Chapter 21 of Tom, The Bootblack is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Tom, The Bootblack is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A CONSPIRACY. James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted. At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said: "Well, Walton, I must bid you good-night." "Won't you walk home with me?
Chapter 21 of Tom, The Bootblack is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
someone who bakes commercially
From this reading “At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:”
propose a payment
From this reading “"Well, Walton, I must bid you good-night."”
European weed naturalized in southwestern United States and Mexico having reddish decumbent stems with small fernlike leaves and small deep reddish-lavender flowers followed by slender fruits that stick straight up; often grown for forage
From this reading “At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:”
a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
From this reading “A CONSPIRACY.”
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading “James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.”
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading “James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.”
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
From this reading “At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:”
English composer (1902-1983)
From this reading “James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.”
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 “James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.”
in a lengthy or prolix manner
In this reading “At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:”
In this reading “"Won't you walk home with me?”
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 CONSPIRACY.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
someone who bakes commercially
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
propose a payment
From this reading "Well, Walton, I must bid you good-night."
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
European weed naturalized in southwestern United States and Mexico having reddish decumbent stems with small fernlike leaves and small deep reddish-lavender flowers followed by slender fruits that stick straight up; often grown for forage
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
From this reading A CONSPIRACY.
without stop or interruption
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, Walton, I must bid you good-night."
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "Won't you walk home with me?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Well, Walton, I must bid you good-night."
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
and nothing more
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Won't you walk home with me?
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "Well, Walton, I must bid you good-night."
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
up to a particular time
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading "Won't you walk home with me?
English composer (1902-1983)
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading James Grey continued to follow Maurice Walton and his companion until his patience was nearly exhausted.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, Walton, I must bid you good-night."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading At length, just as the city clocks were striking ten, Baker said:
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Won't you walk home with me?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Won't you walk home with me?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, Walton, I must bid you good-night."
Chapter 21 of Tom, The Bootblack by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 133 sentences, grouped into 27 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 21 holds 133 sentences of Tom, The Bootblack, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Tom, The Bootblack by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 133 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 21 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, The Bootblack by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4823 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26355 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26355, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 401 minutes of reading across 965 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom, The Bootblack section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of Tom, The Bootblack 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, The Bootblack, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
