Chapter 6

K.'s uncle - Leni

One afternoon - K. was very busy at the time, getting the post
ready - K.'s Uncle Karl, a small country land owner, came into the room,
pushing his way between two of the staff who were bringing in some
papers. K. had long expected his uncle to appear, but the sight of him
now shocked K. far less than the prospect of it had done a long time
before. His uncle was bound to come, K. had been sure of that for about
a month. He already thought at the time he could see how his uncle
would arrive, slightly bowed, his battered panama hat in his left hand,
his right hand already stretched out over the desk long before he was
close enough as he rushed carelessly towards K. knocking over everything
that was in his way. K.'s uncle was always in a hurry, as he suffered
from the unfortunate belief that he had a number things to do while he
was in the big city and had to settle all of them in one day - his
visits were only ever for one day - and at the same time thought he
could not forgo any conversation or piece of business or pleasure that
might arise by chance. Uncle Karl was K.'s former guardian, and so K.
was duty-bound to help him in all of this as well as to offer him a bed
for the night. 'I'm haunted by a ghost from the country', he would say.

As soon as they had greeted each other - K. had invited him to sit
in the armchair but Uncle Karl had no time for that - he said he wanted
to speak briefly with K. in private. "It is necessary," he said with a
tired gulp, "it is necessary for my peace of mind." K. immediately
sent the junior staff from the room and told them to let no-one in.
"What's this that I've been hearing, Josef?" cried K.'s uncle when they
were alone, as he sat on the table shoving various papers under himself
without looking at them to make himself more comfortable. K. said
nothing, he knew what was coming, but, suddenly relieved from the effort
of the work he had been doing, he gave way to a pleasant lassitude and
looked out the window at the other side of the street. From where he
sat, he could see just a small, triangular section of it, part of the
empty walls of houses between two shop windows. "You're staring out the
window!" called out his uncle, raising his arms, "For God's sake, Josef,
give me an answer! Is it true, can it really be true?" "Uncle Karl,"
said K., wrenching himself back from his daydreaming, "I really don't
know what it is you want of me." "Josef," said his uncle in a warning
tone, "as far as I know, you've always told the truth. Am I to take
what you've just said as a bad sign?" "I think I know what it is you
want," said K. obediently, "I expect you've heard