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ness to settle and have to leave straight away. You’ve already
seen yourselves how long I’ve been delayed. Would you be
so kind as to come back tomorrow or some time? Or per-
haps we could settle your affairs by telephone? Or perhaps
you would like to tell me now, briefly, what it’s about and I
can then give you a full answer in writing. Whatever, the
best thing will be for you to come here again.” The gentle-
men now saw that their wait had been totally pointless, and
these suggestions of K.’s left them so astounded that they
looked at each other without a word. “That’s agreed then, is
it?” asked K., who had turned toward the servitor bringing
him his hat. Through the open door of K.’s office they could
see that the snowfall outside had become much heavier. So
K. turned the collar of his coat up and buttoned it up high
under his chin. Just then the deputy director came out of
the adjoining room, smiled as he saw K. negotiating with
the gentlemen in his winter coat, and asked, “Are you about
to go out?” “Yes,” said K., standing more upright, “I have
to go out on some business.” But the deputy director had
already turned towards the gentlemen. “And what about
these gentlemen?” he asked. “I think they’ve already been
waiting quite a long time.” “We’ve already come to an un-
derstanding,” said K. But now the gentlemen could be held
back no longer, they surrounded K. and explained that they
would not have been waiting for hours if it had not been
about something important that had to be discussed now, at
length and in private. The deputy director listened to them
for a short while, he also looked at K. as he held his hat in
his hand cleaning the dust off it here and there, and then he

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