Chapter 2 of The Four Stragglers is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Four Stragglers is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly. "I knows! I knows yer got a game--some dirty game wiv Polly in it. Yer clever, yer are--an' yer ain't human. But yer won't win, an' all along 'o Polly.
Chapter 2 of The Four Stragglers is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
From this reading “Yer clever, yer are--an' yer ain't human.”
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading “"Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.”
soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
From this reading “I knows yer got a game--some dirty game wiv Polly in it.”
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading “I knows yer got a game--some dirty game wiv Polly in it.”
having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
From this reading “"Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.”
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading “"Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.”
to an extreme or greatly exaggerated degree
From this reading “"Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.”
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious
From this reading “But yer won't win, an' all along 'o Polly.”
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.
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 I knows yer got a game--some dirty game wiv Polly in it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yer clever, yer are--an' yer ain't human.
(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 But yer won't win, an' all along 'o Polly.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading But yer won't win, an' all along 'o Polly.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Yer clever, yer are--an' yer ain't human.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Yer clever, yer are--an' yer ain't human.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But yer won't win, an' all along 'o Polly.
showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
From this reading Yer clever, yer are--an' yer ain't human.
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading "Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.
soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
From this reading I knows yer got a game--some dirty game wiv Polly in it.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading I knows yer got a game--some dirty game wiv Polly in it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I knows yer got a game--some dirty game wiv Polly in it.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading Yer clever, yer are--an' yer ain't human.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I knows!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I knows yer got a game--some dirty game wiv Polly in it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I knows yer got a game--some dirty game wiv Polly in it.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading "I knows!
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading But yer won't win, an' all along 'o Polly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I knows yer got a game--some dirty game wiv Polly in it.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.
having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
From this reading "Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading I knows yer got a game--some dirty game wiv Polly in it.
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading "Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.
to an extreme or greatly exaggerated degree
From this reading "Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious
From this reading But yer won't win, an' all along 'o Polly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But yer won't win, an' all along 'o Polly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Gawd curse yer wiv yer smooth tongue!" said Mrs. Wickes wildly.
Chapter 2 of The Four Stragglers by Frank L. (Frank Lucius) Packard holds 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 413 sentences of The Four Stragglers, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Four Stragglers by Frank L. (Frank Lucius) Packard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Four Stragglers by Frank L. (Frank Lucius) Packard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Four Stragglers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Four Stragglers 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 Four Stragglers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
