Chapter 14 of Boys of The Fort is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Boys of The Fort is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP. Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason. Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant. What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock. Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
Chapter 14 of Boys of The Fort is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
experiencing a sudden sense of danger
From this reading “Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.”
having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number; often used in combination
From this reading “Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.”
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading “Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.”
as a matter of instinct
From this reading “What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.”
pull, or move with a sudden movement
From this reading “Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.”
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.”
any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia including tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators, crocodiles, and extinct forms
From this reading “Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.”
limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
From this reading “Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.”
In this reading “OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.”
In this reading “Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.”
In this reading “OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.”
In this reading “Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
experiencing a sudden sense of danger
From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
a youthful male person
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number; often used in combination
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
as a matter of instinct
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
pull, or move with a sudden movement
From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
above and across; more than
From this reading OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.
any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia including tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators, crocodiles, and extinct forms
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
the season of growth
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
the upper part of anything
From this reading OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.
but in spite of that
From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
Chapter 14 of Boys of The Fort by Edward Stratemeyer holds 141 sentences, grouped into 29 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 14 holds 141 sentences of Boys of The Fort, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Boys of The Fort by Edward Stratemeyer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 141 sentences, grouped into 29 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 14 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Boys of The Fort by Edward Stratemeyer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3624 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32057 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32057, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 302 minutes of reading across 725 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Boys of The Fort section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Boys of The Fort to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Boys of The Fort, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
