Chapter 4 of Held for Orders is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Held for Orders is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mobs are queer. A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him. The scab stood. Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood. The line wavered like tumbleweeds.
Chapter 4 of Held for Orders is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
station where transport vehicles load or unload passengers or goods
From this reading “A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.”
a feeling of intense anger
From this reading “Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.”
plural of “mob” — a disorderly crowd of people
From this reading “Mobs are queer.”
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading “Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.”
form a scab
From this reading “A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.”
an ungainly posture with arms and legs spread about
From this reading “Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.”
past form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading “Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.”
past form of “waver” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “The line wavered like tumbleweeds.”
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 “Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.”
In this reading “Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.”
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 A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Mobs are queer.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.
station where transport vehicles load or unload passengers or goods
From this reading A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.
a feeling of intense anger
From this reading Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The line wavered like tumbleweeds.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading The line wavered like tumbleweeds.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.
plural of “mob” — a disorderly crowd of people
From this reading Mobs are queer.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading Mobs are queer.
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.
form a scab
From this reading A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.
an ungainly posture with arms and legs spread about
From this reading Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The scab stood.
past form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The line wavered like tumbleweeds.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A minute before it was the depot, now it was the scab--kill him.
past form of “waver” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading The line wavered like tumbleweeds.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Rucker stumbled across a rail in his fury, and went sprawling, but the scab stood.
Chapter 4 of Held for Orders by Frank H. (Frank Hamilton) Spearman holds 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 4 holds 398 sentences of Held for Orders, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Held for Orders by Frank H. (Frank Hamilton) Spearman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 4 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 Held for Orders by Frank H. (Frank Hamilton) Spearman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3257 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34365 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34365, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 271 minutes of reading across 652 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Held for Orders section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Held for Orders 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 Held for Orders, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
