"Anna! Anna!' yelled the father through the hall into the
kitchen, clapping his hands, "fetch a locksmith right away!" The
two young women were already running through the hall with swishing
skirts—how had his sister dressed herself so quickly?—and yanked
open the doors of the apartment. One couldn't hear the doors
closing at all. They probably had left them open, as is customary
in an apartment where a huge misfortune has taken place.
However, Gregor had become much calmer. All right, people did
not understand his words any more, although they seemed clear
enough to him, clearer than previously, perhaps because his ears
had gotten used to them. But at least people now thought that
things were not all right with him and were prepared to help him.
The confidence and assurance wi
