Chapter 2 of Excavating a Husband is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Excavating a Husband is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself. "It's a mercy I didn't fall asleep." Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit. She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs. She stole out the front way and went round the house to a cellar window.
Chapter 2 of Excavating a Husband is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
showing careful forethought
From this reading “Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.”
the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading “She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.”
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading “Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.”
leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
From this reading “"It's a mercy I didn't fall asleep."”
-ing form of “prowl” — move about in or as if in a predatory manner
From this reading “"She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.”
the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
From this reading “Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.”
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading “Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.”
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading “She stole out the front way and went round the house to a cellar window.”
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.
change from a waking to a sleeping state
In this reading “"It's a mercy I didn't fall asleep."”
In this reading “"She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.”
In this reading “She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.”
In this reading “She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.”
In this reading “She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.”
In this reading “Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.”
In this reading “She stole out the front way and went round the house to a cellar window.”
In this reading “She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.”
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's a mercy I didn't fall asleep."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
in a state of sleep
From this reading "It's a mercy I didn't fall asleep."
showing careful forethought
From this reading Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.
the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's a mercy I didn't fall asleep."
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
an opposing military force
From this reading Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.
to come or go into
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading "It's a mercy I didn't fall asleep."
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading She stole out the front way and went round the house to a cellar window.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading "She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading "She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "It's a mercy I didn't fall asleep."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's a mercy I didn't fall asleep."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading "She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.
leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
From this reading "It's a mercy I didn't fall asleep."
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.
-ing form of “prowl” — move about in or as if in a predatory manner
From this reading "She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.
the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
From this reading Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading "She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading She heard Miss Katherine enter into the kitchen and open the cellar door and start down the stairs.
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading She stole out the front way and went round the house to a cellar window.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading She stole out the front way and went round the house to a cellar window.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She stole out the front way and went round the house to a cellar window.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "She's prowling round the house," whispered that lady to herself.
a Caucasian
From this reading Having located the enemy, Mrs. White slipped out in cautious pursuit.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading She stole out the front way and went round the house to a cellar window.
Chapter 2 of Excavating a Husband by Ella Bell Wallis holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 2 holds 425 sentences of Excavating a Husband, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Excavating a Husband by Ella Bell Wallis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 2 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 Excavating a Husband by Ella Bell Wallis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 859 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57975 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57975, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 71 minutes of reading across 172 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Excavating a Husband section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Excavating a Husband 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 Excavating a Husband, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
