Summary

Judge Antone Bazil Coutts

Shamengwa – Coutts explains that, as judge, he knows a lot about the people whom he serves. He knows that Shamengwa has aged gracefully, and is still very lively. Shamengwa especially loves to play the violin, and owns a very rare and very expensive violin which is later stolen. Coutts notes that Corwin has dropped out of school and become a troublemaker, getting into the selling of drugs. Coutts suspects Corwin of the violin theft. While sitting down to talk with Shamengwa, Coutts is told a story about the two fiddles owned by Shamengwa in his life.

The First Fiddle – This chapter occurs in the past. When Shamengwa is four, his younger brother dies of diphtheria. After this, his parents become more religious. Shamengwa’s mother comes to love her surviving children all the more deeply as well. Shamengwa’s...