Page 79 - the-trial

I’m concerned, I’ve applied to have this evidence heard.”
“Perhaps you don’t believe I’ve been indicted?” asked K.
“Oh, please, I certainly do,” said the man, stepping slightly
to one side, but there was more anxiety in his answer than
belief. “You don’t believe me then?” asked K., and took hold
of his arm, unconsciously prompted by the man’s humble
demeanour, and as if he wanted to force him to believe him.
But he did not want to hurt the man and had only taken
hold of him very lightly. Nonetheless, the man cried out as
if K. had grasped him not with two fingers but with red hot
tongs. Shouting in this ridiculous way finally made K. tired
of him, if he didn’t believe he was indicted then so much the
better; maybe he even thought K. was a judge. And before
leaving, he held him a lot harder, shoved him back onto the
bench and walked on. “These defendants are so sensitive,
most of them,” said the usher of the court. Almost all of
those who had been waiting had now assembled around the
man who, by now, had stopped shouted and they seemed to
be asking him lots of precise questions about the incident.
K. was approached by a security guard, identifiable mainly
by his sword, of which the scabbard seemed to be made of
aluminium. This greatly surprised K., and he reached out
for it with his hand. The guard had come because of the
shouting and asked what had been happening. The usher of
the court said a few words to try and calm him down but the
guard explained that he had to look into it himself, saluted,
and hurried on, walking with very short steps, probably be-
cause of gout.
K. didn’t concern himself long with the guard or these

The Trial