Page 34 - the-trial

tee.” Miss Burstner sat on the ottoman and laughed again.
“What was it like then?” she asked. “It was terrible” said K.,
although his mind was no longer on the subject, he had be-
come totally absorbed by Miss Burstner’s gaze who was
supporting her chin on one hand the elbow rested on the
cushion of the ottoman and slowly stroking her hip with the
other. “That’s too vague,” said Miss Burstner. “What’s too
vague?” asked K. Then he remembered himself and asked,
“Would you like me to show you what it was like?” He want-
ed to move in some way but did not want to leave. “I’m
already tired,” said Miss Burstner. “You arrived back so
late,” said K. “Now you’ve started telling me off. Well I sup-
pose I deserve it as I shouldn’t have let you in here in the
first place, and it turns out there wasn’t even any point.”
“Oh, there was a point, you’ll see now how important a
point it was,” said K. “May I move this table away from your
bedside and put it here?” “What do you think you’re doing?”
said Miss Burstner. “Of course you can’t!” “In that case I
can’t show you,” said K., quite upset, as if Miss Burstner had
committed some incomprehensible offence against him.
“Alright then, if you need it to show what you mean, just
take the bedside table then,” said Miss Burstner, and after a
short pause added in a weak voice, “I’m so tired I’m allow-
ing more than I ought to.” K. put the little table in the middle
of the room and sat down behind it. “You have to get a prop-
er idea of where the people were situated, it is very interesting.
I’m the supervisor, sitting over there on the chest are two
policemen, standing next to the photographs there are three
young people. Hanging on the handle of the window is a