Chapter 2 of The Make-Believe Man is here in full — 262 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Make-Believe Man is here in full — 262 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Oh, Lord!” he exclaimed, “what’s he huffy about now? He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.” The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded. Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man. When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
Chapter 2 of The Make-Believe Man is here in full — 262 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/52 · 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.
with anger
From this reading “When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.”
any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading “He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.””
in a serious manner
From this reading “When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.”
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading “When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.”
quick to take offense
From this reading ““Oh, Lord!” he exclaimed, “what’s he huffy about now?”
of or relating to two people who are married to each other
From this reading “When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.”
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded.”
plural of “stump” — the base part of a tree that remains standing after the tree has been felled
From this reading “Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.”
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 The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “Oh, Lord!” he exclaimed, “what’s he huffy about now?
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded.
with anger
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.”
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.”
any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.”
in a serious manner
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading “Oh, Lord!” he exclaimed, “what’s he huffy about now?
a young female
From this reading The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded.
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Oh, Lord!” he exclaimed, “what’s he huffy about now?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
quick to take offense
From this reading “Oh, Lord!” he exclaimed, “what’s he huffy about now?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.”
of or relating to two people who are married to each other
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading “Oh, Lord!” he exclaimed, “what’s he huffy about now?
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.”
come together
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “Oh, Lord!” he exclaimed, “what’s he huffy about now?
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, Lord!” he exclaimed, “what’s he huffy about now?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.”
cut with a saw
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded.
in the near future
From this reading He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.”
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.”
plural of “stump” — the base part of a tree that remains standing after the tree has been felled
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.”
moved around an axis or center
From this reading The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading He TOLD me I could come on deck as soon as we started.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, Lord!” he exclaimed, “what’s he huffy about now?
at the time that
From this reading When he saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking earnestly, almost angrily.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Then, with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man.
Chapter 2 of The Make-Believe Man by Richard Harding Davis holds 262 sentences, grouped into 53 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 262 sentences of The Make-Believe Man, unabridged, divided into 53 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Make-Believe Man by Richard Harding Davis exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 262 sentences, grouped into 53 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 53 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 53 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 Make-Believe Man by Richard Harding Davis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 785 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1823 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1823, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 65 minutes of reading across 157 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Make-Believe Man section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Make-Believe Man 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 Make-Believe Man, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
