Chapter 4 of The Missing Tin Box is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Missing Tin Box is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HAL STANDS UP FOR HIMSELF. Hal now found himself in a tight situation. Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him. "Don't! don't!" cried Mr. Sumner, in great alarm. "The miserable tramp!" cried Hardwick.
Chapter 4 of The Missing Tin Box is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “"Don't! don't!" cried Mr. Sumner, in great alarm.”
Causing difficulty in breathing.
From this reading “Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.”
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading “"The miserable tramp!" cried Hardwick.”
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading “HAL STANDS UP FOR HIMSELF.”
United States sociologist (1840-1910)
From this reading “"Don't! don't!" cried Mr. Sumner, in great alarm.”
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading “Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.”
closely constrained or constricted or constricting
From this reading “Hal now found himself in a tight situation.”
a vagrant
From this reading “"The miserable tramp!" cried Hardwick.”
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.
rise to one's feet
In this reading “HAL STANDS UP FOR HIMSELF.”
In this reading “Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.”
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 Hal now found himself in a tight situation.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading "Don't! don't!" cried Mr. Sumner, in great alarm.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
Causing difficulty in breathing.
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Don't! don't!" cried Mr. Sumner, in great alarm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't! don't!" cried Mr. Sumner, in great alarm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading HAL STANDS UP FOR HIMSELF.
set up or found
From this reading Hal now found himself in a tight situation.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading "Don't! don't!" cried Mr. Sumner, in great alarm.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HAL STANDS UP FOR HIMSELF.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading HAL STANDS UP FOR HIMSELF.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Hal now found himself in a tight situation.
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading "The miserable tramp!" cried Hardwick.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Don't! don't!" cried Mr. Sumner, in great alarm.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Hal now found himself in a tight situation.
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading Hal now found himself in a tight situation.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading HAL STANDS UP FOR HIMSELF.
United States sociologist (1840-1910)
From this reading "Don't! don't!" cried Mr. Sumner, in great alarm.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
closely constrained or constricted or constricting
From this reading Hal now found himself in a tight situation.
a vagrant
From this reading "The miserable tramp!" cried Hardwick.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading HAL STANDS UP FOR HIMSELF.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Felix Hardwick had him by the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
Chapter 4 of The Missing Tin Box by Edward Stratemeyer holds 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 4 holds 145 sentences of The Missing Tin Box, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Missing Tin Box by Edward Stratemeyer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 4 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 Missing Tin Box by Edward Stratemeyer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4507 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30864 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30864, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 375 minutes of reading across 902 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Missing Tin Box section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of The Missing Tin Box 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 Missing Tin Box, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
