Chapter 26 of Tom Thatcher's Fortune is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of Tom Thatcher's Fortune is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A STARTLING SIGHT. Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded. “It seems pleasant,” said Tom, “to get away from the prairie.” “It may be pleasanter,” said the doctor, “but it is not so safe.” “Why not?” asked Tom.
Chapter 26 of Tom Thatcher's Fortune is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading ““It seems pleasant,” said Tom, “to get away from the prairie.””
a treeless grassy plain
From this reading “Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.”
the extended spatial location of something
From this reading “Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.”
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading ““It may be pleasanter,” said the doctor, “but it is not so safe.””
so remarkably different or sudden as to cause momentary shock or alarm
From this reading “A STARTLING SIGHT.”
being four more than twenty
From this reading “Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.”
not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture
From this reading “Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.”
covered with growing trees and bushes etc
From this reading “Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.”
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.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
In this reading “Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.”
run away from confinement
In this reading ““It seems pleasant,” said Tom, “to get away from the prairie.””
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 STARTLING SIGHT.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Why not?” asked Tom.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “It seems pleasant,” said Tom, “to get away from the prairie.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “It may be pleasanter,” said the doctor, “but it is not so safe.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “It may be pleasanter,” said the doctor, “but it is not so safe.”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “It may be pleasanter,” said the doctor, “but it is not so safe.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “It seems pleasant,” said Tom, “to get away from the prairie.”
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “It seems pleasant,” said Tom, “to get away from the prairie.”
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “It may be pleasanter,” said the doctor, “but it is not so safe.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It seems pleasant,” said Tom, “to get away from the prairie.”
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading “It may be pleasanter,” said the doctor, “but it is not so safe.”
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “It may be pleasanter,” said the doctor, “but it is not so safe.”
an organization to gain political power
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading “It seems pleasant,” said Tom, “to get away from the prairie.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It may be pleasanter,” said the doctor, “but it is not so safe.”
a treeless grassy plain
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
the extended spatial location of something
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading “It may be pleasanter,” said the doctor, “but it is not so safe.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It seems pleasant,” said Tom, “to get away from the prairie.”
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “It seems pleasant,” said Tom, “to get away from the prairie.”
an instance of visual perception
From this reading A STARTLING SIGHT.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “It may be pleasanter,” said the doctor, “but it is not so safe.”
so remarkably different or sudden as to cause momentary shock or alarm
From this reading A STARTLING SIGHT.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
male cat
From this reading “It seems pleasant,” said Tom, “to get away from the prairie.”
being four more than twenty
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Why not?” asked Tom.
covered with growing trees and bushes etc
From this reading Twenty-four hours later the party left the prairie, and came to a region more uneven and wooded.
Chapter 26 of Tom Thatcher's Fortune by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 59 sentences, grouped into 12 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 26 holds 59 sentences of Tom Thatcher's Fortune, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of Tom Thatcher's Fortune by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 59 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 26 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 Tom Thatcher's Fortune by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5824 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56896 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56896, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 485 minutes of reading across 1165 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Thatcher's Fortune section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Tom Thatcher's Fortune 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 Tom Thatcher's Fortune, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
