Chapter 2 of Shorty McCabe is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Shorty McCabe is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
What did we do with Homer, eh? Ah, forget it! Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses. Then he asks us to put in a bill. "Bill!" says I.
Chapter 2 of Shorty McCabe is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
third-person singular of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Then he asks us to put in a bill.”
plural of “begin” — Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)
From this reading “Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.”
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading “Then he asks us to put in a bill.”
determine the number or amount of
From this reading “Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.”
plural of “expense” — amounts paid for goods and services that may be currently tax deductible (as opposed to capital expenditures)
From this reading “Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.”
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading “Ah, forget it!”
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading “What did we do with Homer, eh?”
travel on water propelled by wind or by other means
From this reading “Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.”
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 Then he asks us to put in a bill.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah, forget it!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
third-person singular of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Then he asks us to put in a bill.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
plural of “begin” — Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading Then he asks us to put in a bill.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
determine the number or amount of
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading What did we do with Homer, eh?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What did we do with Homer, eh?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What did we do with Homer, eh?
plural of “expense” — amounts paid for goods and services that may be currently tax deductible (as opposed to capital expenditures)
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading Ah, forget it!
set up or found
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading What did we do with Homer, eh?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Bill!" says I.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then he asks us to put in a bill.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Ah, forget it!
travel on water propelled by wind or by other means
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Then he asks us to put in a bill.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
express in words
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading "Bill!" says I.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he asks us to put in a bill.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Say, soon's he got back to town and found he could navigate 'round by himself, he begins to count up expenses.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then he asks us to put in a bill.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading What did we do with Homer, eh?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What did we do with Homer, eh?
in the company of; together with
From this reading What did we do with Homer, eh?
Chapter 2 of Shorty McCabe by Sewell Ford holds 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 2 holds 441 sentences of Shorty McCabe, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Shorty McCabe by Sewell Ford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 2 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 Shorty McCabe by Sewell Ford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4792 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22249 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22249, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 399 minutes of reading across 959 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shorty McCabe section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Shorty McCabe 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 Shorty McCabe, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
