BLUMFELD, AN ELDERLY BACHELOR
101
reckon the accounts, looking up from time to time to see what the as–
sistants are doing. One seems to be very tired and keeps rubbing his
eyes. Mter hanging his overcoat on the hook, he takes the opportunity
to remain leaning up against the wall for a while. He was lively
enough on the street, but the proximity of work makes him feel tired.
The other assistant, on the contrary, is altogether too much in the
mood to work. It has always been his desire to be allowed to sweep up.
But that is a task that does not belong to him; sweeping up is for the
attendant alone. In and of itself, Blumfeld has nothing against the as–
sistant doing it. One can not imagine
him
sweeping up any more in–
efficiently than the attendant. But
if
he wants to do it, he should come
so much the earlier to work, before the attendant begins sweeping, and
should not use his time for that when he should be exclusively engaged
in
the office work. Now
if
the boy proves stubborn in the face of all
reasonable arguments, the attendant-this half-blind_old man whom
the boss would certainly not stand for in any department but Blum–
feld's and who goes on living only by God's and the boss's grace-this
attendant, at least, might be yielding enough to surrender the qroom
for a moment to the boy, who
is
so clumsy, though, that he would at
once lose all interest in sweeping and go running after the attendant
with
the broom to get him to go back again to
his
work. At the mo–
ment, however, the attendant seems to feel especially responsible for
this
sweeping up. One can see how, no sooner than the boy approaches
him,
he tries to get a firmer grip on
~e
broom with his
tr~mbling
hands; he stands stock still, leaving off his sweeping the better to be
able to tum all
his
attention to keeping possession of the broom. The
assistant can not plead with him in words, for he is afraid of Blumfeld,
who is apparently reckoning accounts; then, too, ordinary words
would be useless, for the attendant can hear only the loudest shouting.
So
the assistant first plucks at
his
sleeve. The attendant, knowing, of
course, what is wanted of him, looks at the assistant sullenly, shakes his
head and clutches the broom closer to his breast. The assistant now
clasps his hands and pleads with him. To be sure, he does not expect
there is anything to be gained by pleading; he does it simply because
begging gives him pleasure. The other assistant accompanies these pro–
ceedings with low laughter, obviously thinking-unlikely as it is-that
Blumfeld does not hear him. All this pleading makes not the slightest
impression on the attendant; he turns around, thinking that now he
will
surely be able to go back to using his broom. But the assistant fol–
lows him, dancing about on tip-toe and wringing his hands imploring–
ly,
and now beseeches him from the other side. This turning about of
the attendant and prancing after of the assistant is repeated several
times. Finally the attendant feels himself cut off on every side, and no-
