Процес
First Cross-examination
Oddlyenough,althoughhehadlittletimetolookaroundhim,hecameacrossthethreebankofficialsinvolvedinhiscase,Rabensteiner,KullichandKaminer.ThefirsttwoweretravellinginatramthatwentacrossK.’sroute,butKaminersatontheterraceofacaféandleantcuriouslyoverthewallasK.cameover.Allofthemseemedtobelookingathim,surprisedatseeingtheirsuperiorrunning;itwasakindofpridethatmadeK.wanttogoonfoot,thiswashisaffairandtheideaofanyhelpfromstrangers,howeverslight,wasrepulsivetohim,healsowantedtoavoidaskingforanyone’shelpbecausethatwouldinitiatethemintotheaffairevenifonlyslightly.Andafterall,hehadnowishatalltohumiliatehimselfbeforethecommitteebybeingtoopunctual.Anyway,nowhewasrunningsothathewouldgettherebynineo’clockifatallpossible,eventhoughhehadnoappointmentforthistime.
Hehadthoughtthathewouldrecognisethebuildingfromadistancebysomekindofsign,withoutknowingexactlywhatthesignwouldlooklike,orfromsomeparticularkindofactivityoutsidetheentrance.K.hadbeentoldthatthebuildingwasinJuliusstrasse,butwhenhestoodatthestreet’sentranceitconsistedoneachsideofalmostnothingbutmonotonous,greyconstructions,tallblocksofflatsoccupiedbypoorpeople.Now,onaSundaymorning,mostofthewindowswereoccupied,menintheirshirtsleevesleantoutsmoking,orcarefullyandgentlyheldsmallchildrenonthesills.
