Chapter 13 of The Puppet Crown is here in full — 350 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Puppet Crown is here in full — 350 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Maurice leaped to his feet, a menace in his eyes. The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled. “I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.” “You have come cursed inopportune,” snarled Maurice. “What do you want?”
Chapter 13 of The Puppet Crown is here in full — 350 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/70 · 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.
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading ““I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.””
deserving a curse; sometimes used as an intensifier
From this reading ““You have come cursed inopportune,” snarled Maurice.”
the handle of a sword or dagger
From this reading “The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.”
not opportune
From this reading ““You have come cursed inopportune,” snarled Maurice.”
pose a threat to; present a danger to
From this reading “Maurice leaped to his feet, a menace in his eyes.”
elude, especially in a baffling way
From this reading ““I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.””
a fencing sword with a v-shaped blade and a slightly curved handle
From this reading “The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.”
tangled in knots or snarls
From this reading ““You have come cursed inopportune,” snarled Maurice.”
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 Maurice leaped to his feet, a menace in his eyes.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading “I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.”
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “You have come cursed inopportune,” snarled Maurice.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.”
placed crosswise
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
deserving a curse; sometimes used as an intensifier
From this reading “You have come cursed inopportune,” snarled Maurice.
the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
From this reading “I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What do you want?”
opinion or judgment
From this reading Maurice leaped to his feet, a menace in his eyes.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Maurice leaped to his feet, a menace in his eyes.
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading “I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.”
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.”
the handle of a sword or dagger
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Maurice leaped to his feet, a menace in his eyes.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Maurice leaped to his feet, a menace in his eyes.
not opportune
From this reading “You have come cursed inopportune,” snarled Maurice.
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Maurice leaped to his feet, a menace in his eyes.
staying power
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Maurice leaped to his feet, a menace in his eyes.
pose a threat to; present a danger to
From this reading Maurice leaped to his feet, a menace in his eyes.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
elude, especially in a baffling way
From this reading “I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.”
not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
a fencing sword with a v-shaped blade and a slightly curved handle
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
tangled in knots or snarls
From this reading “You have come cursed inopportune,” snarled Maurice.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Colonel crossed his legs, rested his hands on the hilt of his saber, and smiled.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Maurice leaped to his feet, a menace in his eyes.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “What do you want?”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What do you want?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading “I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I could not resist the desire to have a friendly chat with you.”
Chapter 13 of The Puppet Crown by Harold MacGrath holds 350 sentences, grouped into 70 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 13 holds 350 sentences of The Puppet Crown, unabridged, divided into 70 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Puppet Crown by Harold MacGrath exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 350 sentences, grouped into 70 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 70 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 70 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 13 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 Puppet Crown by Harold MacGrath on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8994 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3239 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3239, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1799 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Puppet Crown section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Puppet Crown 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 Puppet Crown, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
