Must the difficulties he was faced with in carrying out his office work begin to affect the
case as well? At all events he simply could not understand how he could ever have thought
of writing to Titorelli and inviting him to come to the Bank.
He was still shaking his head over this when the attendant came up to him and
indicated three gentlemen sitting on a bench in the waiting-room. They had already waited
for a long time to see K. Now that the attendant accosted K. they sprang to their feet, each
one of them eager to seize the first chance of attracting K.’s attention. If the Bank officials
were inconsiderate enough to make them waste their time in the waiting-room, they felt
entitled in their turn to behave with the same lack of consideration. “Herr K.,” one of them
began. But K. had sent for his overcoat and said to all three of them while the attendant helped him into it: “Forgive me, gentlemen, I’m sorry to tell you that I have no time to see
you at present. I do apologize, but I have to go out on urgent business and must leave the
building at once. You have seen for yourselves how long I have been held up by my last
caller. Would you be so good as to come back tomorrow or at some other time? Or could
we talk the matter over on the telephone, perhaps? Or perhaps you could inform me now,
briefly, what your business is, and I shall give you a detailed answer in writing? Though it
would certainly be much better if you made an appointment for some other time.” These
suggestions threw the three men, whose time had thus been wasted to no purpose at all,
into such astonishment that they gazed at each other dumbly. “That’s settled, then?” asked
K., turning to the attendant, who was bringing him his hat. Through the open door of his
room he could see that the snow was now falling more thickly. Consequently he put up his
coat-collar and buttoned it high round his neck.
At that very moment the Assistant Manager stepped out of the next room, glanced
smilingly at K. in his overcoat talking to the clients, and asked: “Are you going out, Herr
K.?” “Yes,” said K., straightening himself, “I have to go out on business.” But the Assistant
Manager had already turned to the three clients. “And these gentlemen?” he asked. “I
believe they have already been waiting a long time.” “We have settled what we are to do,”
said K. But now the clients could no longer be held in check, they clustered round K.
protesting that they would not have waited for hours unless their business had been
important, not to say urgent, necessitating immediate discussion at length, and in private at
that. The Assistant Manager listened to them for a moment or two, meanwhile observing
K., who stood holding his hat and dusting it spasmodically, then he remarked: “Gentlemen,
there is a very simple solution. If you will accept me, I will gladly place myself at your
disposal instead of the Chief Clerk. Your business must, of course, be attended to at once.
We are businessmen like yourselves and know how valuable time is to a businessman.
Will you be so good as to come with me?” And he opened the door which led to the
waiting-room of his own office.
How clever the Assistant Manager was at poaching on the preserves which K. was
forced to abandon! But was not K. abandoning more than was absolutely needful? While
with the vaguest and — he could not but admit it — the faintest of hopes, he was rushing
away to see an unknown painter, his prestige in the Bank was suffering irreparable injury.
lit would probably be much better for him to take off his overcoat again and conciliate at
least the two clients waiting next door for their turn to receive the Assistant Manager’s
attention. K. might actually have attempted this if he had not at that moment caught sight
of the Assistant Manager himself in K.’s own room, searching through his files as if they