favor.â Those last words were directed at the stoker; of course, it was only natural that the captain could not take his side right away, but otherwise everything seemed to be going well. The stoker launched into his explanations, and, overcoming his reluctance, began by addressing Schubal as âMister.â This greatly pleased Karl, who stood by the chief bursarâs deserted desk, pressing the letter scales repeatedly in sheer delight: Mr. Schubal is unfair. Mr. Schubal gives preferential treatment to foreigners. Mr. Schubal banished the stoker from the engine room and made him clean toilets, which was certainly not his responsibility. At one point the stoker even questioned the competence of Mr. Schubal, which was, he claimed, more apparent than real. Whereupon Karl directed a most intent look at the captain, assuming an engagingly collegial expression merely so as to prevent such an awkward manner of speaking from disposing the captain unfavorably toward the stoker. There was indeed little enough to be gleaned from the latterâs many speeches, and although the captain continued to stare into space with eyes that showed his determination to hear out the stoker, the other gentlemen were becoming impatient, and ominously enough, the stokerâs voice no longer held sway in the room. The gentleman in civilian clothes was the first to move, stirring his little bamboo stick and tapping the parquet floor with it, if ever so lightly. Every now and then the other gentlemen glanced over; clearly in a hurry, the gentlemen from the harbor authority returned to their files and began to peruse them, if still rather absently; the shipâs officer returned to his position beside his table, and believing that he had carried the day, the chief bursar heaved a great ironic sigh. The only person who was evidently immune from this general distraction was the attendant, who could at least partially sympathize with the sorrows of a poor man who had suddenly been set down amid the mighty, and who nodded gravely at Karl, as though wishing to explain something.
Meanwhile, beyond the windows, the life of the harbor went on: a flat cargo ship transporting a huge pile of barrels, which must have been marvelously well stacked to prevent their rolling about, passed by, plunging the room into almost complete darkness; little motorboats, which Karl could have observed more closely if only he had had the time, rushed straight ahead, guided by the jerking hand of a man who stood erect at the steering wheel; now and then peculiar floating objects bobbed up from the choppy waters of their own accord, only to be quickly covered and to sink before oneâs startled eyes; perspiring sailors rowed away from ocean steamers in boats filled with passengers who remained seated expectantly, mostly in silence, in the same seats into which they had been pressed, although some could not refrain from turning their heads to gaze at the changing scenery. There was endless motion, and unrest borne from the restless element to helpless men and their works.
But although everything cried out for haste, clarity, and the most precise description, what did the stoker do? He had certainly talked himself into a sweat and was no longer able to hold the papers on the windowsill in his trembling hands; he kept thinking of new complaints about Schubal from every conceivable angle, each of which would, he believed, have sufficed to demolish Schubal, although he had managed to give the captain only a pathetic mishmash of all that. For some time now the gentleman with the little bamboo stick had been whistling softly at the ceiling; the gentlemen from the harbor authority had detained the officer at their table and gave no sign that they were about to release him; only the composure shown by the captain made the chief bursar refrain from bursting in, as he longed to do. The attendant, who stood at attention, awaited an imminent order from his captain with regard to
Meanwhile, beyond the windows, the life of the harbor went on: a flat cargo ship transporting a huge pile of barrels, which must have been marvelously well stacked to prevent their rolling about, passed by, plunging the room into almost complete darkness; little motorboats, which Karl could have observed more closely if only he had had the time, rushed straight ahead, guided by the jerking hand of a man who stood erect at the steering wheel; now and then peculiar floating objects bobbed up from the choppy waters of their own accord, only to be quickly covered and to sink before oneâs startled eyes; perspiring sailors rowed away from ocean steamers in boats filled with passengers who remained seated expectantly, mostly in silence, in the same seats into which they had been pressed, although some could not refrain from turning their heads to gaze at the changing scenery. There was endless motion, and unrest borne from the restless element to helpless men and their works.
But although everything cried out for haste, clarity, and the most precise description, what did the stoker do? He had certainly talked himself into a sweat and was no longer able to hold the papers on the windowsill in his trembling hands; he kept thinking of new complaints about Schubal from every conceivable angle, each of which would, he believed, have sufficed to demolish Schubal, although he had managed to give the captain only a pathetic mishmash of all that. For some time now the gentleman with the little bamboo stick had been whistling softly at the ceiling; the gentlemen from the harbor authority had detained the officer at their table and gave no sign that they were about to release him; only the composure shown by the captain made the chief bursar refrain from bursting in, as he longed to do. The attendant, who stood at attention, awaited an imminent order from his captain with regard to
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