Chapter 3 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 333 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 333 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him: "Quicker, my Woolly-legs! No time to lose!" He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book. Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
Chapter 3 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 333 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/66 · 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.
characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution
From this reading “Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.”
a group of cattle or sheep or other domestic mammals all of the same kind that are herded by humans
From this reading “A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:”
-ing form of “hustle” — cause to move furtively and hurriedly
From this reading “A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:”
inflected form of “jot” — write briefly or hurriedly; write a short note of
From this reading “He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.”
any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading “Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.”
plural of “pawnee” — a member of the Pawnee nation formerly living in Nebraska and Kansas but now largely in Oklahoma
From this reading “Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.”
more quickly
From this reading “"Quicker, my Woolly-legs!”
plural of “trick” — a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading “He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.”
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 “A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:”
In this reading “Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.”
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 A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:
(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 Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:
showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:
characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
a group of cattle or sheep or other domestic mammals all of the same kind that are herded by humans
From this reading A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:
-ing form of “hustle” — cause to move furtively and hurriedly
From this reading A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
inflected form of “jot” — write briefly or hurriedly; write a short note of
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:
gain knowledge or skills
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading No time to lose!"
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Quicker, my Woolly-legs!
not any; not one
From this reading No time to lose!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
and nothing more
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:
plural of “pawnee” — a member of the Pawnee nation formerly living in Nebraska and Kansas but now largely in Oklahoma
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
more quickly
From this reading "Quicker, my Woolly-legs!
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading No time to lose!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No time to lose!"
plural of “trick” — a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A few minutes later, Pa was hustling his herd before him:
at the time that
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He thought of the tricks which he had jotted down the evening before in his note-book.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Quicker, my Woolly-legs!
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Lily would learn them quick enough: she was as clever as the Pawnees, when all was said, only less graceful.
Chapter 3 of The Bill-Toppers by J. André Castaigne holds 333 sentences, grouped into 67 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 333 sentences of The Bill-Toppers, unabridged, divided into 67 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Bill-Toppers by J. André Castaigne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 333 sentences, grouped into 67 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 67 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 67 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 The Bill-Toppers by J. André Castaigne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6921 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26242 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26242, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 576 minutes of reading across 1385 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bill-Toppers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Bill-Toppers 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 The Bill-Toppers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
