Chapter 8 of Shorty McCabe is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Shorty McCabe is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Did you shut the hall door? That's right. There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time. Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'. Sure, I'm just convalescin' from the last shock.
Chapter 8 of Shorty McCabe is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/61 · 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.
in bed
From this reading “Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.”
be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.”
at risk of or subject to experiencing something usually unpleasant
From this reading “There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.”
easily agitated
From this reading “Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.”
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.”
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading “Sure, I'm just convalescin' from the last shock.”
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading “Did you shut the hall door?”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.”
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.
in bed
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sure, I'm just convalescin' from the last shock.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Did you shut the hall door?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Did you shut the hall door?
be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Sure, I'm just convalescin' from the last shock.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading Did you shut the hall door?
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sure, I'm just convalescin' from the last shock.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
and nothing more
From this reading Sure, I'm just convalescin' from the last shock.
immediately past
From this reading Sure, I'm just convalescin' from the last shock.
at risk of or subject to experiencing something usually unpleasant
From this reading There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.
easily agitated
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
not any; not one
From this reading There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
precisely, exactly
From this reading That's right.
express in words
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading Sure, I'm just convalescin' from the last shock.
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading Did you shut the hall door?
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading Sure, I'm just convalescin' from the last shock.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That's right.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Did you shut the hall door?
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's no tellin' what's liable to float in here any time.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Say, if they don't quit it, I'll get to be one of these nervous prostraters, that think themselves sick abed without half tryin'.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Did you shut the hall door?
Chapter 8 of Shorty McCabe by Sewell Ford holds 305 sentences, grouped into 61 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 8 holds 305 sentences of Shorty McCabe, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Shorty McCabe by Sewell Ford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 305 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 8 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.
