Chapter 2 of The Border Boys on the Trail is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Border Boys on the Trail is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BOYS FIND TROUBLE. "No shootee! No shootee!" The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty. Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
Chapter 2 of The Border Boys on the Trail is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
-ing form of “cower” — crouch or curl up
From this reading “Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.”
past form of “emerge” — come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading “Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.”
earnest or urgent request
From this reading “The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.”
a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
From this reading “Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.”
past form of “plump” — drop sharply
From this reading “The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.”
a building where people go to eat
From this reading “Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.”
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
From this reading “Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.”
performs some wicked deed
From this reading “Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.”
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 “The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.”
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading THE BOYS FIND TROUBLE.
(ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of Chinese descent
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
past form of “clasp” — hold firmly and tightly
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
-ing form of “cower” — crouch or curl up
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
remove the dust from
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
past form of “emerge” — come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
earnest or urgent request
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading THE BOYS FIND TROUBLE.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
not any; not one
From this reading "No shootee!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
past form of “plump” — drop sharply
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
a building where people go to eat
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No shootee!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BOYS FIND TROUBLE.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
a source of difficulty
From this reading THE BOYS FIND TROUBLE.
which person or people
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The blue-overalled Chinaman plumped down on his knees in the thick dust, with his hands clasped in entreaty.
performs some wicked deed
From this reading Above him, threatening the cowering wretch with his pistol, stood the figure of the man who had emerged so suddenly from the restaurant door.
Chapter 2 of The Border Boys on the Trail by John Henry Goldfrap holds 161 sentences, grouped into 33 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 161 sentences of The Border Boys on the Trail, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Border Boys on the Trail by John Henry Goldfrap exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 161 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 The Border Boys on the Trail by John Henry Goldfrap on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3203 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48680 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48680, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 266 minutes of reading across 641 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Border Boys on the Trail section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Border Boys on the Trail 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 Border Boys on the Trail, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
