Процесс

           Andevenifthisadvicedoesn’tturnouttomakeallthedifferenceIstillthinkit’llbeveryimportantonceyou’vegotit.You’renearlyalawyeryourself.That’swhatIalwayssay,Mr.K.thechiefclerkisnearlyalawyer.OhI’msurethistrialofyourswillturnoutallright.SodoyouwanttogoandseeTitorelli,then?IfIaskhimtohe’llcertainlydoeverythinghepossiblycan.Ireallydothinkyououghttogo.Itneedn’tbetoday,ofcourse,justsometime,whenyougetthechance.Andanyway-Iwanttotellyouthistoo-youdon’tactuallyhavetogoandseeTitorelli,thisadvicefrommedoesn’tplaceyouunderanyobligationatall.No,ifyouthinkyoucangetbywithoutTitorelliit’llcertainlybebettertoleavehimcompletelyoutofit.Maybeyou’vealreadygotaclearideaofwhatyou’redoingandTitorellicouldupsetyourplans.No,ifthat’sthecasethenofcourseyoushouldn’tgothereunderanycircumstances!Anditcertainlywon’tbeeasytotakeadvicefromaladlikethat.Still,it’suptoyou.Here’stheletterofrecommendationandhere’stheaddress."

           Disappointed,K.tooktheletterandputitinhispocket.Evenatbest,theadvantagehemightderivefromthisrecommendationwasincomparablysmallerthanthedamagethatlayinthefactofthemanufacturerknowingabouthistrial,andthatthepainterwasspreadingthenewsabout.Itwasallhecouldmanagetogivethemanufacturer,whowasalreadyonhiswaytothedoor,afewwordsofthanks.