappeared into the shack.

In the sudden silence that ensued, K. heard steps in the porch.In order to keep himself safe, he hid behind the counter, which was the only place in the room where he could hide.He had acquired the right to remain in the bar, but since he intended to spend the night there he had to avoid detection.So, when the door did open, he ducked under the counter.Of course, it would be equally dangerous to be discovered here, but it would be plausible to explain that he was hiding here to avoid the wild and insolent behavior of the peasants.It was the innkeeper who entered. "Frieda!" he called, and walked up and down the room several times.

Fortunately, Frieda came back soon, and she did not mention K., but only complained about the peasants.While looking around for K., she went behind the counter and stood so close that K. could touch her feet.From then on, he felt safe.Since Frieda did not mention K., the hotel owner was obliged to ask about K.'s whereabouts. "So, where's the land surveyor?" he asked, probably being naturally polite, made all the more so by his constant and uninhibited association with people of much higher status than himself. He was very polite, but there was a special consideration in his tone of voice to Frieda, for when he spoke to her he still maintained the status of a master to a servant, and to an unruly person. As a servant, this tone is even more moving. "The land surveyor—I completely forgot about him," said Frieda, resting her little foot on K.'s chest. "He must have gone away long ago." "But I haven't seen him," said the innkeeper, "and I've been almost in the lobby now." "Well, but he hasn't come into the bar." ,” Frieda said coldly. "Perhaps he has hidden away somewhere," went on the innkeeper. "From the impression he gave me, he probably did that." "He wouldn't have done such a shameful thing," said Frieda, putting her foot on K.'s body.She had a certain cheerfulness and openness of character which K. had not noticed before, and she was able to preempt him by surprise, for suddenly, laughing loudly, she bent over K. and said: "Perhaps he is hiding in the Down here." She kissed K. lightly, then jumped up again and said with chagrin: "No, he's not hiding here." But the innkeeper surprised K. again, and he Said: "What troubles me is that I don't know whether he has really gone. This is not only because of Mr. Crumb, but also because of the rules of our hotel. Miss Frieda, this rule has something to do with you as well as mine. Same thing. Well, if you'll take charge of the bar, I'll go check the rest of the rooms. Good night! Have a good night's sleep!" He had hardly left the room when Frieda turned off the light, He got under the counter and lay down beside K. "My darling! My darling!" she whispered, but did not touch K.She seemed to be fainted by love, and she lay on her back with outstretched arms; as if boundless happiness must be waiting for her before her, she sang a few ditties, which were not so much singing. Xiaoqu, it might be better to say he is sighing.Then, because K. was still lying there in a daze, she jumped up again and began to drag K. like a child: "Come on, it's too crowded." And they embraced each other, her petite body Burning in K's hand, K tried his best to control himself again and again in a dazed state, but couldn't do it, they rolled on the ground not far, and rolled to the door of Klamm's room with a thud. , and here they lay, among the booze-filled potholes and litter on the floor.Hour after hour passed, during which the two of them breathed as one, and their hearts beat as one, during which K. felt only that he had lost his way, Or into a strange country, farther than any country man has ever been, a country so strange that even the atmosphere is so different from his own, that a man may be overwhelmed by the strangeness here. And die, but this strangeness is so charming that you can only keep going forward, making yourself more and more fascinated.Therefore, it did not surprise K. when it was heard in Klamm's room that Frieda was being called in a deep, dignified and impersonal tone, but seemed like a gleam of consolation. . "Frieda," K. whispered in Frieda's ear, telling her that someone was calling her.Frieda was about to jump up, as if by an instinct of mechanical obedience, but then remembering where she was, she stretched herself out again, and said with a soft smile: "I won't go, I won't go again." to him." K. wanted to protest, persuaded her to go to Klamm's, and began to tie her crumpled blouse, but he didn't know what to say, he was so happy that he The happiness of not being able to hold Frieda in his arms made him feel painful, as if if he let Frieda go, he would lose everything he had.His protection seemed to strengthen Frieda. She clenched her fist, knocked on Klamm's door, and shouted: "I'm with the land surveyor!" M was silent, but K. jumped up in fright, knelt beside Frieda, and looked around in the dim morning light.What's the matter?Where were his hopes?What could he expect from Frieda now that Frieda had given away everything?Instead of adopting a deliberate, step-by-step strategy against his powerful adversary, or fulfilling his own ambitions, he just rolled all night in the mire of accumulated beer, and the smell was simply repulsive. no. "What are you doing?" he said as if to himself. "We're both ruined." "No," said Frieda, "it's only me who's ruined, but I've won you in this way. Don't worry about it. But look at the way these two laugh." "Who?" asked K., and turned to look.On the counter in the bar sat his two assistants, their eyes a little clouded by lack of sleep, but cheerful.It's the pleasure that comes from feeling like you've done a job well. "What are you doing here?" cried K., as if everything was to blame. "We had to come here to find you," explained the assistants, "because you didn't go back to the inn. We went to Barnabas's to look for you, and we didn't find you here until we got there. We sat here All night. It's not an easy job for us." "I only need you during the day," said K., "you don't need it at night, go out." "But it's daytime," they said, without moving .It was daytime now, all the doors to the yard were open, and peasants streamed in, and with them Olga, whom K. had completely forgotten about.In spite of her disheveled hair and disheveled clothes, she was as lively as she had been the night before.Before she had crossed the threshold, her eyes fell on K. "Why don't you come home with me?" she asked, almost crying. "Just for someone like that!" she went on, repeating the words several times.Frieda had run away for a while, but now she came back with a small cloth bag, and Olga stepped aside sadly. "Now we can go," said Frieda, obviously meaning that they should go back to the inn by the bridge. K. walked with her, and the two assistants followed in a small procession.The peasants showed extreme contempt for Frieda, which was understandable, because up to now she had been above them all; one of them even took up a stick, as if trying to stop her. Tell her to get out unless she jumps over it, but one glare from her is enough to scare him away.It was not until they were outside in the snow that K. felt a little easier to breathe.He felt so relieved in the wilderness that even the journey seemed less tiring; if he had walked alone, it might have been easier.As soon as he reached the inn, he went straight to his room, and lay down on the bed.Frieda made herself a bunk on the floor next to him.The two assistants also squeezed in. They had been chased away by K. once, and now they crawled in again through the window. K. was very weary and did not want to chase them away.The innkeeper's wife came to welcome Frieda, who called her "Mother"; they kissed each other indescribably, kissed and kissed each other, and embraced for a long time.There was hardly any peace and tranquility in the room, because the maids, in their heavy boots, walked in and out and took this and that, and whenever they wanted to get something from K. K's body was pulled out from under.They greeted Frieda as if she were one of their own.In spite of everyone's going in and out like this, K. remained in bed all day, and then slept all night.Frieda did nothing for him.When he finally rose from bed the next morning, he felt greatly restored. This was his fourth day in the village.