Chapter XXX of Dick Merriwell's Backers, “Silver Bullets,” is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter XXX of Dick Merriwell's Backers, “Silver Bullets,” is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol. “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon. “Vy, certainly, mine frendt—vy, certainly it vill,” answered the Jew proprietor. “It vos a goot pistol. It vos choost as goot as it efer vos.
Chapter XXX of Dick Merriwell's Backers, “Silver Bullets,” is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
something unusual -- perhaps worthy of collecting
From this reading “Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.”
past form of “inspect” — look over carefully
From this reading “Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.”
a person belonging to the worldwide group claiming descent from Jacob (or converted to it) and connected by cultural or religious ties
From this reading ““Vy, certainly, mine frendt—vy, certainly it vill,” answered the Jew proprietor.”
kill without legal sanction
From this reading “Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.”
device for converting sound waves into electrical energy
From this reading “Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.”
out of fashion
From this reading “Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.”
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading ““Vy, certainly, mine frendt—vy, certainly it vill,” answered the Jew proprietor.”
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading ““Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.”
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 “Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.”
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 “It vos a goot pistol.
(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 “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “Vy, certainly, mine frendt—vy, certainly it vill,” answered the Jew proprietor.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “Vy, certainly, mine frendt—vy, certainly it vill,” answered the Jew proprietor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It vos choost as goot as it efer vos.
something unusual -- perhaps worthy of collecting
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It vos choost as goot as it efer vos.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Vy, certainly, mine frendt—vy, certainly it vill,” answered the Jew proprietor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It vos a goot pistol.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.
past form of “inspect” — look over carefully
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.
a person belonging to the worldwide group claiming descent from Jacob (or converted to it) and connected by cultural or religious ties
From this reading “Vy, certainly, mine frendt—vy, certainly it vill,” answered the Jew proprietor.
kill without legal sanction
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
device for converting sound waves into electrical energy
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Vy, certainly, mine frendt—vy, certainly it vill,” answered the Jew proprietor.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
out of fashion
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading “Vy, certainly, mine frendt—vy, certainly it vill,” answered the Jew proprietor.
precisely, exactly
From this reading “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.
do one's shopping
From this reading Mike Lynch dropped into an old curio shop and inspected an old-fashioned powder-and-ball pistol.
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Vy, certainly, mine frendt—vy, certainly it vill,” answered the Jew proprietor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It vos a goot pistol.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Vy, certainly, mine frendt—vy, certainly it vill,” answered the Jew proprietor.
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
From this reading “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “Will it shoot all right?” inquired Mike, as he snapped the weapon.
Chapter 30 of Dick Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish holds 124 sentences, grouped into 25 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 30 holds 124 sentences of Dick Merriwell's Backers, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of Dick Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 124 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 30 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 Dick Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7051 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62930 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62930, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 587 minutes of reading across 1411 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dick Merriwell's Backers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Dick Merriwell's Backers 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 Dick Merriwell's Backers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
