Explore "Confession" by Ring Lardner on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
A sleuth like Pinkerton or Burns / Is told that there has been a crime.
He runs down clues and leads, and learns / Who did the deed, in course of time.
It's just the other way with me: / The first thing I am sure of is / The criminal's identity, / And then I learn what crime was his.
When Son comes up with hanging head / And smiles a certain kind of smile, / When he's affectionate instead / Of playful; when he stalls awhile / And starts to speak and stops again, / Or, squirming like a mouse that's caught, / Asserts, "I am a good boy," then / I look to see what harm's been wrought.