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they danced around. For a moment everything remained quiet.
"They're not opening the door", Gregor said to himself, caught in
some nonsensical hope. But then of course, the maid's firm steps
went to the door as ever and opened it. Gregor only needed to hear
the visitor's first words of greeting and he knew who it was - the
chief clerk himself. Why did Gregor have to be the only one
condemned to work for a company where they immediately became highly
suspicious at the slightest shortcoming? Were all employees, every
one of them, louts, was there not one of them who was faithful and
devoted who would go so mad with pangs of conscience that he
couldn't get out of bed if he didn't spend at least a couple of
hours in the morning on company business? Was it really not enough
to let one of the trainees make enquiries - assuming enquiries were
even necessary - did the chief clerk have to come himself, and did
they have to show the whole, innocent family that this was so
suspicious that only the chief clerk could be trusted to have the
wisdom to investigate it? And more because these thoughts had made
him upset than through any proper decision, he swang himself with
all his force out of the bed. There was a loud thump, but it wasn't
really a loud noise. His fall was softened a little by the carpet,
and Gregor's back was also more elastic than he had thought, which
made the sound muffled and not too noticeable. He had not held his
head carefully enough, though, and hit it as he fell; annoyed and in
pain, he turned it and rubbed it against the carpet.

"Something's fallen down in there", said the chief clerk in the room
on the left. Gregor tried to imagine whether something of the sort
that had happened to him today could ever happen to the chief clerk
too; you had to concede that it was possible. But as if in gruff
reply to this question, the chief clerk's firm footsteps in his
highly polished boots could now be heard in the adjoining room.
From the room on his right, Gregor's sister whispered to him to let
him know: "Gregor, the chief clerk is here." "Yes, I know", said
Gregor to himself; but without daring to raise his voice loud enough
for his sister to hear him.

"Gregor", said his father now from the room to his left, "the chief
clerk has come round and wants to know why you didn't leave on the
early train. We don't know what to say to him. And anyway, he
wants to speak to you personally. So please open up this door. I'm
sure he'll be good enough to forgive the untidiness of your room."
Then the chief clerk called "Good morning, Mr. Samsa".

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