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The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys
The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys is here in full — 299 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys
Context Illustration Reading 1/59 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.
“Who can that be?”
His heart went into a tailspin.
He was alone, unarmed.
He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys is here in full — 299 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/59 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.
Line 2
“Who can that be?”
/huː kæn ðæt biː/
Line 3
His heart went into a tailspin.
/hɪz hɑːrt went ˈɪntuː ə ˈteɪlspɪn/
Line 4
He was alone, unarmed.
/hiː wɑːz əˈloʊn əˈnɑːrmd/
Line 5
He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

Learner Dictionary

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.

drone noun US /droʊn/

stingless male bee in a colony of social bees (especially honeybees) whose sole function is to mate with the queen

From this reading “THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
gamblers noun US /ˈɡæmblərz/

plural of “gambler” — a person who wagers money on the outcome of games or sporting events

From this reading “He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Greasy adjective US /ˈɡriːsi/

containing an unusual amount of grease or oil

From this reading “He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
sentry noun US /ˈsentri/

a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event

From this reading “THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
tailspin noun US /ˈteɪlspɪn/

loss of emotional control often resulting in emotional collapse

From this reading “His heart went into a tailspin.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Thumb noun US /θʌm/

the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb

From this reading “He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
tread verb US /tred/

put down or press the foot, place the foot

From this reading “THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
unarmed adjective US /əˈnɑːrmd/

(used of persons or the military) not having or using arms

From this reading “He was alone, unarmed.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

became conscious verb + adjective counted as “become conscious”

In this reading “THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.”

2,889 times in 426,211 chapters
once more adverb + adjective

anew

In this reading “THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.”

110,081 times in 426,211 chapters
died away verb + particle counted as “die away”

become less in amount or intensity

In this reading “THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.”

12,626 times in 426,211 chapters
went into verb + particle counted as “go into”

to come or go into

In this reading “His heart went into a tailspin.”

63,620 times in 426,211 chapters
roll of verb + particle

In this reading “He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?”

9,584 times in 426,211 chapters
in the distance preposition + article + noun counted as “in … distance”

In this reading “THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.”

17,545 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 52

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading His heart went into a tailspin.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/

Having no one else present.

From this reading He was alone, unarmed.

Velmora curated lexicon
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
AsconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
awayadverbUS /əˈweɪ/

from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading “Who can that be?”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
becameverbUS /bɪˈkeɪm/

inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
belongverbUS /bɪˈlɔːŋ/

be owned by; be in the possession of

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
belongedverbUS /bɪˈlɔːŋd/

past form of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
billsnounUS /bɪlz/

plural of “bill” — a statute in draft before it becomes law

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading “Who can that be?”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
consciousadjectiveUS /ˈkɑːnʃəs/

intentionally conceived

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
diedverbUS /daɪd/

past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
distancenounUS /ˈdɪstəns/

the property created by the space between two objects or points

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
dronenounUS /droʊn/

stingless male bee in a colony of social bees (especially honeybees) whose sole function is to mate with the queen

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
gamblersnounUS /ˈɡæmblərz/

plural of “gambler” — a person who wagers money on the outcome of games or sporting events

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
gangnounUS /ɡæŋ/

an association of criminals

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
GreasyadjectiveUS /ˈɡriːsi/

containing an unusual amount of grease or oil

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He was alone, unarmed.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

From this reading His heart went into a tailspin.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
HisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading His heart went into a tailspin.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading His heart went into a tailspin.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
JohnnynounUS /ˈdʒɑːni/

“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 THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
moneynounUS /ˈmʌni/

the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
motornounUS /ˈmoʊtər/

machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
MYSTERIOUSadjectiveUS /mɪˈstɪriəs/

of an obscure nature

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
onceadverbUS /wʌns/

on one occasion

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
pocketnounUS /ˈpɑːkət/

a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
rollverbUS /roʊl/

move by turning over or rotating

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
SENTRYnounUS /ˈsentri/

a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
sentry-like

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

Pending verification
tailspinnounUS /ˈteɪlspɪn/

loss of emotional control often resulting in emotional collapse

From this reading His heart went into a tailspin.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading “Who can that be?”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
thoughtnounUS /θɔːt/

the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ThumbnounUS /θʌm/

the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
treadverbUS /tred/

put down or press the foot, place the foot

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
unarmedadjectiveUS /əˈnɑːrmd/

(used of persons or the military) not having or using arms

From this reading He was alone, unarmed.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading He was alone, unarmed.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
welladverbUS /wel/

(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wentverbUS /went/

inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

From this reading His heart went into a tailspin.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
WhopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading “Who can that be?”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
whompronounUS /huːm/

the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading He thought of the gamblers, of Greasy Thumb and his gang, and of the money in his pocket, that roll of bills which belonged—well, to whom did it belong?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading THE MYSTERIOUS SENTRY As the drone of the motor died away in the distance, Johnny became conscious once more of the sentry-like tread from without.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Chapter 2 of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell holds 299 sentences, grouped into 60 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.

What does chapter 2 of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys contain?

Chapter 2 holds 299 sentences of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys, unabridged, divided into 60 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 2 of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 299 sentences, grouped into 60 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.

How do I study chapter 2 of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys?

Work through the 60 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 60 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.

Can chapter 2 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys

Common questions about reading The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys?

Yes. All 4213 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60233 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #60233, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys take to read?

About 351 minutes of reading across 843 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys section by section

How to work through The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

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  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Reilly
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Chicago
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Tumble
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Anyway
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.