Chapter 12 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SMOKE SIGNALS AND A DECOY. Frank grew restless. On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said: "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away." "Are you going away, sir?" asked the foreman.
Chapter 12 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
a beguiler who leads someone into danger (usually as part of a plot)
From this reading “SMOKE SIGNALS AND A DECOY.”
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading “"Are you going away, sir?" asked the foreman.”
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading “"Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."”
worried and uneasy
From this reading “Frank grew restless.”
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:”
plural of “signal” — any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
From this reading “SMOKE SIGNALS AND A DECOY.”
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading “SMOKE SIGNALS AND A DECOY.”
United States film actor who appeared in many films with Katharine Hepburn (1900-1967)
From this reading “On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:”
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 “Frank grew restless.”
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 SMOKE SIGNALS AND A DECOY.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading SMOKE SIGNALS AND A DECOY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Are you going away, sir?" asked the foreman.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Are you going away, sir?" asked the foreman.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:
a beguiler who leads someone into danger (usually as part of a plot)
From this reading SMOKE SIGNALS AND A DECOY.
opinion or judgment
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading "Are you going away, sir?" asked the foreman.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading Frank grew restless.
the act of departing
From this reading "Are you going away, sir?" asked the foreman.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading Frank grew restless.
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:
To move from a closed position.
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
worried and uneasy
From this reading Frank grew restless.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:
plural of “signal” — any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
From this reading SMOKE SIGNALS AND A DECOY.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Are you going away, sir?" asked the foreman.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading SMOKE SIGNALS AND A DECOY.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
United States film actor who appeared in many films with Katharine Hepburn (1900-1967)
From this reading On the day following the shooting of Anson he called Tracy and said:
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
during the time that
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I am away."
Chapter 12 of Frank Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish holds 235 sentences, grouped into 47 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 235 sentences of Frank Merriwell's Backers, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Frank Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 235 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 Frank Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5574 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39433 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39433, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 464 minutes of reading across 1115 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Frank Merriwell's Backers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of Frank 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 Frank Merriwell's Backers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
