of his arrest and about its instigator was he to learn nothing?
He was thrown into a certain agitation, and began to walk up and down — nobody
hindered him — pushed back his cuffs, fingered his shirt-front, ruffled his hair, and as he
passed the three young men said: “This is sheer nonsense!” Whereupon they turned toward
him and regarded him sympathetically but gravely; at last he came to a stand before the
Inspector’s table. “Hasterer, the lawyer, is a personal friend of mine,” he said. “May I
telephone to him?” “Certainly,” replied the Inspector, “but I don’t see what sense there
would be in that, unless you have some private business of your own to consult him
about.” “What sense would there be in that ?” cried K., more in amazement than
exasperation. “What kind of man are you, then? You ask me to be sensible and you carry
on in the most senseless way imaginable yourself! It’s enough to sicken the dogs. People
first fall upon me in my own house and then lounge about the room and put me through my
paces for your benefit. What sense would there be in telephoning to a lawyer when I’m
supposed to be under arrest? All right, I won’t telephone.” “But do telephone if you want
to,” replied the Inspector, waving an arm toward the entrance hail, where the telephone
was, “please do telephone.” “No, I don’t want to now,” said K., going over to the window.
Across the street the party of three was still on the watch, and their enjoyment of the
spectacle received its first slight check when K. appeared at the window. The two old
people moved as if to get up, but the man at the back pacified them. “Here’s a fine crowd
of spectators!” cried K. in a loud voice to the Inspector, pointing at them with his finger.
“Go away,” he shouted across. The three of them immediately retreated a few steps, the
two ancients actually took cover behind the younger man, who shielded them with his
massive body and to judge from the movements of his lips was saying something which,
owing to the distance, could not be distinguished. Yet they did not remove themselves
altogether, but seemed to be waiting for the chance to return to the window again
unobserved. “Officious, inconsiderate wretches !” said K. as he turned back to the room
again. The Inspector was possibly of the same mind, K. fancied, as far as he could tell
from a hasty side-glance. But it was equally possible that the Inspector had not even been listening, for he had pressed one hand firmly on the table and seemed to be comparing the
length of his fingers. The two warders sat on a chest draped with an embroidered cloth,
rubbing their knees. The three young men were looking aimlessly round them with their
hands on their hips. It was as quiet as in some deserted office. “Come, gentlemen,” cried K.
— it seemed to him for the moment as if he were responsible for all of them — “from the
look of you this affair of mine seems to be settled. In my opinion the best thing now would
be to bother no more about the justice or injustice of your behavior and settle the matter
amicably by shaking hands on it. If you are of the same opinion, why, then–” and he
stepped over to the Inspector’s table and held out his hand. The Inspector raised his eyes,
bit his lips, and looked at K.’s hand stretched out to him; K. still believed he was going to
close with the offer. But instead he got up, seized a hard round hat lying on Fräulein
Bürstner’s bed, and with both hands put it carefully on his head, as if he were trying it on
for the first time. “How simple it all seems to you!” he said to K. as he did so. “You think
we should settle the matter amicably, do you? No, no, that really can’t be done. On the
other hand I don’t mean to suggest that you should give up hope. Why should you? You are
only under arrest, nothing more. I was requested to inform you of this. I have done so, and