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story-to-pack: add the corpora and the catalogue v2/v3

Browse Source 
Fourteen corpora split and classified: aesop, bierce, chekhov, holmes,
keefe, lawson, lorimer, maupassant, nobody, plaintales, poe, torchy,
wallingford and winesburg, each with its splitter and the hand-written
groups and pages; catalogue v2 and v3; and the shared splitters
gutenberg_chunks.py, se_split.py and se_build.py.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_019rwKTmug58sEsJ72AuWsEi
This commit is contained in:
JesseMarkowitz
2026-10-07 06:05:51 -04:00
co-authored by Claude Opus 5.5
parent e5617b86ba
commit 3a4758172d
566 changed files with 303901 additions and 0 deletions
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tools/story-to-pack/probe/keefe/claude/batches/s06.json
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[
{
"chunk": 214,
"story": 6,
"summary": "On board ship, Jack begins a running letter to Al; he recalls Florrie saying she prefers postcards since his letters never contain a check, and resolves to send her picture postcards.",
"predicament": "A man far from home writes long accounts to his friend but sends his wife only cheap pictures, since she has mocked his stinginess."
},
{
"chunk": 215,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack has been bedridden for two days; the ship's doctor says everyone is seasick, but Jack insists something he ate in Seattle poisoned him.",
"predicament": "Someone laid low on his first long journey refuses to admit the ordinary cause, and insists he was poisoned."
},
{
"chunk": 216,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Still queasy, Jack cannot keep down the lavish food in the dining room, which he compares to going up to bat without a bat.",
"predicament": "A man who loves his food sits before a lavish table on his journey and cannot keep any of it down."
},
{
"chunk": 217,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack mocks the others for their weak stomachs; Schaefer mocks his poison story back; Jack grumbles at having to dress for dinner every night.",
"predicament": "Someone who was just as sick as everyone mocks the others for weakness, and grumbles at formal dress rules."
},
{
"chunk": 218,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack marvels at the empty ocean, recalls his hit off Walter Johnson, and admits he would like to see Florrie and the baby even if they were cross.",
"predicament": "Someone far from home marvels at the empty horizon, remembers his past glory, and misses his family despite himself."
},
{
"chunk": 219,
"story": 6,
"summary": "The umpire Steve Evans shows Jack the captain's log and convinces him that watertight-door drills and 'knots' mean they nearly sank.",
"predicament": "A gullible man is shown ordinary routine records by a joker who convinces him they reveal a near disaster."
},
{
"chunk": 220,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack beats others at shuffleboard on his first try and says it proves he is a natural athlete at everything.",
"predicament": "Someone who wins a trivial pastime on his first try declares it proof that he is naturally gifted at everything."
},
{
"chunk": 221,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack admires himself in his ill-fitting evening suit, which won't button over his stomach and is held shut with laundry tacks; Callahan makes him change out of yellow shoes.",
"predicament": "A man in ill-fitting finery is teased and corrected by others, and still thinks he looks the best of the lot."
},
{
"chunk": 222,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack stores his suit in his kit roll on McGraw's joking advice, and gloats that his old teammates are too weak to face him.",
"predicament": "A man takes a boss's teasing advice at face value, and gloats that his old colleagues are hardly worth his effort."
},
{
"chunk": 223,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Seasick again, Jack wants to sue for his 'poisoning'; Schaefer says a sarcastic namer would call Jack a ball player, and Jack takes it as a compliment.",
"predicament": "A man is told by a joker that only sarcasm could call him skilled, and takes the insult as praise."
},
{
"chunk": 224,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans explains the date line and tells Jack to change his dates; Jack refuses, fearing confusion with Florrie over dates and the baby's birthday, and laughs along at Evans's jokes.",
"predicament": "Someone told of a change in how things are counted refuses to adopt it, fearing new quarrels with his wife at home."
},
{
"chunk": 225,
"story": 6,
"summary": "For the Thanksgiving banquet Schaefer puts Jack down to write and recite poetry, since he can think of nothing else Jack could do that needs no thinking.",
"predicament": "Someone set up by colleagues to perform at a formal dinner takes the mocking invitation as a tribute to his talents."
},
{
"chunk": 226,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Unable to sleep, Jack describes the banquet: stories and songs, then Schaefer introduces him as the long fellow and he begins his poem.",
"predicament": "A nervous man introduced with a joke stands up before a formal gathering, including wives, to recite his own verse."
},
{
"chunk": 227,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack's clumsy poem about the voyage toasts the bosses and promises his best to Callahan next season.",
"predicament": "A man recites a clumsy tribute to the bosses before everyone, pledging his loyalty in rhyme."
},
{
"chunk": 228,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack believes the cheers were for his poem and plans to recite it to Florrie; Schaefer asks for another, and Jack admits he lies awake missing his family.",
"predicament": "Someone cheered in mockery thinks he has found a new talent, while lying awake at night missing his family."
},
{
"chunk": 229,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack says they nearly died in the last few days, his 'poisoning' has returned, and he has only now learned they were attacked.",
"predicament": "A frightened man away from home is sure he has barely survived a disaster that he only heard about afterwards."
},
{
"chunk": 230,
"story": 6,
"summary": "After a storm, Jack is told that Evans saved the ship from a school of sharks by ringing a bell, because they thought recess was over; Jack believes it and wants to chip in for a present.",
"predicament": "A gullible man swallows an absurd rescue story whole, and wants to reward the joker who invented it."
},
{
"chunk": 231,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack misses the joke about the umpire; next day he says he may quit the trip if there is no letter at Yokohama, fearing Florrie or the baby is ill.",
"predicament": "A man who has heard nothing from home decides his wife or child must be ill, and considers abandoning the trip."
},
{
"chunk": 232,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer says everyone else has had telegrams, alarms Jack, quotes an absurd price for one, and invents an overland railway route home through Russia, Jerusalem and Cuba.",
"predicament": "A joker feeds a worried father's fears about home, then offers him an absurd escape route that he believes."
},
{
"chunk": 233,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer jokes about Jack's dirty dress shirt; Jack says he will go home from Yokohama if there is no mail, and is thrilled to be in the moving pictures of the party.",
"predicament": "A worried father swears he will abandon the trip if no news comes, while enjoying every bit of the attention on board."
},
{
"chunk": 234,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack plans to demand his fare home from Comiskey and Callahan, sure they must give it or he will jump to the Federal League.",
"predicament": "Someone planning to walk out on a trip expects the bosses to pay his way, threatening to defect if they refuse."
},
{
"chunk": 235,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Tossing a ball on deck, Schaefer bets a dollar that Jack's fastest throw won't hurt his hand, ducks it, and claims the win; Jack refuses to pay.",
"predicament": "Someone is caught by a colleague's trick wager, refuses to pay, and insists he really won the bet."
},
{
"chunk": 236,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans jokes about the food stains on Jack's vest; on the eve of landing Jack is sure his wife and child are ill since others have had telegrams.",
"predicament": "A man who is the butt of constant jokes about his manners is convinced his silent family must be ill."
},
{
"chunk": 237,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans tells Jack he must tip the whole crew and names tiny sums; Jack grumbles at the 'graft' and plans to tip a total of $1.10.",
"predicament": "A tight-fisted traveller is told he must tip everyone who served him, and grumbles over a trifling sum."
},
{
"chunk": 238,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans claims to have sailed to the North Pole and teaches Jack fake Japanese phrases, including an insulting one, which Jack passes on to Al.",
"predicament": "A joker teaches a gullible man nonsense phrases for greeting strangers abroad, and the man proudly passes them on."
},
{
"chunk": 239,
"story": 6,
"summary": "In Yokohama Jack tips the captain a dime and takes his thanks at face value; Callahan has checked on his family, so Jack stays on the trip.",
"predicament": "A traveller gives the captain a paltry tip and mistakes the polite thanks for real gratitude, then decides to stay."
},
{
"chunk": 240,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Callahan tells Jack the overland train is fake, that he could not have received mail or telegrams, and offers to call Chicago; Jack is hit hard in the first game in Tokyo and blames his arm and unfamiliar teammates.",
"predicament": "Someone set on leaving learns his escape route was a joke, then performs badly and blames his body and new colleagues."
},
{
"chunk": 241,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack skips the evening out because his arm hurts and thinks he should see a doctor.",
"predicament": "Someone who performed badly stays in alone nursing a sore limb, sure it explains everything."
},
{
"chunk": 242,
"story": 6,
"summary": "McGraw generously says Jack's side didn't help him, which Jack takes as proof McGraw is a real manager; Callahan jokes about not checking on Jack's family, but promises to phone Chicago.",
"predicament": "A boss's kind excuse for someone's failure is taken as proof of genius, while another boss jokes about stranding him."
},
{
"chunk": 243,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack must write another poem for a banquet and mocks the idea of telegrams at sea; Callahan reports that Florrie and the baby are well and she says not to hurry home.",
"predicament": "A father anxious for news hears his family is fine and that his wife says there is no need to hurry home."
},
{
"chunk": 244,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack stayed with the players and spent a sleepless night on a Japanese train whose berths were too short for him; Evans says he should cut off his head.",
"predicament": "A large man is squeezed into quarters built for smaller people, loses a night's sleep, and is mocked for complaining."
},
{
"chunk": 245,
"story": 6,
"summary": "At a banquet given by Americans in Yokohama, Jack recites a new poem blaming his sore arm for his loss.",
"predicament": "Someone asked to speak at a formal dinner uses the occasion to excuse his own recent failure in verse."
},
{
"chunk": 246,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack believes his poem brought down the house; he oversleeps, sneers at the college team and the other pitchers, and mocks others for making excuses.",
"predicament": "Someone who always blames his body for failures sneers at another for doing exactly the same."
},
{
"chunk": 247,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack describes the quiet Japanese crowd sitting on mats, buys no kimonos for Florrie, and plans to send her a basket of flowers given to the party's ladies.",
"predicament": "A tight-fisted husband abroad buys his wife nothing, and plans to send her a gift that was given away free."
},
{
"chunk": 248,
"story": 6,
"summary": "At Nagasaki Jack watches whole families passing coal onto the ship and is struck that men make their wives and children work.",
"predicament": "A traveller watching whole families labour together is struck that men would put their wives and children to work."
},
{
"chunk": 249,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack refuses to buy souvenirs and teases Schaefer; Schaefer wraps the flowers with a note in three languages asking the mail carriers to water them.",
"predicament": "A man mailing a free gift of cut flowers to his wife across the world is helped by a joker who makes it absurd."
},
{
"chunk": 250,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer tells Jack that the only meat in China is chop suey made with rats, and Jack vows to starve rather than eat it.",
"predicament": "A colleague frightens a gullible traveller with lurid tales about the food ahead, and he vows to go hungry."
},
{
"chunk": 251,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer and Evans teach Jack insulting pidgin 'Chinese' phrases, which he proudly passes on, and he resolves to stuff himself before arriving.",
"predicament": "A traveller taught insulting nonsense to use on the locals trusts his tutors completely and prepares to try it out."
},
{
"chunk": 252,
"story": 6,
"summary": "After one day in Shanghai, Jack is glad to be leaving China and refuses to eat any local food.",
"predicament": "A fearful traveller refuses to touch anything unfamiliar and counts the days until he can leave a foreign place."
},
{
"chunk": 253,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Rain cancels the Shanghai game just as Jack is to pitch, and he decides Callahan called it off because he feared Jack.",
"predicament": "Someone whose chance is cancelled by the weather decides the other side called it off out of fear of him."
},
{
"chunk": 254,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack insists Callahan will run out of excuses, and says he is glad the opposing side is mostly borrowed players, not his own club.",
"predicament": "Someone certain a rival boss is dodging him insists the rival will soon run out of excuses."
},
{
"chunk": 255,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer tells Jack the sandwiches are poison ivy and the cake icing is laundry soap, so Jack goes hungry; Jack's 'goodbye' in pidgin alarms Callahan, and Jack thinks Callahan is the fool.",
"predicament": "A gullible man goes hungry at a reception on a joker's word, and innocently insults his hosts with nonsense phrases."
},
{
"chunk": 256,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Told he should tip the crew again, Jack decides his foreign money would be useless to them and writes a poem for the captain instead.",
"predicament": "A traveller told he owes the staff another tip decides to offer them a verse of his own instead of money."
},
{
"chunk": 257,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack has had no word from home since Yokohama and fears his family may be dead; he reports the farewell banquet and copies out his poem to the captain.",
"predicament": "A man long without word from home swings between fearing the worst and showing off at the party on board."
},
{
"chunk": 258,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack's clumsy farewell poem thanks the captain and crew and forgives any mistakes they made.",
"predicament": "A self-appointed speaker offers a clumsy public thanks that manages to forgive the hosts for their shortcomings."
},
{
"chunk": 259,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack thinks the captain was choked up and the women wept at his poem; in Hong Kong everyone is vaccinated against smallpox, and he frets over catching it.",
"predicament": "Someone mistakes the audience's suppressed laughter for tears, then frets over every small health precaution."
},
{
"chunk": 260,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack refuses to eat in Hong Kong; Callahan wishes he were as careful about pitching; McGraw won't waste Jack on a free game before British soldiers.",
"predicament": "A man cautious about everything except his work is told so by the boss, and kept on the bench anyway."
},
{
"chunk": 261,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack's dress shirt has vanished and he borrows Callahan's; Evans jokes that whoever took it must feel worse.",
"predicament": "A man who loses his only good shirt must borrow the boss's, and his loud complaints earn only more jokes."
},
{
"chunk": 262,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans tells Jack his Japanese yen are worth four times as much in Manila, and Jack refuses to sell them to Evans; he is excited to pitch and hopes for a letter.",
"predicament": "A man told his foreign money has become valuable refuses to sell it, sure he alone has outwitted everyone."
},
{
"chunk": 263,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans wakes Jack at five with a story that Schaefer caught rat rabies from chop suey and is squeaking and biting; Jack believes it, pins Evans to the bed, and feels vindicated for not eating.",
"predicament": "Colleagues stage an absurd night-time scare for a gullible man, who believes it and feels proved right."
},
{
"chunk": 264,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Only a sign-off and dateline: Jack, on board, December 19.",
"predicament": "A man far from home signs off another message to his friend, the only steady listener he has."
},
{
"chunk": 265,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack blames the humid air for his defeat in Manila and says McGraw should have used a lesser pitcher; he threw only slow balls and claims the other side was lucky.",
"predicament": "Someone beaten again blames the air itself, and says the boss should have sent a lesser person in his place."
},
{
"chunk": 266,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Fielding errors lose the lead; McGraw won't let Jack walk Crawford, and then pinch-hits for him in the ninth, so Jack decides McGraw knows nothing about managing.",
"predicament": "Someone whose boss overrules him and takes him out at the crucial moment decides the boss he admired is an idiot."
},
{
"chunk": 267,
"story": 6,
"summary": "The White Sox win again the next day in the rain, and Jack says Callahan would have cancelled it if Jack could have pitched.",
"predicament": "Someone left idle decides the rival boss only goes ahead with things when he himself cannot take part."
},
{
"chunk": 268,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans's tours of Manila are all nonsense, and he tells Jack to buy winter gear for crossing the Equator; Jack learns in the shop that his yen are not worth more after all.",
"predicament": "A traveller follows a joker's advice to buy winter clothes for the tropics, and learns his money tip was false."
},
{
"chunk": 269,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer jokes that the Manila league's clubs are named after soda flavours; Jack pities the locals and again blames the air for his loss.",
"predicament": "Someone who lost to visitors pities the local amateurs and keeps blaming the climate for his own failure."
},
{
"chunk": 270,
"story": 6,
"summary": "At a rooftop ball a girl says she took him for the shortstop from his dancing, which Jack takes as praise; he still thinks of Violet, then tours a prison and leaves Manila.",
"predicament": "A married man at a dance thinks of his old flame, and takes a woman's teasing about his clumsiness as a compliment."
},
{
"chunk": 271,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Still without mail, Jack plans to send Florrie cheap postcards only if she is alive; Evans says the Equator is usually below zero and hot only because of all the stars.",
"predicament": "A man with no word from home plans to go straight back if something is wrong, and meanwhile swallows every tall tale."
},
{
"chunk": 272,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack sees volcanoes and says he would never live near one; Evans says it is no worse than playing right field in St. Louis.",
"predicament": "A traveller marvels that anyone would live beside danger, and a joker compares it to his own uncomfortable workplace."
},
{
"chunk": 273,
"story": 6,
"summary": "At the Equator Jack bundles up in sweater, overcoat and blanket on Evans's advice and nearly roasts, while Schaefer tells a tale of a stomach driven into a man's throat by the jolt.",
"predicament": "Someone who dressed for bitter cold on a joker's word nearly roasts, and still believes the next absurd tale."
},
{
"chunk": 274,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Only a sign-off and dateline: Jack, on board, December 24.",
"predicament": "A man spending the holidays far from home signs off another message to the one friend he writes to faithfully."
},
{
"chunk": 275,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack plans to give Callahan's children a used postcard, and hears the men are giving him a Christmas present for his poems; he imagines a diamond ring or watch and writes a poem in return.",
"predicament": "Someone told colleagues have a present for him imagines something lavish, while planning to give their children next to nothing."
},
{
"chunk": 276,
"story": 6,
"summary": "On Christmas Day Jack denounces his companions as cheap and smart alecks, and wants to quit the trip at Australia.",
"predicament": "A man who expected a grand gift from colleagues is so hurt by their joke that he wants to quit everything."
},
{
"chunk": 277,
"story": 6,
"summary": "After the children's presents, Schaefer brings out a big parcel for Jack but makes him read his poem first.",
"predicament": "Someone expecting a grand present is made to perform first in front of everyone, while colleagues wait for the joke."
},
{
"chunk": 278,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack reads a patriotic poem of thanks, then unwraps the dirty dress shirt he thought had been stolen, still unwashed.",
"predicament": "A man thanks colleagues warmly in public for a gift, then unwraps something they had taken from him as a joke."
},
{
"chunk": 279,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack tells them off and shuts himself in his cabin; Evans, who was probably in on it, blames jealous pitchers, and Jack vows to leave at Australia.",
"predicament": "Humiliated by a prank, someone storms off and vows to quit, while one of the pranksters pretends to sympathise."
},
{
"chunk": 280,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Broke and far from home at Christmas, Jack says he could have been with his family and will give up the game for a business where a man is treated right; he refuses to play shuffleboard with Evans.",
"predicament": "Someone humiliated and broke far from home at the holidays swears to quit his calling for work where he is respected."
},
{
"chunk": 281,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans suggests Jack become a newspaper writer and publish his poems, so he could get back at his tormentors in print.",
"predicament": "A mocked man swearing to quit is steered by a joker toward a new line of work where he could take revenge."
},
{
"chunk": 282,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans's jokes about Jack's brains fly past him; Jack considers opening a billiard hall and resolves to go home to his family.",
"predicament": "Someone who swore to quit daydreams about new ventures and the family he left, while missing another insult."
},
{
"chunk": 283,
"story": 6,
"summary": "At Thursday Island Jack spends time only with Evans, who tells him pearls are shrimp-like fish that bite only in May and August.",
"predicament": "A man who shuns his other colleagues spends his time with the one joker still filling his head with nonsense."
},
{
"chunk": 284,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack rails that no one thanks him, he gets no mail, and his companions are no good, and vows to take the first train home from Australia.",
"predicament": "Someone fed up with thankless work and cruel colleagues far from home vows to leave at the very first chance."
},
{
"chunk": 285,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans brings McGraw to Jack, and McGraw says he had nothing to do with the shirt and that quitting would hurt him unfairly.",
"predicament": "A boss who played no part in a prank asks the offended man not to quit, since it would hurt him most."
},
{
"chunk": 286,
"story": 6,
"summary": "McGraw says he needs Jack to win before English lords at Brisbane and promises him a present for every win.",
"predicament": "A boss coaxes an angry man into staying by saying he is needed and promising a reward for each success."
},
{
"chunk": 287,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack decides McGraw is square, wishes he could work for him permanently, and will stay on if McGraw keeps his promise.",
"predicament": "Someone won over by a boss's promised rewards wishes he could work for him for good, and agrees to stay."
},
{
"chunk": 288,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack sees fruit growing on trees at Cairns and muses over wasted money on bruised bananas; next letter, he is in high spirits after Brisbane.",
"predicament": "A tight-fisted traveller sightseeing abroad can think only of what things cost at home, until good news lifts him."
},
{
"chunk": 289,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack beat the White Sox two to one, but the real joy was McGraw handing out mail at the hotel and calling his name for a letter from Florrie.",
"predicament": "Someone who has waited weeks for word from home finally hears his name called out when the post is handed round."
},
{
"chunk": 290,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Florrie's letter is resentful: she says he abandoned them with $250 and asks for the other $250 because the bank is rumoured to be failing.",
"predicament": "A man's long-awaited message from his wife is full of resentment and asks for the rest of his savings."
},
{
"chunk": 291,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack takes Florrie's jibe about princesses as flattering jealousy, rereads the letter a dozen times, and sends a check for his last $250.",
"predicament": "A husband reads his wife's bitter message as loving jealousy and sends her the last of his savings."
},
{
"chunk": 292,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Reassured, Jack says he would not have minded losing; McGraw's promised present turns out to be a soft wrinkled shirt, which Jack admires.",
"predicament": "Someone promised a reward for his success receives a small, faintly comic gift and is entirely delighted with it."
},
{
"chunk": 293,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack wishes all managers were like McGraw; before the game McGraw tells him to finish fast so the party can eat, and to stop talking and show him something.",
"predicament": "A man who feels valued by his new boss wishes he could stay, and is told to stop boasting and deliver."
},
{
"chunk": 294,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack pitches a quick, strong game, allowing one run he blames on a fielder, and looks forward to his next present.",
"predicament": "Someone who finally does good work under a boss who rewards him wonders greedily what the next reward will be."
},
{
"chunk": 295,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack gets revenge on Schaefer for the shirt joke by throwing close to him and striking him out; in Sydney he wishes Al a happy new year and declines to see the harbour.",
"predicament": "Someone mocked by a colleague takes revenge in the middle of the work itself, and gloats about it afterwards."
},
{
"chunk": 296,
"story": 6,
"summary": "McGraw won't let Jack pitch and the White Sox win big; Jack sneers at cricket as a baby's game and is challenged to try it.",
"predicament": "A braggart sneers at an unfamiliar local skill and is promptly challenged by a local to try it himself."
},
{
"chunk": 297,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack bets two pounds that he can score five runs, with McGraw lending the stake, and explains the rules of cricket to Al as he understands them.",
"predicament": "A man sure an unfamiliar local pastime is easy wagers borrowed money that he will master it at once."
},
{
"chunk": 298,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack is sure the bet is money in his pocket; next day he writes that the locals are robbers and he wants out of Sydney.",
"predicament": "Someone certain of winning an easy bet writes next day that he was robbed and wants to leave the place."
},
{
"chunk": 299,
"story": 6,
"summary": "At the cricket ground Jack refuses practice, is told the rules, and faces his first delivery, which bounces oddly.",
"predicament": "A man who scorned a local pastime refuses a chance to practise, and finds straight away that it is harder than it looks."
},
{
"chunk": 300,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Winding up his swing, Jack knocks down his own wicket and is out; the opponent offers another chance, but McGraw insists Jack lost, and Jack calls it robbery.",
"predicament": "A boaster who fails at once at a pastime he scorned cries robbery, while his own backer insists he lost fairly."
},
{
"chunk": 301,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack insults the Australian, who insults him back; McGraw claims he winked a warning Jack missed, and Jack now owes McGraw ten dollars.",
"predicament": "Someone who lost a foolish bet on borrowed money now owes the boss, and swears he will never be caught that way again."
},
{
"chunk": 302,
"story": 6,
"summary": "In Melbourne Jack beats the White Sox again, and thinks his real value to the tour is in entertaining the dignitaries.",
"predicament": "Someone kept around as the group's comic relief believes he is valued for charming the important guests."
},
{
"chunk": 303,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer asks for a poem for a club dinner, then explains away the shirt prank with a tale that a ship's officer stole the new shirt they had bought him.",
"predicament": "A prankster wins back the man he humiliated by inventing a story that shifts all the blame onto someone else."
},
{
"chunk": 304,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack believes the story, shakes hands with Schaefer, and agrees to write the poem; the party lunches with the mayor and goes to tea with the Governor.",
"predicament": "A gullible man forgives his tormentor on the strength of an invented excuse, and agrees to perform for him again."
},
{
"chunk": 305,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack has the Governor feel his muscles, lectures him on physique, and says women pester him, so Lady Dennis laughs and walks away before he can explain.",
"predicament": "A man meeting dignitaries boasts that women pester him, and the great man's wife politely walks away before he can explain."
},
{
"chunk": 306,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack recites a boastful poem at the Savage Club, believes he was the hit of the evening, and looks forward to McGraw's next present.",
"predicament": "Someone who performs a clumsy boastful tribute at a society dinner is sure he was the hit of the night."
},
{
"chunk": 307,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Leaving Adelaide, Jack is terrified; Schaefer pretended to faint when a crewman mentioned tomorrow's Great Australian Bight.",
"predicament": "A gullible man sees a colleague stage a faint at a mention of the next leg, and is filled with dread."
},
{
"chunk": 308,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer hints darkly that the Bight is a million times worse than a flea bite.",
"predicament": "A prankster hints darkly at a coming danger, drawing out a gullible colleague's fear before he explains."
},
{
"chunk": 309,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer describes the 'Bite bug', an eagle-sized insect that bites a feature off one man per ship and can be stopped only by iron, such as catchers' masks.",
"predicament": "A joker invents a monstrous danger that singles out one victim, and the listener believes every word."
},
{
"chunk": 310,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack tries to borrow a catcher's mask, but the catchers refuse, being in on the joke; Callahan needles him, and Jack vows to carry a mask on future trips.",
"predicament": "A frightened man tries to borrow protection from colleagues who are in on the joke and refuse him."
},
{
"chunk": 311,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack dreads losing his nose and not daring to face Florrie; Evans proposes that a good hitter swat the bug with a bat.",
"predicament": "A vain man terrified of disfigurement dreads facing his wife, while colleagues solemnly plan a ridiculous defence."
},
{
"chunk": 312,
"story": 6,
"summary": "The good hitters decline the job; Schaefer says the bug spares women and ugly men and that the catchers have locked away their masks, and Jack expects a sleepless night.",
"predicament": "A man sure he is the likeliest victim of a threat that spares everyone else spends a sleepless night in fear."
},
{
"chunk": 313,
"story": 6,
"summary": "McGraw's latest present is a razor, which Jack says he may use on his throat if bitten; at Fremantle he reports he is exhausted but the bug bit nobody.",
"predicament": "A man who spent days hiding from an imaginary danger emerges exhausted and relieved that no one was hurt."
},
{
"chunk": 314,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack hid in his cabin the whole time; others claim to have seen the bug, and they joke about who is lucky, and Speaker says Jack is lucky the dogcatcher missed him.",
"predicament": "A man who hid for days hears colleagues describe the imaginary danger they claim to have seen, and swap insults."
},
{
"chunk": 315,
"story": 6,
"summary": "The players claim the catchers tried to bat the bug; Doyle jokes that it recognised the players as bugs, and Jack thinks Doyle cannot be very smart.",
"predicament": "A man who fell for an elaborate hoax decides the colleague who joked about it must be the foolish one."
},
{
"chunk": 316,
"story": 6,
"summary": "A new danger looms for the nine days in the Indian Ocean, and Jack would go home if Australia were not an island.",
"predicament": "No sooner is one imaginary danger past than a longer one is announced, and he would flee if he could."
},
{
"chunk": 317,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer explains that the Indian Ocean has 'Thomas Hawks', birds that peck soft heads and attack only people out on deck.",
"predicament": "A joker describes a new threat that only attacks those who venture outside, and the gullible listener believes him."
},
{
"chunk": 318,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans says Jack's hard head is safe, which Jack takes as praise of his courage; Jack decides the bosses hid these dangers to get him on the trip.",
"predicament": "A man insulted as thick-headed takes it as praise, then suspects the bosses hid the trip's dangers to lure him along."
},
{
"chunk": 319,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack totals nearly a hundred dollars spent and owed on a trip that pays him nothing, and curses the bosses and the tour.",
"predicament": "Someone on an unpaid trip adds up how much it has cost him, and curses the bosses who talked him into it."
},
{
"chunk": 320,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack has stayed in his stifling cabin for three days rather than risk the birds on deck.",
"predicament": "A frightened man stays shut in a stifling room for days, choosing discomfort over an imaginary danger outside."
},
{
"chunk": 321,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans teaches Jack a crude minstrel-dialect 'African language' to use if lost, and they practise it together.",
"predicament": "A joker teaches a gullible traveller a mocking imitation of how the locals speak, and he practises it earnestly."
},
{
"chunk": 322,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack imagines impressing Florrie with all his languages and says travel teaches more than college.",
"predicament": "Someone stuffed with nonsense on his travels believes he has become learned, and looks forward to impressing his wife."
},
{
"chunk": 323,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack is told that crossing the Equator northward is a hard bump upward, and the crew must haul on a rope to lift the ship over it.",
"predicament": "A gullible man hears yet another invented hazard on the journey, and prepares for it in dead earnest."
},
{
"chunk": 324,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans advises being on deck for the bump, so Jack decides to risk the hawks to protect his arm; Schaefer suggests he could learn to throw left-handed.",
"predicament": "A frightened man weighs one imaginary danger against another, choosing the one that spares what earns his living."
},
{
"chunk": 325,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack reports his head unhurt and learns there was never any danger from the hawks; Jim Thorpe says he didn't know why they stayed inside.",
"predicament": "Someone who hid from an imaginary danger learns there was never anything to fear, and blames another for not telling him."
},
{
"chunk": 326,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Out on deck with his cap under his hat, Jack hears that the hawks fled at the sight of Thorpe because he is an Indian, and laughs that 'they' were all suckers.",
"predicament": "A man who fell for a hoax is told a second, sillier explanation, and believes everyone was fooled together."
},
{
"chunk": 327,
"story": 6,
"summary": "McGraw says they should all take it as a joke and keep it from their friends at home, but Jack tells Al anyway.",
"predicament": "A man who was the only real dupe thinks everyone was fooled, and cheerfully admits it to his friend."
},
{
"chunk": 328,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack and others haul on a rope to 'lift' the ship over the Equator; the rope gives way, he falls, everyone laughs, and he credits himself with the smooth crossing.",
"predicament": "A man tricked into a pointless feat of strength falls flat to general laughter, and credits himself with the success."
},
{
"chunk": 329,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer asks Jack for a poem for lunch with Sir Thomas Lipton in Colombo and suggests he tease him about losing boat races and hint for free tea and coffee.",
"predicament": "A self-styled entertainer is urged by a prankster to tease an important host, and hint for free gifts."
},
{
"chunk": 330,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack marvels at wireless telegrams and says he would never pay fifty dollars just to tell Florrie he is well.",
"predicament": "A tight-fisted husband marvels at a new way to reach home, and decides it is too dear to spend on his wife."
},
{
"chunk": 331,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer 'forgets' to call on Jack at the Lipton dinner, so Jack hands Lipton a written copy of his poem, which begs for free coffee.",
"predicament": "A man passed over at a formal dinner insists on handing his verse to the host, which openly begs for free gifts."
},
{
"chunk": 332,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Lipton gives the party tea, not coffee; Jack has no use for it, and offers it to Al and Bertha as their present, possibly for a price.",
"predicament": "A tight-fisted man passes on an unwanted free gift to his friends as their present, and half hopes to be paid for it."
},
{
"chunk": 333,
"story": 6,
"summary": "In Colombo Jack refuses to spend on hawkers and snake charmers, and says he is no cheapskate but wants value.",
"predicament": "A stingy man in a bustling market refuses to spend a penny, insisting he is careful rather than cheap."
},
{
"chunk": 334,
"story": 6,
"summary": "McGraw won't pitch Jack in a rainy free game, joking that he cannot afford presents when no gate is taken; the Giants lose and Lipton sees them off.",
"predicament": "Someone is kept idle because the boss jokes the occasion does not pay enough to justify rewarding him."
},
{
"chunk": 335,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer tells Jack that the Red Sea is the one Moses crossed; Jack thinks this is a trick and threatens to punch him.",
"predicament": "A man fooled by every tall tale finally refuses to believe something that happens to be true."
},
{
"chunk": 336,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer flatters Jack's shrewdness and puns on red and read; Jack brushes him off and wishes they had stopped for free coffee instead.",
"predicament": "A prankster flatters a gullible man for seeing through him, while the man misses the next joke entirely."
},
{
"chunk": 337,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans warns of polar bears and 'lepers' in Africa; Jack plans to avoid them, landing at Suez.",
"predicament": "A gullible traveller prepares to guard against absurd dangers at his next stop, on a joker's advice."
},
{
"chunk": 338,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack sends postcards addressed to his infant son to make Florrie laugh, then describes the grand hotel at Heliopolis and the Pyramids and Sphinx.",
"predicament": "A father far from home sends playful messages to his infant, then marvels at famous wonders he barely understands."
},
{
"chunk": 339,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans and McGraw make jokes about skulls and bone-headed players; Jack takes Evans's remark that he could last 4,000 years like the Sphinx as praise of his strength.",
"predicament": "A man compared to an ancient stone head by jokers takes it as a tribute to his strength rather than his wits."
},
{
"chunk": 340,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack refuses to ride a camel out of 'kindness to animals', then pitches to a tie on sandy grounds, blaming the wind and belittling Benz.",
"predicament": "Someone who gets only a draw blames the conditions and belittles his counterpart, who worked under the same ones."
},
{
"chunk": 341,
"story": 6,
"summary": "McGraw tells Jack his luck will come; Jack wishes he could pitch for McGraw always, and says he pitched only because the Khedive was watching.",
"predicament": "Someone consoled by a kind boss wishes he could work for him forever instead of the one who undervalues him."
},
{
"chunk": 342,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack tries his minstrel 'African' on an Egyptian notable, who answers in plain English, and Jack takes this as proof his accent is good; he still wants McGraw's present for pitching on bad grounds.",
"predicament": "A traveller speaks mocking gibberish to a local dignitary, is answered politely, and takes it as proof of his skill."
},
{
"chunk": 343,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack watches a game from the stands, blames the Giants' failure to score for his tie, and tries his 'language' on locals, who ask if he is from the American South.",
"predicament": "Someone showing off a borrowed accent to strangers misses that they have noticed exactly where he got it."
},
{
"chunk": 344,
"story": 6,
"summary": "The party is filmed crossing the desert and at a mosque; Jack rides a mule, disapproves of women riding camels, and repeats Evans's garbled explanations of Islam.",
"predicament": "A traveller at a sacred place repeats a joker's garbled explanations, and lectures about what wives should not do."
},
{
"chunk": 345,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Before entering the mosque, Schaefer mocks Jack's big feet and Jack threatens to knock him out.",
"predicament": "A man mocked about his size in front of the group threatens violence, and thinks the threat ended the teasing."
},
{
"chunk": 346,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Callahan says three visitors must pay respects, and Jack, Evans and Schaefer lie on the stone floor making swimming motions; Evans invents vicious 'musk rats'.",
"predicament": "A gullible man is talked into a ridiculous public performance in a solemn place, and believes it is expected."
},
{
"chunk": 347,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Schaefer compares Jack to the groundhog, and Jack calls him a hog and thinks he has won the exchange.",
"predicament": "A colleague makes a sly joke at someone's expense, and he answers with an insult and thinks he won."
},
{
"chunk": 348,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Speaker gives Jack a fez and says he would never buy one himself; Jack is doused in perfume and sneers at the men who primp for women.",
"predicament": "A man is given a cheap gift with a veiled dig at his stinginess, and takes it as praise of his modesty."
},
{
"chunk": 349,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack must write another poem for the consul's party and expects to be home in a month; then he dashes off a letter saying his bad luck is over.",
"predicament": "A man counting the days until he sees his family announces that his run of bad luck has finally ended."
},
{
"chunk": 350,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans chides Jack for buying nothing in Cairo, then pretends to muse aloud about a man he wonders if he could find.",
"predicament": "A joker notices a stingy man has spent nothing, and baits him with a hint of a secret opportunity."
},
{
"chunk": 351,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans describes a street seller with a rare scarab from an ancient tomb, a lucky charm worth fifty dollars, offered for ten.",
"predicament": "A colleague tells a man superstitious about his luck of a rare charm going cheap from a stranger in the street."
},
{
"chunk": 352,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans says he passed on the scarab because he needs no luck and the charm cannot be resold, adding a detail that makes it seem more authentic.",
"predicament": "A swindler's accomplice explains why he himself passed on the rare bargain, making the offer seem more genuine."
},
{
"chunk": 353,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Evans suddenly suggests Jack is the man who should have it, warns the seller may be gone, and leads him to the street corner, where the man is still waiting.",
"predicament": "A man is steered by a colleague toward a stranger selling a lucky charm, and the stranger is conveniently still waiting."
},
{
"chunk": 354,
"story": 6,
"summary": "The seller shows the 'scarab', which has changed colour since Evans saw it, explained as age; Jack wants it but has no money on him.",
"predicament": "A man offered an obvious fake accepts every flimsy explanation, and is held back only by having no cash."
},
{
"chunk": 355,
"story": 6,
"summary": "They arrange to return at seven; Jack borrows ten dollars from Callahan, who jokes about porous plasters.",
"predicament": "A man eager for a street bargain borrows money from the boss to pay for it, missing the boss's joke."
},
{
"chunk": 356,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack haggles the price down to $7.50, is congratulated by Evans, buys Evans a cigar, and is told to keep the charm secret.",
"predicament": "A man cheated in a staged sale beats the price down a little, and thanks the accomplice with a gift."
},
{
"chunk": 357,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack promptly tells Doyle and Donlin, dismisses horseshoes and clovers as superstition, and argues the scarab must be genuine because it is expensive.",
"predicament": "A man sneers at cheap superstitions while believing in his costly charm, reasoning that its price proves it genuine."
},
{
"chunk": 358,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack hides the scarab and awaits his next game; at the consul's party he recited a poem blaming the sand for his tie.",
"predicament": "Someone certain his luck has turned waits for the chance to prove it, and again excuses his recent failure in verse."
},
{
"chunk": 359,
"story": 6,
"summary": "Jack's poem thanks the consul; Schaefer calls it his best yet; Jack looks forward to trying the scarab and showing up Allen and the lucky left-handers.",
"predicament": "A man who has been swindled into buying a charm believes it will finally let him outshine the rivals he envies."
}
]