Books › The second violin, 1906 › scan 64
Scan 64
The second violin, 1906
12 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 42. See the scan on archive.org.
1"Well, we're in a sweet scrape now, that's certain," he said gloomily to himself, as he marched up-stairs.
3At the top he encountered his young brother Justin. That twelve-year-old stood awaiting him, his face so disconsolate that in spite of himself Lanse smiled.
5"Cheer up, youngster," he said. "It's pretty tough, but as Doctor Forester says, it might be worse. Want to go in with me and see sister a minute?"
7But Justin got hold of his arm and held him back. "Lanse, I've got to tell you something," he begged. "Please come here, in your room a minute."
9Lanse followed, wondering. Justin, although a healthy and happy boy enough, was apt to take things seriously, and sometimes needed to be joked out of singular notions. In Lanse's room Justin carefully locked the door.
11"It's all my fault, Celia's knee," he said, going straight to the point, as was his way. His voice shook a little, but he went steadily on. "She sent me down cellar after pickles, and I sat on the top of the stairs finishing up a banana before I went. I've been down there to look, and—and the banana skin was there—all mashed. It was what did it."
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.