Chapter 6 - Page 2

about my trial."
"That's right," answered his uncle with a slow nod, "I've heard about
your trial." "Who did you hear it from, then?" asked K. "Erna wrote to
me," said his uncle, "she doesn't have much contact with you, it's true,
you don't pay very much attention to her, I'm afraid to say, but she
learned about it nonetheless. I got her letter today and, of course, I
came straight here. And for no other reason, but it seems to me that
this is reason enough. I can read you out the part of the letter that
concerns you." He drew the letter out from his wallet. "Here it is.
She writes; 'I have not seen Josef for a long time, I was in the bank
last week but Josef was so busy that they would not let me through; I
waited there for nearly an hour but then I had to go home as I had my
piano lesson. I would have liked to have spoken to him, maybe there
will be a chance another time. He sent me a big box of chocolates for
my name-day, that was very nice and attentive of him. I forgot to tell
you about it when I wrote, and I only remember now that you ask me about
it. Chocolate, as I am sure you are aware, disappears straight away in
this lodging house, almost as soon as you know somebody has given you
chocolate it is gone. But there is something else I wanted to tell you
about Josef. Like I said, they would not let me through to see him at
the bank because he was negotiating with some gentleman just then.
After I had been waiting quietly for quite a long time I asked one of
the staff whether his meeting would last much longer. He said it might
well do, as it was probably about the legal proceedings, he said, that
were being conducted against him. I asked what sort of legal
proceedings it was that were being conducted against the chief clerk,
and whether he was not making some mistake, but he said he was not
making any mistake, there were legal proceedings underway and even that
they were about something quite serious, but he did not know any more
about it. He would have liked to have been of some help to the chief
clerk himself, as the chief clerk was a gentleman, good and honest, but
he did not know what it was he could do and merely hoped there would be
some influential gentlemen who would take his side. I'm sure that is
what will happen and that everything will turn out for the best in the
end, but in the mean time things do not look at all good, and you can
see that from the mood of the chief clerk himself. Of course, I did not
place too much importance on this conversation, and even did my best to
put the bank clerk's mind at rest, he was quite a simple man. I told
him he was not to speak to anyone else about this, and I think it is all
just a rumour, but I