Chapter XX of Tom Willoughby's Scouts, “Raising the Siege,” is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter XX of Tom Willoughby's Scouts, “Raising the Siege,” is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him. "Noise dis way, sah," said the boy. Tom sprung up. From the direction of the forest came slight sounds. The enemy were on the move.
Chapter XX of Tom Willoughby's Scouts, “Raising the Siege,” is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
(Roman mythology) god of the underworld; counterpart of Greek Hades
From this reading “"Noise dis way, sah," said the boy.”
-ing form of “doze” — sleep lightly or for a short period of time
From this reading “Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.”
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading “Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.”
past form of “rouse” — become active
From this reading “Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.”
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading “From the direction of the forest came slight sounds.”
plural of “sound” — the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading “From the direction of the forest came slight sounds.”
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Tom sprung up.”
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading “Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.”
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.
come into existence; take on form or shape
In this reading “Tom sprung up.”
In this reading “From the direction of the forest came slight sounds.”
In this reading “"Noise dis way, sah," said the boy.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
a youthful male person
From this reading "Noise dis way, sah," said the boy.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading From the direction of the forest came slight sounds.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading From the direction of the forest came slight sounds.
(Roman mythology) god of the underworld; counterpart of Greek Hades
From this reading "Noise dis way, sah," said the boy.
-ing form of “doze” — sleep lightly or for a short period of time
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
an opposing military force
From this reading The enemy were on the move.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading From the direction of the forest came slight sounds.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From the direction of the forest came slight sounds.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading The enemy were on the move.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading "Noise dis way, sah," said the boy.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading From the direction of the forest came slight sounds.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
past form of “rouse” — become active
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Noise dis way, sah," said the boy.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Noise dis way, sah," said the boy.
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading From the direction of the forest came slight sounds.
plural of “sound” — the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading From the direction of the forest came slight sounds.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Tom sprung up.
not in physical motion
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
male cat
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Tom sprung up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "Noise dis way, sah," said the boy.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The enemy were on the move.
at the time that
From this reading Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa roused him.
Chapter 20 of Tom Willoughby's Scouts by Herbert Strang holds 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 20 holds 194 sentences of Tom Willoughby's Scouts, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Tom Willoughby's Scouts by Herbert Strang exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 20 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 Willoughby's Scouts by Herbert Strang on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3266 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39912 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39912, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 272 minutes of reading across 654 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Willoughby's Scouts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Tom Willoughby's Scouts 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 Willoughby's Scouts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
