Chapter XII of Comrades on River and Lake, “The Fight on the Lake,” is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter XII of Comrades on River and Lake, “The Fight on the Lake,” is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore. “Look!” he cried. “What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?” “I don’t think that would be a safe bet,” said Bert. “What do you think, Chot?”
Chapter XII of Comrades on River and Lake, “The Fight on the Lake,” is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
maintain with or as if with a bet
From this reading ““What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?””
-ing form of “contain” — include or contain; have as a component
From this reading “Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.”
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading “Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.”
group of aircraft operating together under the same ownership
From this reading “Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.”
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading “Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.”
Persons who steal from a person or place, especially using violence or threats.
From this reading ““What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?””
any of various small boats propelled by oars or by sails or by a motor
From this reading “Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.”
a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point but does not intersect it at that point
From this reading “Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.”
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 “Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.”
In this reading “Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.”
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 Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “I don’t think that would be a safe bet,” said Bert.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t think that would be a safe bet,” said Bert.
maintain with or as if with a bet
From this reading “What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What do you think, Chot?”
-ing form of “contain” — include or contain; have as a component
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “Look!” he cried.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What do you think, Chot?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t think that would be a safe bet,” said Bert.
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
group of aircraft operating together under the same ownership
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Look!” he cried.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I don’t think that would be a safe bet,” said Bert.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading “Look!” he cried.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
the force of workers available
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?”
an announcement containing information about an event
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
Persons who steal from a person or place, especially using violence or threats.
From this reading “What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?”
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading “I don’t think that would be a safe bet,” said Bert.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I don’t think that would be a safe bet,” said Bert.
the land along the edge of a body of water
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
any of various small boats propelled by oars or by sails or by a motor
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point but does not intersect it at that point
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “I don’t think that would be a safe bet,” said Bert.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading “What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Fleet was the first to notice a skiff containing two men, well out in the middle of the lake and making on a tangent for the east shore.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What do you think, Chot?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “I don’t think that would be a safe bet,” said Bert.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What’ll you bet that those are not Dave Higgins’ robbers?”
Chapter 12 of Comrades on River and Lake by Ralph Victor holds 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 12 holds 114 sentences of Comrades on River and Lake, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Comrades on River and Lake by Ralph Victor exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 12 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 Comrades on River and Lake by Ralph Victor on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3105 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40585 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40585, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 258 minutes of reading across 621 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Comrades on River and Lake section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Comrades on River and Lake 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 Comrades on River and Lake, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
