The Trial by Franz Kafka (best chinese ebook reader TXT) đ
- Author: Franz Kafka
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âCertainly Iâm surprised, but Iâm not in any way very surprised.â
âYouâre not very surprised?â asked the supervisor, as he positioned the candle in the middle of the table and the other things in a group around it. âPerhaps you donât quite understand me,â K. hurriedly pointed out.
âWhat I mean is ⊠â here K. broke off what he was saying and looked round for somewhere to sit. âI may sit down, maynât I?â he asked.
âThatâs not usual,â the supervisor answered. âWhat I mean isâŠ,â said K. without delaying a second time, âthat, yes, I am very surprised but when youâve been in the world for thirty years already and had to make your own way through everything yourself, which has been my lot, then you become hardened to surprises and donât take them too hard.
Especially not whatâs happened today.â âWhy especially not whatâs happened today?â âI wouldnât want to say that I see all of this as a joke, you seem to have gone to too much trouble making all these arrangements for that. Everyone in the house must be taking part in it as well as all of you, that would be going beyond what could be a joke.
So I donât want to say that this is a joke.â âQuite right,â said the supervisor, looking to see how many matches were left in the box. âBut on the other hand,â K. went on, looking round at everyone there and even wishing he could get the attention of the three who were looking at the photographs, âon the other hand this really canât be all that important. That follows from the fact that Iâve been indicted, but canât think of the slightest offence for which I could be indicted.
But even that is all beside the point, the main question is: Who is issuing the indictment? What office is conducting this affair? Are you officials? None of you is wearing a uniform, unless what you are wearingâ - here he turned towards Franz - âis meant to be a uniform, itâs actually more of a travelling suit. I require a clear answer to all these questions, and Iâm quite sure that once things have been made clear we can take our leave of each other on the best of terms.â The supervisor slammed the box of matches down on the table. âYouâre making a big mistake,â he said. âThese gentlemen and I have got nothing to do with your business, in fact we know almost nothing about you. We could be wearing uniforms as proper and exact as you like and your situation wouldnât be any the worse for it. As to whether youâre on a charge, I canât give you any sort of clear answer to that, I donât even know whether you are or not. Youâre under arrest, youâre quite right about that, but I donât know any more than that. Maybe these officers have been chit-chatting with you, well if they have thatâs all it is, chit-chat. I canât give you an answer to your questions, but I can give you a bit of advice: Youâd better think less about us and whatâs going to happen to you, and think a bit more about yourself. And stop making all this fuss about your sense of innocence; you donât make such a bad impression, but with all this fuss youâre damaging it. And you ought to do a bit less talking, too. Almost everything youâve said so far has been things we could have taken from your behaviour, even if youâd said no more than a few words. And what you have said has not exactly been in your favour.â
K. stared at the supervisor. Was this man, probably younger than he was, lecturing him like a schoolmaster? Was he being punished for his honesty with a telling off? And was he to learn nothing about the reasons for his arrest or those who were arresting him? He became somewhat cross and began to walk up and down. No-one stopped him doing this and he pushed his sleeves back, felt his chest, straightened his hair, went over to the three men, said, âIt makes no sense,â at which these three turned round to face him and came towards him with serious expressions. He finally came again to a halt in front of the supervisorâs desk. âState Attorney Hasterer is a good friend of mine,â
he said, âcan I telephone him?â âCertainly,â said the supervisor, âbut I donât know what the point of that will be, I suppose you must have some private matter you want to discuss with him.â âWhat the point is?â
shouted K., more disconcerted that cross. âWho do you think you are?
You want to see some point in it while youâre carrying out something as pointless as it could be? Itâs enough to make you cry! These gentlemen first accost me, and now they sit or stand about in here and let me be hauled up in front of you. What point there would be, in telephoning a state attorney when Iâm ostensibly under arrest? Very well, I wonât make the telephone call.â âYou can call him if you want to,â said the supervisor, stretching his had out towards the outer room where the telephone was, âplease, go on, do make your phone call.â âNo, I donât want to any more,â said K., and went over to the window. Across the street, the people were still there at the window, and it was only now that K. had gone up to his window that they seemed to become uneasy about quietly watching what was going on. The old couple wanted to get up but the man behind them calmed them down. âWeâve got some kind of audience over there,â called K. to the supervisor, quite loudly, as he pointed out with his forefinger. âGo away,â he then called across to them. And the three of them did immediately retreat a few steps, the old pair even found themselves behind the man who then concealed them with the breadth of his body and seemed, going by the movements of his mouth, to be saying something incomprehensible into the distance. They did not disappear entirely, though, but seemed to be waiting for the moment when they could come back to the window without being noticed.
âIntrusive, thoughtless people!â said K. as he turned back into the room. The supervisor may have agreed with him, at least K. thought that was what he saw from the corner of his eye. But it was just as possible that he had not even been listening as he had his hand pressed firmly down on the table and seemed to be comparing the length of his fingers.
The two policemen were sitting on a chest covered with a coloured blanket, rubbing their knees. The three young people had put their hands on their hips and were looking round aimlessly. Everything was still, like in some office that has been forgotten about. âNow, gentlemen,â called out K., and for a moment it seemed as if he was carrying all of them on his shoulders, âit looks like your business with me is over with. In my opinion, itâs best now to stop wondering about whether youâre proceeding correctly or incorrectly, and to bring the matter to a peaceful close with a mutual handshake. If you are of the same opinion, then please⊠â and he walked up to the supervisorâs desk and held out his hand to him. The supervisor raised his eyes, bit his lip and looked at K.âs outstretched hand; K still believed the supervisor would do as he suggested. But instead, he stood up, picked up a hard round hat that was laying on Miss BĂŒrstnerâs bed and put it carefully onto his head, using both hands as if trying on a new hat.
âEverything seems so simple to you, doesnât it,â he said to K. as he did so, âso you think we should bring the matter to a peaceful close, do you. No, no, that wonât do. Mind you, on the other hand I certainly wouldnât want you to think thereâs no hope for you. No, why should you think that? Youâre simply under arrest, nothing more than that. Thatâs what I had to tell you, thatâs what Iâve done and now Iâve seen how youâve taken it. Thatâs enough for one day and we can take our leave of each other, for the time being at least. I expect youâll want to go in to the bank now, wonât you.â âIn to the bank?â asked K., âI thought I was under arrest.â K. said this with a certain amount of defiance as, although his handshake had not been accepted, he was feeling more independent of all these people, especially since the supervisor had stood up. He was playing with them. If they left, he had decided he would run after them and offer to let them arrest him. Thatâs why he even repeated, âHow can I go in to the bank when Iâm under arrest?â âI see youâve misunderstood me,â said the supervisor who was already at the door. âItâs true that youâre under arrest, but that shouldnât stop you from carrying out your job. And there shouldnât be anything to stop you carrying on with your usual life.â âIn that case itâs not too bad, being under arrest,â said K., and went up close to the supervisor. âI never meant it should be anything else,â he replied. âIt hardly seems to have been necessary notify me of the arrest in that case,â said K., and went even closer. The others had also come closer. All of them had gathered together into a narrow space by the door. âThat was my duty,â
said the supervisor. âA silly duty,â said K., unyielding. âMaybe so,â
replied the supervisor, âonly donât letâs waste our time talking on like this. I had assumed youâd be wanting to go to the bank. As youâre paying close attention to every word Iâll add this: Iâm not forcing you to go to the bank, Iâd just assumed you wanted to. And to make things easier for you, and to let you get to the bank with as little fuss as possible Iâve put these three gentlemen, colleagues of yours, at your disposal.â âWhatâs that?â exclaimed K., and looked at the three in astonishment. He could only remember seeing them in their group by the photographs, but these characterless, anaemic young people were indeed officials from his bank, not colleagues of his, that was putting it too high and it showed a gap in the omniscience of the supervisor, but they were nonetheless junior members of staff at the bank. How could K. have failed to see that? How occupied he must have been with the supervisor and the policemen not to have recognised these three! Rabensteiner, with his stiff demeanour and swinging hands, Kullich, with his blonde hair and deep-set eyes, and Kaminer, with his involuntary grin caused by chronic muscle spasms. âGood morning,â said K. after a while, extending his hand to the gentlemen as they bowed correctly to him. âI didnât recognise you at all. So, weâll go into work now, shall we?â The gentlemen laughed and nodded enthusiastically, as if that was what they had been waiting for all the time, except that K. had left his hat in his room so they all dashed, one after another, into the room to fetch it, which caused a certain amount of embarrassment. K. stood where he
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