you are fine fellows!” said K. , “do you know anything about surveying?” “No,” said they. “But if you are my old assistants you must know something about it,” said K. They made no reply. “Well, come in,” said K. pushing them before him into the house.
They sat down then all three together over their beer at a small table, saying little, K. in the middle with an assistant on each side. As on the other evening, there was only one other table occupied by a few peasants. “You’re a difficult problem,” said K. , comparing them, as he had already done several times, “how am I to know one of you from the other? The only difference between you is your names, otherwise you’re as like as. …” He stopped, and then went on involuntarily, “you’re as like as two snakes.” They smiled. “People usually manage to distinguish us quite well,” they said in self-justification. “I am sure they do,” said K. , “I was a witness of that myself, but I can only see with my own eyes, and with them I can’t distinguish you. So I shall treat you as if you were one man and call you both Arthur, that’s one of your names, yours, isn’t it?” he asked one of them. “No,” said the man, “I’m Jeremiah.” “It doesn’t matter,” said K. “I’ll call you both Arthur. If I tell Arthur to go anywhere you must both go, if I give Arthur something to do you must both do it, that has the great disadvantage for me of preventing me from employing you on separate jobs, but the advantage that you will both be equally responsible for anything I tell you to do. How you divide the work between you doesn’t matter to me, only you’re not to excuse yourselves by blaming each other, for me you’re only one man.” They considered this, and said: “We shouldn’t like that at all.” “I don’t suppose so,” said K. ; “of course you won’t like it, but that’s how it has to be.” For some little time one of the peasants had been sneaking round the table and K. had noticed him; now the fellow took courage and went up to one of the assistants to whisper something. “Excuse me,” said K. , bringing his hand down on the table and rising to his feet, “these are my assistants and we’re discussing private business. Nobody is entitled to disturb us.” “Sorry, sir, sorry,” muttered the peasant anxiously, retreating backwards