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gentleman’s service, who, however, was in need of nothing, and behind whom she only kept walking to and fro in circles, making respectful attempts to catch a glimpse of the papers over his shoulder; but that was only her senseless curiosity and self-importance, which the landlady, too, reprehended with knitted brows.

Then suddenly the landlady’s attention was distracted, she stared, listening intently, into vacancy. K. turned round, he could not hear anything in particular, nor did the others seem to hear anything; but the landlady ran on tiptoe and taking large steps to the door which led to the courtyard, peered through the keyhole, turned then to the others with wide, staring eyes and flushed cheeks, signed to them with her finger to come near, and now they peered through the keyhole by turns; the landlady had, of course the lion’s share, but Pepi too was considered; the gentleman was on the whole the most indifferent of the three. Pepi and the gentleman came away soon, but the landlady kept on peering anxiously, bent double, almost kneeling; one had almost the feeling that she was only imploring the keyhole now to let her through, for there had certainly been nothing more to see for a long time. When at last she got up, passed her hands over her face, arranged her hair, took a deep breath, and now at last seemed to be trying with reluctance to accustom her eyes again to the room and the people in it, K. said, not so much to get his suspicions confirmed, as to forestall the announcement, so open to attack did he feel now: “Has Klamm gone already then?” The landlady walked past him in silence, but the gentleman answered from his table: “Yes, of course. As soon as you gave up your sentry go, Klamm was able to leave. But it’s strange how sensitive he is. Did you notice, landlady, how uneasily Klamm looked around him?” The landlady did not appear to have noticed it, but the gentleman went on: “Well, fortunately there was nothing more to be seen, the coachman had effaced even the footprints in the snow.” “The landlady didn’t notice anything,” said K. , but he said it without conviction, merely provoked by the gentleman’s assertion, which was uttered in such a final and unanswerable tone.