Chapter 12 of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless. "Mum as an oyster, lad." "Won’t talk, eh?" remarked Dave’s father. "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_." "You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."
Chapter 12 of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
oblivious of dangers or perils or calmly resolute in facing them
From this reading “OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.”
failing to speak or communicate etc when expected to
From this reading “"Mum as an oyster, lad."”
moving to a position on a surface
From this reading “"Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."”
to extremes
From this reading “OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.”
marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters
From this reading “"Mum as an oyster, lad."”
past form of “remind” — put in the mind of someone
From this reading “"You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."”
pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading “"You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."”
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.
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."
later than; following
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "Mum as an oyster, lad."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Mum as an oyster, lad."
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Won’t talk, eh?" remarked Dave’s father.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Won’t talk, eh?" remarked Dave’s father.
an opposing military force
From this reading "You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "Won’t talk, eh?" remarked Dave’s father.
oblivious of dangers or perils or calmly resolute in facing them
From this reading OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading "You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
the act of acquiring something
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
the act of giving
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."
a boy or man
From this reading "Mum as an oyster, lad."
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading "You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."
failing to speak or communicate etc when expected to
From this reading "Mum as an oyster, lad."
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."
moving to a position on a surface
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
to extremes
From this reading OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.
marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters
From this reading "Mum as an oyster, lad."
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading "Won’t talk, eh?" remarked Dave’s father.
past form of “remind” — put in the mind of someone
From this reading "You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."
express in words
From this reading OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.
pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading "Won’t talk, eh?" remarked Dave’s father.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."
a source of difficulty
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading OVERBOARD "What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Won’t talk, eh?" remarked Dave’s father.
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading "You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry about."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Nothing come of giving him free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto the _Swallow_."
Chapter 12 of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery by Roy Rockwood holds 128 sentences, grouped into 26 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 128 sentences of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery by Roy Rockwood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 128 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery by Roy Rockwood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3627 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41896 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41896, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 302 minutes of reading across 726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery 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 Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
