Chapter 20 of The Mucker is here in full — 240 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Mucker is here in full — 240 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for. When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know. Nor did he care. As it happened he was over neither. The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.
Chapter 20 of The Mucker is here in full — 240 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/48 · 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.
extremely deep
From this reading “When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.”
past form of “chance” — be the case by chance
From this reading “The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.”
a transverse and totally enclosed drain under a road or railway
From this reading “The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.”
enclose with a fence
From this reading “When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.”
move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.”
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading “When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.”
A large hole in the ground, or an abyss of darkness and peril.
From this reading “When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.”
a raised horizontal surface
From this reading “The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.”
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 When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As it happened he was over neither.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
extremely deep
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading Nor did he care.
past form of “chance” — be the case by chance
From this reading The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.
a transverse and totally enclosed drain under a road or railway
From this reading The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
without deviation
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
enclose with a fence
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading As it happened he was over neither.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading As it happened he was over neither.
move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading As it happened he was over neither.
not any; not one
From this reading BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Nor did he care.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
above and across; more than
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.
select carefully from a group
From this reading BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
A large hole in the ground, or an abyss of darkness and peril.
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
a raised horizontal surface
From this reading The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The platform chanced to be passing across a culvert at the instant.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading BYRNE had no time to pick any particular spot to jump for.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading As it happened he was over neither.
at the time that
From this reading When he did jump he might have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know.
Chapter 20 of The Mucker by Edgar Rice Burroughs holds 240 sentences, grouped into 48 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 20 holds 240 sentences of The Mucker, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Mucker by Edgar Rice Burroughs exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 240 sentences, grouped into 48 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 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 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 20 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 Mucker by Edgar Rice Burroughs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7026 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #331 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #331, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 585 minutes of reading across 1406 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mucker section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Mucker 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 Mucker, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
