Chapter 3 of Those Smith Boys on the Diamond is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Those Smith Boys on the Diamond is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze. Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that. “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself. “It sure is! I wonder if they’ll arrest us?”
Chapter 3 of Those Smith Boys on the Diamond is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
take into custody
From this reading “I wonder if they’ll arrest us?””
an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading “A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.”
a strong flame that burns brightly
From this reading “A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.”
permitting the unwanted passage of fluids or gases
From this reading “A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.”
cultivated in temperate regions
From this reading ““Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.”
predatory arachnid with eight legs, two poison fangs, two feelers, and usually two silk-spinning organs at the back end of the body; they spin silk to make cocoons for eggs or traps for prey
From this reading “Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.”
past form of “struggle” — make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading ““Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.”
to no avail
From this reading ““Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.”
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 “A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.”
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 LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.
declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
(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 “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
take into custody
From this reading I wonder if they’ll arrest us?”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
a strong flame that burns brightly
From this reading A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
enclose with a fence
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
start firing a weapon
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I wonder if they’ll arrest us?”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I wonder if they’ll arrest us?”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “It sure is!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It sure is!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
a boy or man
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
permitting the unwanted passage of fluids or gases
From this reading A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.
having long legs
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.
cultivated in temperate regions
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
precisely, exactly
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
express in words
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
predatory arachnid with eight legs, two poison fangs, two feelers, and usually two silk-spinning organs at the back end of the body; they spin silk to make cocoons for eggs or traps for prey
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
past form of “struggle” — make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading “It sure is!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A LEAKY BOAT The old barn made a good blaze.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I wonder if they’ll arrest us?”
bound or secured closely
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I wonder if they’ll arrest us?”
to no avail
From this reading “Say, it’s a peach of a fire all right!” exclaimed the long-legged lad, as he vainly struggled to free himself.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Beantoe and Spider, tied with their hands behind them to the fence, could not help but admit that.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading I wonder if they’ll arrest us?”
Chapter 3 of Those Smith Boys on the Diamond by Howard Roger Garis holds 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 3 holds 157 sentences of Those Smith Boys on the Diamond, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Those Smith Boys on the Diamond by Howard Roger Garis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 3 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 Those Smith Boys on the Diamond by Howard Roger Garis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4716 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55715 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55715, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 393 minutes of reading across 944 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Those Smith Boys on the Diamond section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Those Smith Boys on the Diamond 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 Those Smith Boys on the Diamond, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
