Chapter 28 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass. "We have just sighted a French ship." We went on deck. Captain Boltrope grinned as we touched our hats. He hated the purser.
Chapter 28 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
past form of “buckle” — fasten with a buckle or buckles
From this reading “"Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.”
compartment where the pilot sits while flying the aircraft
From this reading “"Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.”
a short heavy curved sword with one edge; formerly used by sailors
From this reading “"Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.”
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading “Captain Boltrope grinned as we touched our hats.”
plural of “hat” — headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading “Captain Boltrope grinned as we touched our hats.”
plural of “pill” — something that resembles a tablet of medicine in shape or size
From this reading “"Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.”
an officer aboard a ship who keeps accounts and attends to the passengers' welfare
From this reading “He hated the purser.”
able to see
From this reading “"We have just sighted a French ship."”
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 "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Boltrope grinned as we touched our hats.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
past form of “buckle” — fasten with a buckle or buckles
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Boltrope grinned as we touched our hats.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
compartment where the pilot sits while flying the aircraft
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
a short heavy curved sword with one edge; formerly used by sailors
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading We went on deck.
extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading "We have just sighted a French ship."
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading Captain Boltrope grinned as we touched our hats.
treated with dislike or contempt
From this reading He hated the purser.
plural of “hat” — headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading Captain Boltrope grinned as we touched our hats.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
and nothing more
From this reading "We have just sighted a French ship."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading We went on deck.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Captain Boltrope grinned as we touched our hats.
plural of “pill” — something that resembles a tablet of medicine in shape or size
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
a solid substance in the form of tiny loose particles; a solid that has been pulverized
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
an officer aboard a ship who keeps accounts and attends to the passengers' welfare
From this reading He hated the purser.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
transport commercially
From this reading "We have just sighted a French ship."
able to see
From this reading "We have just sighted a French ship."
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
having come into contact
From this reading Captain Boltrope grinned as we touched our hats.
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We have just sighted a French ship."
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading We went on deck.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Now, Pills, you'll have a chance to smell powder," said Briggs as he entered the cockpit and buckled around his waist an enormous cutlass.
Chapter 28 of Condensed Novels by Bret Harte holds 56 sentences, grouped into 12 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 28 holds 56 sentences of Condensed Novels, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of Condensed Novels by Bret Harte exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 56 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 28 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 Condensed Novels by Bret Harte on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1918 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2277 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2277, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 159 minutes of reading across 384 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Condensed Novels section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of Condensed Novels 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 Condensed Novels, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
