diff --git a/Justfile b/Justfile
index 70c81c9..a345578 100755
--- a/Justfile
+++ b/Justfile
@@ -130,7 +130,10 @@ verify-vnc sshserver attempts="10":
 	function send_and_expect() {
 		local send="${1:?need something to send}"
 		local expect="${2:?need something to expect}"
-		send "${send}"
+		if ! send "${send}"; then
+			echo warning: cannot send > /dev/stderr
+			return -1
+		fi
 		expect "${expect}"
 	}