Chapter 31 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 91 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 91 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FRANK IN SUNK HOLE. The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight. Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled. "Sunk Hole!" he said. "At last!" breathed Frank.
Chapter 31 of Frank Merriwell's Backers is here in full — 91 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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.
uttered without voice
From this reading “"At last!" breathed Frank.”
a ladle that has a cup with a long handle
From this reading “The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.”
extending or moving from a higher to a lower place
From this reading “Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.”
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading “Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.”
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading “Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.”
past form of “indicate” — be a signal for or a symptom of
From this reading “The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.”
doomed to extinction
From this reading “FRANK IN SUNK HOLE.”
past form of “twinkle” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.”
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 “The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.”
In this reading “Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.”
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 Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "At last!" breathed Frank.
uttered without voice
From this reading "At last!" breathed Frank.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
any of various plants of the genus Ranunculus
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
a ladle that has a cup with a long handle
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
extending or moving from a higher to a lower place
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading FRANK IN SUNK HOLE.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Sunk Hole!" he said.
an opening into or through something
From this reading FRANK IN SUNK HOLE.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading FRANK IN SUNK HOLE.
past form of “indicate” — be a signal for or a symptom of
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
immediately past
From this reading "At last!" breathed Frank.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
having a point
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Sunk Hole!" he said.
doomed to extinction
From this reading FRANK IN SUNK HOLE.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
past form of “twinkle” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Great Dipper indicated by its position that the hour was not far from midnight.
in or at the place that
From this reading Crowfoot halted and pointed downward, where, in the gloom of a round valley, a few lights twinkled.
Chapter 31 of Frank Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish holds 91 sentences, grouped into 19 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 31 holds 91 sentences of Frank Merriwell's Backers, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Frank Merriwell's Backers by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 91 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 31 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.
