Mr. McCollum: If you haven't already been given a heads up re: your request for synopses sources, get yourself a copy of R. Kent Rasmussen's "Mark Twain A-Z," Oxford University Press. In my opinion it is an indispensable source of reliable, well-researched information regarding Twain and his works. It contains well-written summaries of many of the short stories as well as the major works, and is certainly as accurate as any website in its details. Mr. Rasmussen: You can forward your gratuity to my mailing address, as usual. martin zehr, kansas city, missouri