Chapter 1 of The Treasure-Train is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Treasure-Train is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars. We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled. I looked around at Maude Euston. She was the calmest of us all as she whispered: "They are in the car.
Chapter 1 of The Treasure-Train is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 68/81 · 5 reading units · Lines 336–340
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.
the act of breaking something
From this reading “We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.”
superlative of “calm” — not agitated; without losing self-possession
From this reading “She was the calmest of us all as she whispered:”
plural of “car” — a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading “Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.”
plural of “guard” — a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading “We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.”
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading “Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.”
past form of “render” — cause to become
From this reading “We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.”
in a swift manner
From this reading “Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.”
not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead
From this reading “We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.”
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.
(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 She was the calmest of us all as she whispered:
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "They are in the car.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading I looked around at Maude Euston.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She was the calmest of us all as she whispered:
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I looked around at Maude Euston.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
the act of breaking something
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
superlative of “calm” — not agitated; without losing self-possession
From this reading She was the calmest of us all as she whispered:
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading "They are in the car.
plural of “car” — a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
one or the other of two
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I looked around at Maude Euston.
inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.
plural of “guard” — a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I looked around at Maude Euston.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading I looked around at Maude Euston.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I looked around at Maude Euston.
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
past form of “render” — cause to become
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was the calmest of us all as she whispered:
in a swift manner
From this reading Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Swiftly now they hurried to the nearest of the gold-laden cars.
not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She was the calmest of us all as she whispered:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was the calmest of us all as she whispered:
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
in or at the place that
From this reading We could hear them, breaking in where the guards had either been rendered unconscious or had fled.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading She was the calmest of us all as she whispered:
Chapter 1 of The Treasure-Train by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve holds 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 1 holds 409 sentences of The Treasure-Train, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Treasure-Train by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 1 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 Treasure-Train by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5810 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5087 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5087, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 484 minutes of reading across 1162 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Treasure-Train section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Treasure-Train 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 Treasure-Train, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
