XV

directly from Klamm, but from a clerk. On no particular day, at no particular hour⁠—that’s why the service, however easy it appears, is really very exhausting, for Barnabas must be always on the alert⁠—a clerk suddenly remembers about him and gives him a sign, without any apparent instructions from Klamm, who merely goes on reading in his book. True, sometimes Klamm is polishing his glasses when Barnabas comes up, but he often does that anyhow⁠—however, he may take a look at Barnabas then, supposing, that is, that he can see anything at all without his glasses, which Barnabas doubts; for Klamm’s eyes are almost shut, he generally seems to be sleeping and only polishing his glasses in a kind of dream. Meanwhile the clerk hunts among the piles of manuscripts and writings under his table and fishes out a letter for you, so it’s not a letter newly written, indeed, by the look of the envelope, it’s usually a very old letter, which has been lying there a long time. But if that is so, why do they keep Barnabas waiting like that? And you too? And the letter too, of course, for it must be long out of date. That’s how they get Barnabas the reputation of being a bad and slow messenger. It’s all very well for the clerk, he just gives Barnabas the letter, saying: ‘From Klamm for K. ’ and so dismisses him. But Barnabas comes home breathless, with his hardly-won letter next to his bare skin, and then we sit here on the settle like this and he tells me about it and we go into all the particulars and weigh up what he has achieved and find ultimately that it’s very little, and questionable at that, until Barnabas lays the letter down with no longer any inclination to deliver it, yet doesn’t feel inclined to go to sleep either, and so sits cobbling on his stool all night. That’s how it is, K. and now you have all my secrets and you can’t be surprised any longer at Amalia’s indifference to them.” “And what happens to the letter?” asked K. “The letter?” said Olga, “oh, some time later when I’ve plagued Barnabas enough about it, it may be days or weeks later, he picks it up again and goes to deliver it. In such practical matters he’s very dependent on me. For I can usually pull myself together after I’ve recovered from the first impression of what he has told me, but