The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales

Chapter VI · Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Arthur Quiller-Couch • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

"That," I answered, "is my secret.

Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

In return, on producing this paper, you receive twelve thousand francs; that is, as soon as Lord Wellington has assured himself on my report that you received the paper from me and did as I requested."

"Two men?

This begins to look like business."

Narrator

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.

Chapter VI Reading 1/83

The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales

Chapter VI · Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

"That," I answered, "is my secret.

/ðæt aɪ ˈænsərd ɪz maɪ ˈsiː.krət/

Line 2

Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

Line 3

/ɪn rɪˈtɜːrn ɑːn prəˈduːsɪŋ ðɪs ˈpeɪpər juː rəˈsiːv twelv ˈθaʊzənd fræŋks ðæt ɪz æz suːn æz lɔːrd ˈwelɪŋtən hæz əˈʃʊrd hɪmˈself ɑːn maɪ riˈpɔːrt ðæt juː rəˈsiːvd ðə ˈpeɪpər frʌm miː ənd dɪd æz aɪ rɪˈkwestɪd/

Line 4

"Two men?

/tuː men/

Line 5

This begins to look like business."

/ðɪs bɪˈɡɪnz tuː lʊk laɪk ˈbɪznəs/

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.

assured adjective US /əˈʃʊrd/

marked by assurance; exhibiting confidence

From this reading “In return, on producing this paper, you receive twelve thousand francs; that is, as soon as Lord Wellington has assured himself on my report that you received the paper from me and did as I requested."”

begins noun US /bɪˈɡɪnz/

plural of “begin” — Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)

From this reading “This begins to look like business."”

francs noun US /fræŋks/

plural of “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes

Lend verb US /lend/

bestow a quality on

From this reading “Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.”

producing verb US /prəˈduːsɪŋ/

-ing form of “produce” — bring forth or yield

report verb US /riˈpɔːrt/

to give an account or representation of in words

requested adjective US /rɪˈkwestɪd/

asked for

Wellington noun US /ˈwelɪŋtən/

British general and statesman; he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo; subsequently served as Prime Minister (1769-1852)

All words in this reading · 47

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 Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading In return, on producing this paper, you receive twelve thousand francs; that is, as soon as Lord Wellington has assured himself on my report that you received the paper from me and did as I requested."

answeredverbUS /ˈænsərd/

past form of “answer” — react verbally

From this reading "That," I answered, "is my secret.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

assuredadjectiveUS /əˈʃʊrd/

marked by assurance; exhibiting confidence

beginsnounUS /bɪˈɡɪnz/

plural of “begin” — Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)

From this reading This begins to look like business."

businessnounUS /ˈbɪznəs/

a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it

From this reading This begins to look like business."

couplenounUS /ˈkʌpəl/

a pair who associate with one another

From this reading Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

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

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

forty-eightadjective

being eight more than forty

From this reading Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

francsnounUS /fræŋks/

plural of “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/

the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

hoursnounUS /ˈaʊərz/

a period of time assigned for work

From this reading Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading "That," I answered, "is my secret.

InprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading "That," I answered, "is my secret.

LendverbUS /lend/

bestow a quality on

From this reading Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

likeverbUS /laɪk/

prefer or wish to do something

From this reading This begins to look like business."

lookverbUS /lʊk/

perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

From this reading This begins to look like business."

LordnounUS /lɔːrd/

terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

mennounUS /men/

the force of workers available

From this reading Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading "That," I answered, "is my secret.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

papernounUS /ˈpeɪpər/

a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses

producingverbUS /prəˈduːsɪŋ/

-ing form of “produce” — bring forth or yield

receiveverbUS /rəˈsiːv/

get something; come into possession of

receivedadjectiveUS /rəˈsiːvd/

conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers

reportverbUS /riˈpɔːrt/

to give an account or representation of in words

requestedadjectiveUS /rɪˈkwestɪd/

asked for

returnverbUS /rɪˈtɜːrn/

go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before

sayverbUS /seɪ/

express in words

From this reading Lend me a couple of men, say, for forty-eight hours.

secretnounUS /ˈsiː.krət/

Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.

From this reading "That," I answered, "is my secret.

soonadverbUS /suːn/

in the near future

ThatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "That," I answered, "is my secret.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

thousandnounUS /ˈθaʊzənd/

the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading This begins to look like business."

twelvenounUS /twelv/

the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one

TwonounUS /tuː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number

From this reading "Two men?

WellingtonnounUS /ˈwelɪŋtən/

British general and statesman; he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo; subsequently served as Prime Minister (1769-1852)

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

Chapter 6 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 415 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.

What does chapter 6 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales contain?

Chapter 6 holds 415 sentences of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 6 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 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.

How do I study chapter 6 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales?

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.

Can chapter 6 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 6 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.

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Common questions about reading The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales?

Yes. All 4193 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12923 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #12923, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales take to read?

About 349 minutes of reading across 839 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

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Chapter VI · Chapter 6

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Vocabulary met early in The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales