she merely wanted to distract him or give him chance to pull himself together, but she had
not gone the right way about it. “Well, I needed to explain your laughter to him,” the girl
said. “It sounded insulting.” “I fancy he would overlook much worse insults if I would
on1y take him out of here.” K. said nothing, he did not even look up, he suffered the two of
them to discuss him as if he were an inanimate object, indeed he actually preferred that.
Then suddenly he felt the man’s hand under one arm and the girl’s hand under the other.
“Up you get, you feeble fellow,” said the man. “Many thanks to both of you,” said K.,
joyfully surprised, and he got up slowly and himself moved these strangers’ hands to the
places where he felt most in need of support. “It must seem to you,” said the girl softly in
K.’s ear as they neared the passage, “as if I were greatly concerned to show the Clerk of
Inquiries in a good light, but you can believe me, I only wanted to speak the truth about
him. He isn’t a hard-hearted man. He isn’t obliged to help sick people out of here, and yet
he does so, as you can see. Perhaps none of us is hardhearted, we should be glad to help
everybody, yet as Law Court officials we easily take on the appearance of being
hardhearted and of not wishing to help. That really worries me.” “Wouldn’t you like to sit
down here for a little?” asked the Clerk of Inquiries; they were out in the main lobby now
and just opposite the client to whom K. had first spoken. K. felt almost ashamed before the
man, he had stood so erect before him the first time; now it took a couple of people to hold him up, the Clerk of Inquiries was balancing his hat on the tips of his fingers, his hair was
in disorder and hung down over his sweat-drenched forehead. But the client seemed to see
nothing of all this, he stood up humbly before the Clerk of Inquiries (who stared through
him) and merely sought to excuse his presence. “I know,” he said, “that the decision on my
affidavits cannot be expected today. But I came all the same, I thought that I might as well
wait here, it is Sunday, I have lots of time and here I disturb nobody.” “You needn’t be so
apologetic,” replied the Clerk of Inquiries. “Your solicitude is entirely to be commended;
you’re taking up extra room, here, I admit, but so long as you don’t inconvenience me, I
shan’t hinder you at all from following the progress of your case as closely as you please.
When one sees so many people who scandalously neglect their duty, one learns to have
patience with men like you. You may sit down.” “How well he knows how to talk to
clients !” whispered the girl. K. nodded, but immediately gave a violent start when the
Clerk of Inquiries asked again: “Wouldn’t you like to sit down here?” “No,” said K. “I don’t
want a rest.” He said this with the utmost possible decision, though in reality he would
have been very glad to sit down. He felt as if he were seasick. He felt he was on a ship
rolling in heavy seas. It was as if the waters were dashing against the wooden walls, as if
the roaring of breaking waves came from the end of the passage, as if the passage itself
pitched and rolled and the waiting clients on either side rose and fell with it. All the more
incomprehensible, therefore, was the composure of the girl and the man who were
escorting him. He was delivered into their hands, if they let him go he must fall like a
block of wood. They kept glancing around with their sharp little eyes, K. was aware of
their regular advance without himself taking part in it, for he was now being almost carried
from step to step. At last he noticed that they were talking to him, but he could not make
out what they were saying, he heard nothing but the din that filled the whole place, through