Chapter 12 of The Secret Play is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Secret Play is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square. “I wonder how the game came out. Bet you we got licked, Chester.” “I don’t believe so. We’ll ask somebody.”
Chapter 12 of The Secret Play is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
maintain with or as if with a bet
From this reading “Bet you we got licked, Chester.””
a city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading “Bet you we got licked, Chester.””
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading “THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.”
of concern to or concerning the affairs of other nations (other than your own)
From this reading “THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.”
having been got the better of
From this reading “Bet you we got licked, Chester.””
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading “THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.”
a person, without saying who
From this reading “We’ll ask somebody.””
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading “THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.”
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 “THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.”
come down
In this reading “THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.”
appear or become visible; make a showing
In this reading ““I wonder how the game came out.”
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 BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
anew
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading We’ll ask somebody.”
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “I don’t believe so.
maintain with or as if with a bet
From this reading Bet you we got licked, Chester.”
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “I wonder how the game came out.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
a city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading Bet you we got licked, Chester.”
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t believe so.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
of concern to or concerning the affairs of other nations (other than your own)
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading “I wonder how the game came out.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Bet you we got licked, Chester.”
where you live at a particular time
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I wonder how the game came out.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I wonder how the game came out.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
having been got the better of
From this reading Bet you we got licked, Chester.”
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “I wonder how the game came out.
the land along the edge of a body of water
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “I don’t believe so.
a person, without saying who
From this reading We’ll ask somebody.”
make square
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE BOARD OF STRATEGY “Home again from a foreign shore,” murmured Lanny as they climbed down from the car in the Square.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Bet you we got licked, Chester.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We’ll ask somebody.”
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading “I wonder how the game came out.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Bet you we got licked, Chester.”
Chapter 12 of The Secret Play by Ralph Henry Barbour holds 235 sentences, grouped into 47 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 235 sentences of The Secret Play, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Secret Play by Ralph Henry Barbour exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 235 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 Secret Play by Ralph Henry Barbour on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4550 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65237 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65237, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 379 minutes of reading across 910 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret Play section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Secret Play 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 Secret Play, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
