Chapter 8 chapter eight

At first K. was pleased that he was finally free from the hustle and bustle of the maids and assistants in the warm room.There was a little frost outside, and the snow had firmed up a little, making walking easier.But night had begun to fall, so he quickened his pace. The outline of the castle had begun to recede, but it still stood there quietly; K could see no sign of life there-perhaps it was impossible to see anything from such a distance, but the eye always wanted to see. Seeing something, I really can't stand its silence. When K. looked at the castle, he often felt as if he were looking at someone who was sitting in front of him and staring at him. As if alone, but he must have known he was being watched, and yet he remained composed, without a trace of embarrassment; really--won't know if it was the cause of his composure or the effect of it,- -The eyes of the observer are often unable to focus on him, and can only quietly shift elsewhere.This feeling is intensified in today's twilight sky; the longer you look, the less you can see, and the deeper everything is hidden in the twilight.

The Herrenhof Hotel had not yet been lit, and K. had just reached the door of the hotel when a window on the second floor opened, and a sturdy young man in a leather coat with a well-shaven face poked his head out and stopped at the window. .He did not seem to respond in the slightest to K.'s greeting. K. met no one in the lobby or in the bar; the stale beer smelled worse than last time; it would never have happened even in the inn at the bridgehead. K. went straight to the door by which he had seen Klamm the last time, carefully raised the bolt, but it was locked; then he groped for the little hole, but it was evident that the stopper was already in place, too. It was so tight that he couldn't feel where the hole was, so he struck a match.A cry startled him.Near the stove, a little girl crouched in the corner between the door and the cash drawer, staring at him with half-open sleepy eyes under the dim light of the matches.There was no doubt that she was taking Frieda's place.She quickly recovered her composure, turned on the light, and with a warm and angry expression on her face, she recognized K. "Ah, it's the land surveyor," she smiled, held out her hand, and introduced herself. "My name is Pepi." She was a fat little girl with a red face and thick reddish blond hair braided in a big braid with locks falling around her forehead; she wore a shiny gray suit. The dress was made of fabric, which hung down and didn't fit at all; the hem was tied together with a childish and ugly ribbon, and there were dangling tassels, which made her movement very inconvenient.She asked how Frieda was doing, and asked if Frieda would be back soon.This question is a bit arrogant. "As soon as Frieda was gone," she went on, "I was called here at once, because they couldn't find anyone else suitable at the moment; I had been a maid before, but this transfer did not do me any favors." Do this errand: there is a lot of work to do in the evenings and late nights, it is tiring, and I don't think I can keep it up. I am not surprised that Frieda dropped this job." "Frieda It's been fun here," said K., trying to make her understand the difference between Frieda and herself, but she didn't seem to realize it. "Believe it or not," said Pepi, "Frida has a serious face. No one can compare to her. She never publishes what she doesn't want to disclose, so no one has ever seen her disclose anything." I've been working with her here for years. We've shared the same bed all these years, but I'm not close to her, and she must have forgotten me by now. Maybe her only friend is The proprietress of the Bridge Inn has a story here too." "Frieda is my fiancée," said K., looking for the little hole in the door. "I know," said Pepi, "that's why I'm telling you. Otherwise, it wouldn't interest you at all."

"I understand," said K., "you mean that I should be proud of winning such a taciturn girl, don't you?" In Da's opinion, she had a tacit understanding with K. But it was not her words, but her appearance, her presence here, that disturbed K. for a moment and distracted him from looking for the hole.She was indeed much younger than Frieda, almost a girl, and her clothes were ridiculous; apparently, she was dressed in accordance with her exaggerated idea that being a waitress was superior to others.It is quite natural for her to have these thoughts, because she was not qualified for this position, but now it fell to her unexpectedly, but it was only a temporary measure, so even Frieda usually tied it to her belt. The leather bag that belonged to her was not handed to her either.As for her apparent dissatisfaction with the position, that was just a deliberate gesture.And, childish as her heart is, she's evidently connected with the castle; if she's not lying, she's been a hotel maid; she's been sleeping here all these days, and doesn't know what she's got, Although, if he had the chubby little chick in his arms, he couldn't grab what she had, but it would give him access to it and motivate him to do the hard work.So now, can her situation be the same as that of Frieda?Ah, no, not the same.You only have to think about Frieda's appearance to know the difference. K. did not want to touch Pepi at all.Even so, he couldn't help lowering his eyes slightly at this moment, staring at her so greedily.

"It's against the rules to turn on the lights," Pepi said.Turn the lights back on. "I only turned on the light because you gave me a big jump. What on earth are you doing here? Has Frieda left anything here?" "Yes," said K., pointing to the door. "A tablecloth, a white embroidered tablecloth, in the room next to here." "Yes, she has a tablecloth," said Pepi. "I remember that it was a beautiful job, and I helped her do it myself, but it couldn't have been left in that room." "Frieda thought it was in that room. Then , who lives in that room now?" asked K. "Nobody," said Pepi, "that's the gentlemen's room, where the gentlemen eat and drink; that is, it's reserved for them; but they mostly stay in the upstairs room." "If I had known just now that the room was empty," said K., "I would have gone in and looked for the tablecloth. But one cannot be so sure. For example, Klamm usually sits there." "Klamm It's really not in there now," Pepi said. "He's getting ready to leave here now, and the sledge is waiting for him in the yard."

Without a word of explanation, K. ran out of the bar at once; when he reached the hall, he returned, and instead of heading for the original door, he walked into the house, and within a few steps he was in the yard.How quiet and lovely it is here!It was a square yard, surrounded on three sides by the house, and facing the street—K did not know that it was an alley—was a high whitewashed wall with a heavy gate in the middle, which was now wide open.The house in the courtyard seemed more secluded than the front; at any rate, the whole of the second floor jutted out, and had a more impressive air, for it was only possible to look in through a small slit, surrounded by a wooden verandah.On the opposite side of K.On the ground floor, at the corner where the wing joined the main building, there was an undoored entrance to the house, in front of which stood a dark, closed sleigh with two horses harnessed to it.In the deepening twilight K. saw from where he stood that there was no one else but the coachman, and this he guessed rather than saw.

K. looked around vigilantly, put his hands in his pockets, and walked slowly across the yard until he came up to the sleigh.The coachman—one of the peasants who were in the bar the night before—in a smart leather coat, watched K. approaching with indifference, as one might watch a cat move about. .Even when K. stood beside him and greeted him, even the two horses became a little strange because they saw a person coming out of the darkness, but he remained completely indifferent.This was exactly what K wanted.Leaning against the wall of the house, he took out his lunch, thanking Frieda and her enthusiasm for his consideration, and peeking into the room furtively.A steep, uneven staircase led down to a very low but evidently deep corridor; everything was so clean, so whitewashed, so sharp and distinct.

K. did not expect to have to wait so long.He had already finished his lunch, he felt his body grow cold, the hazy twilight had turned into darkness, but Klamm had not yet arrived. "Perhaps we'll have to wait a long time," said a rough voice suddenly, so close that K. was startled.This was the coachman, stretching and yawning loudly as if he had just woken up from sleep. "How long will we have to wait?" asked K., who was somewhat grateful for the interruption, since he could no longer stand the continued silence and tension. "Not until after you leave here," said the coachman. K. did not understand what he meant, but did not ask further, because he thought that was the best way of getting an arrogant person to talk.In this darkness, it was a challenge for you to ignore him.After a while, the coachman asked at last: "Would you like some brandy?" "Yes," said K., who could not have imagined that the words would be so attractive to him, because he was frozen stiff at the moment. up. "Then go and open the sleigh door," said the coachman. "There are some bottles in a bag on the side. Take a drink out of one and pass it to me. I'm wearing this fur coat, come down It's really inconvenient." K. felt a little displeased at being ordered in this way, but then thought that since he had made friends with the coachman, he must obey him, even if Klamm in the sleigh might frighten him. After a jump, he couldn't care less.He opened the wide door and took a bottle from a bag fastened inside without trouble; but now that the door was open he felt an irresistible urge to step into the sleigh; Just wanted to sit inside for a while S so he slipped in. K. did not dare to close the door, but even though it was open, it was still very warm in the car.One can't tell if it's a seat or not, it's all blankets and cushions and furs all around; you can lie down on either side, and it's always soft and warm.He spread his arms and put his hands on the pillows (there seemed to be pillows everywhere you leaned) and looked out from the sleigh at the dark house.Why did it take Klamm so long to come out? K. had waited so long in the snow, and now the warmth of the sled seemed to have confused him, and he began to hope that Klamm would come soon.As for why Kram should not see his own thoughts under the current circumstances, it only touched him vaguely, as if feeling slightly uneasy while being comfortable.His ecstasy was facilitated by the attitude of the coachman, who, of course, knew he was in the sleigh, but he let him stay there, and never once asked him for brandy.It was a sign of understanding, but K. wanted to be of his service despite this.Without moving his position, he slowly reached into the bag by the door again.But it was not the bag by the open door, but the bag by the closed door behind it; but it didn't matter, there were several bottles in this bag too.He took out a bottle, unscrewed the cork, smelled it, and couldn't help smiling to himself, the smell was so beautiful and lovely, just like the beautiful language your favorite person speaks to you, but You don't really know why he said that, and you don't want to find out, you just know that it's what your friend said.My heart is happy. "Could it be brandy?" K. asked himself suspiciously, and tasted it curiously.It was brandy, and it was strange that it was brandy, and it was hot and warmed up.How marvelous that this brandy, which seemed to be absolutely delicious, should be the drink of the coachman! "How is this possible?" K asked himself, as if reproachfully, and took another sip.

While K. was gulping down a swig, there was suddenly a bright light in front of him. The electric lights in the room and on the stairs were shining brightly, and the hallway, hall door, and above the gate were also brightly lit.Footsteps were also heard coming down the stairs, the bottle fell from K.'s hand, the brandy was spilled on the blanket, K. jumped out of the sleigh and had just slammed the door shut (with a loud bang), A gentleman has come slowly out of the house.The only thing that relieved him was that it wasn't Klamm who came, or wouldn't it be bad?He was the man whom K had seen earlier from the second-floor window.A young man, handsome, ruddy, but very serious. K. looked at him gravely, too, but spontaneously.Really, he might as well have sent his two assistants up here, they couldn't have been any more stupid than himself.The gentleman still looked at him silently, as if his chest was too full to speak what he wanted to say. "Never heard of such a thing," he said at last, pushing his top hat up on his forehead.What is he going to say next?Evidently, the gentleman had no idea that K. was in the sleigh, but had he discovered something that had never been heard before?Perhaps it meant that K. dared to barge into the yard? "How did you come here?" went on the gentleman, his tone softer this time, his breathing easy again, and he had to endure the inevitable, and what question was there to ask? ?What do you teach people to answer?Had K. simply admitted to this man that his hopeful attempts had failed? K. did not answer, on the contrary he turned to the sled, opened the door, and took back his hat which he had forgotten in the sled.He was disturbed to see the brandy dripping from the running boards.

Then he turned back to look at the gentleman, and said he didn't regret being in the sleigh now, and it wasn't a big deal; and when he was asked, and only then, he Only then did the truth be revealed, that it was the coachman himself who asked him to open the door of the sleigh.But the really bad thing was that he didn't expect this gentleman to come suddenly, so he didn't have time to avoid him, and he couldn't make himself wait quietly for Klamm after that, or rather, he couldn't stay there wholeheartedly. In the sleigh, close the door, lie down in the blanket and wait for Klamm, or at least he can stay in the compartment until the man comes out.Indeed, of course he did not know whether the coming man was Klamm himself, and if it was himself, it would be much better to greet him outside the sleigh.Really, there were a lot of things to think about, but I can't think about it now, because it's all over.

"Follow me," said the gentleman, which cannot be said to be a real command, for the command or lack of it does not lie in the word itself, but in the contemptuous and deliberately indifferent gesture that accompanies it. "Here I am waiting for someone," said K., now that he no longer had any hope of success, and was speaking only in principle. "Come," repeated the gentleman very calmly, as if to show that he did not suspect that K. was expecting someone.- Then I won't see the man I'm waiting for," said K., nodding his head for emphasis. Despite all this, he felt that everything he had done so far had paid off. , it is true, what he has gained now is only a superficial gain, but it must not be given up for a mere polite order. "Whether you come with me or stay here, you will not see him," said the gentleman, In spite of his rudeness, he showed an unexpected delicacy for K.'s thoughts. "Even if I don't see him, I'd rather stay here," K. refused; he really didn't want to rely on this alone. A few words from the young man were enough to send him away from here. Then the gentleman threw back his head, closed his eyes for a few minutes with a haughty look on his face, as if he wanted K. to give up the present situation. The ignorant and confused thoughts regained his own normal reason, and then he licked around his slightly parted lips with the tip of his tongue, and finally said to the coachman: "Unload the horse. "

The coachman cast an angry glance at K., obeyed his master's orders, and, despite his leather coat, jumped off his horse very hesitantly—as though he hadn't expected such an opposite order from his master. Come, just as he did not expect K. to utter a wise word at all--and started to pull the horse and the sled back to the side of the lodge, where behind a gate there was apparently a shed for storing vehicles. K. saw himself abandoned, the sleigh disappeared in one direction, the gentleman also retreated in the other direction, that is, the direction from which he himself had come, and both retreated very slowly, as if towards K. He still has the power to call them back. Perhaps he had the power, but it would do him no good; to call back the sled would be to send himself away.So he went on standing there like a man holding his ground, but this kind of victory did not bring him pleasure.He looked at the master's back for a while, and then at the coachman's back for a while.The gentleman had already reached the door through which K. had come into the yard earlier; but he turned his head and looked at him again, and K. seemed to see him shaking his head at his own obstinacy, and at last he made up his mind and turned away resolutely. , walked into the hall, and disappeared immediately.The coachman was still in the yard, and he had a lot of work to do on the sledge, he had to open the heavy door of the garage, put the sledge back in its place, unload the horses, and lead them to the stables. ; he was doing all this with such seriousness and concentration that he obviously had no hope of driving again anytime soon.He was so absorbed in his work in silence that he didn't even have time to glance at K. His so absorbed in his work was a reproach to K. even more severe than the gentleman's attitude.Now that the coachman had finished his work in the garage, he was walking across the yard with a slow and unsteady step.He closed the gate, and then came back, all so slowly, that he left almost nothing but his own footprints in the snow... At last he shut himself in the garage; By the time all the lights go out - who else need to keep them on? --Only above the cracks in the wooden corridor still reveals light, temporarily attracting a person's wandering eyes.It seemed to K. that those people had severed all ties with him, and indeed it seemed that he was now freer than ever. He was usually not allowed to stay here, and now he could wait as long as he liked. , won a liberty that no one had ever won, and no one seemed to dare touch him, or drive him out, or even speak to him; but--an idea as strong as above-- At the same time, nothing seemed more boring and disappointing than this freedom, this waiting, this inviolable privilege.