Chapter XIII of The Firebug, “Johnny Reports to the Chief,” is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIII of The Firebug, “Johnny Reports to the Chief,” is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning. “Three suspects and no arrests,” smiled Johnny. “Tell me about them.” “There’s the one you gave me—Knobs.” “Know anything new about him?”
Chapter XIII of The Firebug, “Johnny Reports to the Chief,” is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
plural of “arrest” — the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal)
From this reading ““Three suspects and no arrests,” smiled Johnny.”
a person who is in charge
From this reading ““How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.”
an inquiry into unfamiliar or questionable activities
From this reading ““How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.”
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading ““How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.”
plural of “knob” — a circular rounded projection or protuberance
From this reading ““There’s the one you gave me—Knobs.””
gradual improvement or growth or development
From this reading ““How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.”
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading ““Three suspects and no arrests,” smiled Johnny.”
plural of “suspect” — someone who is under suspicion
From this reading ““Three suspects and no arrests,” smiled Johnny.”
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 ““How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.”
to come or go into
In this reading ““How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “Tell me about them.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Three suspects and no arrests,” smiled Johnny.
any thing at all
From this reading “Know anything new about him?”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
plural of “arrest” — the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal)
From this reading “Three suspects and no arrests,” smiled Johnny.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
a person who is in charge
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “There’s the one you gave me—Knobs.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Know anything new about him?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
an inquiry into unfamiliar or questionable activities
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
plural of “knob” — a circular rounded projection or protuberance
From this reading “There’s the one you gave me—Knobs.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Know anything new about him?”
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Tell me about them.”
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading “Know anything new about him?”
immediately following in time or order
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
not any; not one
From this reading “Three suspects and no arrests,” smiled Johnny.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “There’s the one you gave me—Knobs.”
gradual improvement or growth or development
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “Three suspects and no arrests,” smiled Johnny.
plural of “suspect” — someone who is under suspicion
From this reading “Three suspects and no arrests,” smiled Johnny.
express in words
From this reading “Tell me about them.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading “Tell me about them.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “There’s the one you gave me—Knobs.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “Three suspects and no arrests,” smiled Johnny.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “How much progress are you making on your investigation?” the Chief asked Johnny as he came in next morning.
Chapter 13 of The Firebug by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell holds 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 13 holds 71 sentences of The Firebug, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Firebug by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 13 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 Firebug by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3370 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42755 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42755, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 280 minutes of reading across 674 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Firebug section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Firebug 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 Firebug, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
