Chapter 12 of The Musket Boys of Old Boston is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Musket Boys of Old Boston is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy. The latter was all a-quiver over the intense situation. "Humph," muttered Andy. "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever. My, those are two tough-looking fellows."
Chapter 12 of The Musket Boys of Old Boston is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
getting two things to correspond
From this reading “"I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.”
a signal transmitted along a narrow path; guides airplane pilots in darkness or bad weather
From this reading “"I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.”
plural of “fellow” — a boy or man
From this reading “My, those are two tough-looking fellows."”
become quiet or still; fall silent
From this reading “A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.”
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading “The latter was all a-quiver over the intense situation.”
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “"Humph," muttered Andy.”
a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
From this reading “A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.”
plural of “tory” — an American who favored the British side during the American Revolution
From this reading “A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.”
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.
In this reading “"I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.”
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 A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The latter was all a-quiver over the intense situation.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading The latter was all a-quiver over the intense situation.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading My, those are two tough-looking fellows."
getting two things to correspond
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
a signal transmitted along a narrow path; guides airplane pilots in darkness or bad weather
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
at any time
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
plural of “fellow” — a boy or man
From this reading My, those are two tough-looking fellows."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Humph," muttered Andy.
become quiet or still; fall silent
From this reading A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading The latter was all a-quiver over the intense situation.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)
From this reading The latter was all a-quiver over the intense situation.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading "Humph," muttered Andy.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My, those are two tough-looking fellows."
a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
From this reading A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
above and across; more than
From this reading The latter was all a-quiver over the intense situation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading The latter was all a-quiver over the intense situation.
not in physical motion
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The latter was all a-quiver over the intense situation.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading My, those are two tough-looking fellows."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.
plural of “tory” — an American who favored the British side during the American Revolution
From this reading A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My, those are two tough-looking fellows."
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading My, those are two tough-looking fellows."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The latter was all a-quiver over the intense situation.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading A NEST OF TORIES "Hush!" whispered Phil warningly to Andy.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading "I never could keep still and, balancing on this sharp beam, I'm worse than ever.
Chapter 12 of The Musket Boys of Old Boston by George A. Warren holds 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 12 holds 71 sentences of The Musket Boys of Old Boston, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Musket Boys of Old Boston by George A. Warren exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 12 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 Musket Boys of Old Boston by George A. Warren on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3921 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76265 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76265, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 326 minutes of reading across 785 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Musket Boys of Old Boston section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Musket Boys of Old Boston 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 Musket Boys of Old Boston, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
