I have also observed your reactions. That’s enough for today, and we can say good-by,
though only for the time being, naturally. You’ll be going to the Bank now, I suppose?”
“To the Bank?” asked K. “I thought I was under arrest?” K. asked the question with a
certain defiance, for though his offer to shake hands had been ignored, he felt more and
more independent of all these people, especially now that the Inspector had risen to his
feet. He was playing with them. He considered the idea of running after them to the front
door as they left and challenging them to take him prisoner. So he said again: “How can I
go to the Bank, if I am under arrest?” “Ah, I see,” said the Inspector, who had already
reached the door. “You have misunderstood me. You are under arrest, certainly, but that
need not hinder you from going about your business. Nor will you be prevented from
leading your ordinary life.” “Then being arrested isn’t so very bad,” said K., going up to the
Inspector. “I never suggested that it was,” said the Inspector. “But in that case it would
seem there was no particular necessity to tell me about it,” said K., moving still closer. The
others had drawn near too. They were all gathered now in a little space beside the door. “It
was my duty,” said the Inspector. “A stupid duty,” said K. inflexibly. “That may be,”
replied the Inspector, “but we needn’t waste our time with such arguments. I was assuming
that you would want to go to the Bank. As you are such a quibbler over words, let me add
that I am not forcing you to go to the Bank, I was merely assuming that you would want to
go. And to facilitate that, and render your arrival at the Bank as unobtrusive as possible, I
have detained these three gentlemen here, who are colleagues of yours, to be at your
disposal.” “What?” cried K., gaping at the three of them. These insignificant anemic young
men, whom he had observed only as a group standing beside the photographs, were
actually clerks in the Bank, not colleagues of his — that was putting it too strongly and
indicated a gap in the omniscience of the Inspector — but they were subordinate employees
of the Bank all the same. How could he have failed to notice that? He must have been very
much taken up with the Inspector and the warders not to recognize these three young men.
The stiff Rabensteiner swinging his arms, the fair Kullich with the deep-set eyes, and Kaminer with his insupportable smile, caused by a chronic muscular twitch. “Good
morning!” said K. after a pause, holding out his hand to the three politely bowing figures.
“I didn’t recognize you. Well, shall we go to our work now, eh?” The young men nodded,
smilingly and eagerly, as if they had been waiting all the time merely for this, but when K.
turned to get his hat, which he had left in his room, they all fled one after the other to fetch
it, which seemed to indicate a certain embarrassment. K. stood still and watched them
through the two open doors; the languid Rabensteiner, naturally, brought up the rear, for he
merely minced along at an elegant trot. Kaminer handed over the hat and K. had to tell
himself expressly, as indeed he had often to do in the Bank, that Kaminer’s smile was not
intentional, that the man could not smile intentionally if he tried. Then Frau Grubach, who
did not appear to be particularly conscious of any guilt, opened the front door to let the
whole company out, and K. glanced down, as so often before, at her apron-string, which
made such an unreasonably deep cut in her massive body. Down below he decided, his
watch in his hand, to take a taxi so as to save any further delay in reaching the Bank, for he
was already half an hour late. Kaminer ran to the corner to get a taxi, the other two were
obviously doing their best to distract K., when suddenly Kullich pointed to the opposite