Chapter 12 of The Boy Scouts on the Trail is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Boy Scouts on the Trail is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair. Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted. Then he grinned. "We'll have to hoof it," he said. "A good twelve miles, too!
Chapter 12 of The Boy Scouts on the Trail is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
tried unsuccessfully
From this reading “Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.”
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
From this reading “A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.”
a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission
From this reading “A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.”
English novelist and Catholic (1904-1991)
From this reading “A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.”
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading “Then he grinned.”
the foot of an ungulate mammal
From this reading “"We'll have to hoof it," he said.”
temporarily incapable of speaking
From this reading “A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.”
past form of “trick” — deceive somebody
From this reading “Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.”
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 DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.
later than; following
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
tried unsuccessfully
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
From this reading A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission
From this reading A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.
divisible by two
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "A good twelve miles, too!
English novelist and Catholic (1904-1991)
From this reading A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading Then he grinned.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
the foot of an ungulate mammal
From this reading "We'll have to hoof it," he said.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
the force of workers available
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading "A good twelve miles, too!
a particular point in time
From this reading A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "We'll have to hoof it," he said.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
temporarily incapable of speaking
From this reading A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he grinned.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "We'll have to hoof it," he said.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "A good twelve miles, too!
past form of “trick” — deceive somebody
From this reading Fate had tricked him, it seemed, after he had done his best--and a better best than most men could even have attempted.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading "A good twelve miles, too!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We'll have to hoof it," he said.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A DANGEROUS ERRAND For a moment Greene was speechless with despair.
Chapter 12 of The Boy Scouts on the Trail by George Durston holds 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 12 holds 198 sentences of The Boy Scouts on the Trail, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Boy Scouts on the Trail by George Durston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 12 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 Boy Scouts on the Trail by George Durston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2974 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20327 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20327, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 247 minutes of reading across 595 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy Scouts on the Trail section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Boy Scouts 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 Boy Scouts on the Trail, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
