Chapter 3 of Mercenary is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Mercenary is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The fat was in the fire now. Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man. "You have political pull, sir. Oh, I know you don't make and break presidents. You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
Chapter 3 of Mercenary is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
of or relating to a military division
From this reading “You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."”
noisy quarrel
From this reading “You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."”
having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy
From this reading “Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.”
a craft capable of moving over water or land on a cushion of air created by jet engines
From this reading “You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."”
the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small)
From this reading “You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."”
German arms manufacturer and inventor of a repeating rifle and pistol (1838-1914)
From this reading “Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.”
plural of “president” — an executive officer of a firm or corporation
From this reading “Oh, I know you don't make and break presidents.”
plural of “wire” — ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."”
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 You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
past form of “avoid” — stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
terminate
From this reading Oh, I know you don't make and break presidents.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
of or relating to a military division
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, I know you don't make and break presidents.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
divisible by two
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
having an (over)abundance of flesh
From this reading The fat was in the fire now.
start firing a weapon
From this reading The fat was in the fire now.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
noisy quarrel
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "You have political pull, sir.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
a craft capable of moving over water or land on a cushion of air created by jet engines
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Oh, I know you don't make and break presidents.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The fat was in the fire now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Oh, I know you don't make and break presidents.
the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small)
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
engage in
From this reading Oh, I know you don't make and break presidents.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
German arms manufacturer and inventor of a repeating rifle and pistol (1838-1914)
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
in such a manner as could not be otherwise
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The fat was in the fire now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, I know you don't make and break presidents.
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
involving or characteristic of politics or parties or politicians
From this reading "You have political pull, sir.
plural of “president” — an executive officer of a firm or corporation
From this reading Oh, I know you don't make and break presidents.
cause to move by pulling
From this reading "You have political pull, sir.
term of address for a man
From this reading "You have political pull, sir.
look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The fat was in the fire now.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The fat was in the fire now.
plural of “wire” — ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading You couldn't even pull enough wires to keep Hovercraft from making this a divisional magnitude fracas--but you have pull enough for my needs."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You have political pull, sir.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Joe Mauser avoided the haughty stare of young Balt Haer and addressed himself to the older man.
Chapter 3 of Mercenary by Mack Reynolds holds 448 sentences, grouped into 90 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 3 holds 448 sentences of Mercenary, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Mercenary by Mack Reynolds exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 448 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 3 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 Mercenary by Mack Reynolds on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1782 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24370 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24370, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 148 minutes of reading across 357 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mercenary section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Mercenary 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 Mercenary, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
