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Chapter Three

In the empty Courtroom

The Student The Offices

very day over the following week, K. expected another
Esummons to arrive, he could not believe that his rejec-
tion of any more hearings had been taken literally, and
when the expected summons really had not come by Satur-
day evening he took it to mean that he was expected, without
being told, to appear at the same place at the same time. So
on Sunday, he set out once more in the same direction, go-
ing without hesitation up the steps and through the
corridors; some of the people remembered him and greeted
him from their doorways, but he no longer needed to ask
anyone the way and soon arrived at the right door. It was
opened as soon as he knocked and, paying no attention to
the woman he had seen last time who was standing at the
doorway, he was about to go straight into the adjoining
room when she said to him “There’s no session today”.
“What do you mean; no session?” he asked, unable to be-
lieve it. But the woman persuaded him by opening the door
to the next room. It was indeed empty, and looked even
more dismal empty than it had the previous Sunday. On the
podium stood the table exactly as it had been before with a