Процес

           Sohebenthisheadasifhe’dbeengivenanorderandbeganslowlytomovehispenciloverthepapers,nowandthenhewouldstopandstareatoneofthefigures.Themanufacturerthoughttheremustbesomeobjection,perhapshisfiguresweren’treallysound,perhapstheyweren’tthedecisiveissue,whateverhethought,themanufacturercoveredthepaperswithhishandandbeganonceagain,movingveryclosetoK.,toexplainwhatthedealwasallabout."Itisdifficult,"saidK.,pursinghislips.Theonlythingthatcouldofferhimanyguidancewerethepapers,andthemanufacturerhadcoveredthemfromhisview,sohejustsankbackagainstthearmofthechair.Evenwhenthedoorofthemanager’sofficeopenedandrevealednotveryclearly,asifthroughaveil,thedeputydirector,hedidnomorethanlookupweakly.K.thoughtnomoreaboutthematter,hemerelywatchedtheimmediateeffectofthedeputydirector’sappearanceand,forhim,theeffectwasverypleasing;themanufacturerimmediatelyjumpedupfromhisseatandhurriedovertomeetthedeputydirector,althoughK.wouldhavelikedtomakehimtentimeslivelierashefearedthedeputydirectormightdisappearagain.Heneednothaveworried,thetwogentlemenmeteachother,shookeachother’shandandwenttogetherovertoK.’sdesk.Themanufacturersaidhewassorrytofindthechiefclerksolittleinclinedtodobusiness,pointingtoK.who,undertheviewofthedeputydirector,hadbentbackdownoverthepapers.