advice." "Yes, but if I'm to give you advice I'll have to know what it's
all about," said Miss Bürstner. "That's exactly the problem," said K.,
"I don't know that myself." "So you have been making fun of me, then,"
said Miss Bürstner exceedingly disappointed, "you really ought not to
try something like that on at this time of night." And she stepped away
from the photographs where they had stood so long together. "Miss
Bürstner, no," said K., "I'm not making fun of you. Please believe me!
I've already told you everything I know. More than I know, in fact, as
it actually wasn't even an investigating committee, that's just what I
called them because I don't know what else to call them. There was no
cross questioning at all, I was merely arrested, but by a committee."
Miss Bürstner sat on the ottoman and laughed again. "What was it like
then?" she asked. "It was terrible," said K., although his mind was no
longer on the subject, he had become totally absorbed by Miss Bürstner's
gaze who was supporting her chin on one hand--the elbow rested on the
cushion of the ottoman--and slowly stroking her hip with the other.
"That's too vague," said Miss Bürstner. "What's too vague?" asked K.
Then he remembered himself and asked, "Would you like me to show you
what it was like?" He wanted to move in some way but did not want to
leave. "I'm already tired," said Miss Bürstner. "You arrived back so
late," said K. "Now you've started telling me off. Well I suppose I
deserve it as I shouldn't have let you in here in the first place, and
it turns out there wasn't even any point." "Oh, there was a point,
you'll see now how important a point it was," said K. "May I move this
table away from your bedside and put it here?" "What do you think you're
doing?" said Miss Bürstner. "Of course you can't!" "In that case I
can't show you," said K., quite upset, as if Miss Bürstner had committed
some incomprehensible offence against him. "Alright then, if you need it
to show what you mean, just take the bedside table then," said Miss
Bürstner, and after a short pause added in a weak voice, "I'm so tired
I'm allowing more than I ought to." K. put the little table in the
middle of the room and sat down behind it. "You have to get a proper
idea of where the people were situated, it is very interesting. I'm the
supervisor, sitting over there on the chest are two policemen, standing
next to the photographs there are three young people. Hanging on the
handle of the window is a white blouse--I just mention that by the way.
And now it begins. Ah yes, I'm forgetting myself, the most important
person of all, so I'm standing here in front of the table. The
supervisor is sitting extremely comfortably with his legs crossed and
his arm hanging over the backrest here like some layabout. And now it
really does begin. The supervisor calls out as if he had to wake me up,
in fact he shouts at me, I'm afraid, if I'm to make it clear to you,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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