[
 {"chunk": 17, "story": 2,
  "summary": "The young man quits his secure job of fifteen years and goes to see his old friend; the friend's daughter, who quietly loves him, tells him where her father is.",
  "predicament": "A man leaves a secure post for a glittering new venture, and goes to tell an older friend who has always advised him."},
 {"chunk": 18, "story": 2,
  "summary": "The old friend teases him about gold-mine schemes and marriage; the young man boasts of his big new salary and the friend asks if the new man is a sharper too.",
  "predicament": "An older friend hears of a young man's grand new opening and asks at once whether the newcomer behind it is a swindler."},
 {"chunk": 19, "story": 2,
  "summary": "The young man shows the tack and repeats the giant rival's profits; the old man is impressed but asks whether the promoter wants money.",
  "predicament": "A thrifty older man is shown a trivial product with huge promised profits, and his only question is whether money is wanted."},
 {"chunk": 20, "story": 2,
  "summary": "The old man wishes he could buy some of the stock, envying its promised dividends; he judges the offer too good to miss if the man is honest.",
  "predicament": "A cautious older friend, envying the promised returns, is asked to judge a venture he cannot check and pronounces it too good to miss."},
 {"chunk": 21, "story": 2,
  "summary": "The young man goes through the motions of consulting friends; the promoter keeps him waiting while writing letters, one boasting to his confederate that he is sharpening the shears.",
  "predicament": "A promoter keeps an eager new recruit waiting in silence, putting him back in his place while privately boasting of the fleecing to come."},
 {"chunk": 22, "story": 2,
  "summary": "Seated with his face in shadow, the promoter hands over references and then confides, as a mark of trust, that no patent has been applied for.",
  "predicament": "A promoter confides a weakness in his venture to a recruit, making him feel trusted while steering what he will do next."},
 {"chunk": 23, "story": 2,
  "summary": "He shows a board of tacks with the cloth knocked off and says the problem must be solved before patenting, then leans back smiling while the young man puzzles.",
  "predicament": "A promoter presents an easy problem with his product and waits, hiding a smile, for his recruit to discover the answer himself."},
 {"chunk": 24, "story": 2,
  "summary": "The young man suggests roughening the tack heads; the promoter hails him as a man of remarkable resource.",
  "predicament": "A recruit offers an obvious fix to a planted problem and is flattered as a genius by the promoter who set it up."},
 {"chunk": 25, "story": 2,
  "summary": "The promoter sends for tools and wine, and the two of them roughen and cover tacks with fervour, until his face suddenly clouds over.",
  "predicament": "A recruit, flushed with pride in his idea, works side by side with a promoter who is already planning what it will cost him."}
]