Chapter 4 of Saboteurs on the River is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Saboteurs on the River is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"What value would the rope have to a thief?" "Hawsers are expensive," the reporter explained. "Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp. A hawser of any size commands a big price second hand." "How do the thieves get the ropes, Jerry?"
Chapter 4 of Saboteurs on the River is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
plural of “command” — an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading “A hawser of any size commands a big price second hand."”
high in price or charging high prices
From this reading “"Hawsers are expensive," the reporter explained.”
a body of students who are taught together
From this reading “"Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.”
a plant fiber
From this reading “"Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.”
a person who investigates and reports or edits news stories
From this reading “"Hawsers are expensive," the reporter explained.”
plural of “rope” — a strong line
From this reading “"How do the thieves get the ropes, Jerry?"”
a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading “"What value would the rope have to a thief?"”
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading “"How do the thieves get the ropes, Jerry?"”
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 “"Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.”
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 "What value would the rope have to a thief?"
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading "Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading A hawser of any size commands a big price second hand."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Hawsers are expensive," the reporter explained.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A hawser of any size commands a big price second hand."
plural of “command” — an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading A hawser of any size commands a big price second hand."
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "How do the thieves get the ropes, Jerry?"
high in price or charging high prices
From this reading "Hawsers are expensive," the reporter explained.
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading "Hawsers are expensive," the reporter explained.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.
a body of students who are taught together
From this reading "Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading A hawser of any size commands a big price second hand."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "What value would the rope have to a thief?"
large heavy rope for nautical use
From this reading A hawser of any size commands a big price second hand."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hawsers are expensive," the reporter explained.
a plant fiber
From this reading "Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How do the thieves get the ropes, Jerry?"
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading "Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading "How do the thieves get the ropes, Jerry?"
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A hawser of any size commands a big price second hand."
the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading A hawser of any size commands a big price second hand."
a person who investigates and reports or edits news stories
From this reading "Hawsers are expensive," the reporter explained.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Right now it's almost impossible to get good grade hemp.
a strong line
From this reading "What value would the rope have to a thief?"
plural of “rope” — a strong line
From this reading "How do the thieves get the ropes, Jerry?"
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading A hawser of any size commands a big price second hand."
the physical magnitude of something (how big it is)
From this reading A hawser of any size commands a big price second hand."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "What value would the rope have to a thief?"
a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading "What value would the rope have to a thief?"
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading "How do the thieves get the ropes, Jerry?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "What value would the rope have to a thief?"
a numerical quantity measured or assigned or computed
From this reading "What value would the rope have to a thief?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What value would the rope have to a thief?"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "What value would the rope have to a thief?"
Chapter 4 of Saboteurs on the River by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt holds 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 431 sentences of Saboteurs on the River, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Saboteurs on the River by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Saboteurs on the River by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3850 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35082 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35082, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 320 minutes of reading across 770 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Saboteurs on the River section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Saboteurs on the River 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 Saboteurs on the River, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
