Chapter 26 of Just his luck is here in full — 108 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of Just his luck is here in full — 108 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ESCAPED OVERBOARD. “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue. “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Matt Swikes?” demanded Wade. “I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while. Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?”
Chapter 26 of Just his luck is here in full — 108 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
United States literary critic and historian (1886-1963)
From this reading ““How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.”
the human act of creating
From this reading ““How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.”
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading “ESCAPED OVERBOARD.”
the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading ““How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.”
to extremes
From this reading “ESCAPED OVERBOARD.”
use up a period of time in a specific way
From this reading “Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?””
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading ““How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.”
walk (through relatively shallow water)
From this reading ““How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.”
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.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
In this reading ““How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.”
In this reading ““I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.”
In this reading ““I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.”
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 “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
(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 Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
United States literary critic and historian (1886-1963)
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
the human act of creating
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Matt Swikes?” demanded Wade.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?”
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading ESCAPED OVERBOARD.
set up or found
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading “I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
to extremes
From this reading ESCAPED OVERBOARD.
recurring again and again
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?”
use up a period of time in a specific way
From this reading Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?”
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Matt Swikes?” demanded Wade.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
walk (through relatively shallow water)
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
at the time that
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
during the time that
From this reading “I thought you meant to stop at that big hotel a while.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “How in creation came you on board of this vessel, Wade Brooks?” repeated Matt, when he had found a tongue.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Did you spend all your money, and then have to go to sea?”
Chapter 26 of Just his luck by Oliver Optic holds 108 sentences, grouped into 22 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 26 holds 108 sentences of Just his luck, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of Just his luck by Oliver Optic exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 108 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 26 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 Just his luck by Oliver Optic on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4381 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76585 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76585, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 365 minutes of reading across 877 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Just his luck section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Just his luck 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 Just his luck, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
