Chapter 8 of Under Three Flags: A Story of Mystery is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Under Three Flags: A Story of Mystery is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MR. BARKER’S DISCOVERIES. After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing. Barker has been gone ever since morning. He must have struck a warm trail.
Chapter 8 of Under Three Flags: A Story of Mystery is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
third-person singular of “amuse” — occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
From this reading “After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.”
someone who stands in front of a show (as at a carnival) and gives a loud colorful sales talk to potential customers
From this reading “BARKER’S DISCOVERIES.”
plural of “discovery” — the act of discovering something
From this reading “BARKER’S DISCOVERIES.”
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading “After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.”
plural of “retreat” — (military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat
From this reading “After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.”
gymnastic apparatus consisting of a pair of heavy metal circles (usually covered with leather) suspended by ropes; used for gymnastic exercises
From this reading “After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.”
hidden from general view or use
From this reading “After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.”
a porch along the outside of a building (sometimes partly enclosed)
From this reading “After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.”
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 “After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.”
In this reading “After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.”
In this reading “After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.”
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 He must have struck a warm trail.
later than; following
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
third-person singular of “amuse” — occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
someone who stands in front of a show (as at a carnival) and gives a loud colorful sales talk to potential customers
From this reading Barker has been gone ever since morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BARKER’S DISCOVERIES.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Barker has been gone ever since morning.
processing that involves blowing a gas
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
plural of “discovery” — the act of discovering something
From this reading BARKER’S DISCOVERIES.
at any time
From this reading Barker has been gone ever since morning.
destroyed or killed
From this reading Barker has been gone ever since morning.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Barker has been gone ever since morning.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He must have struck a warm trail.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He must have struck a warm trail.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Barker has been gone ever since morning.
used to form the superlative
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MR.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading He must have struck a warm trail.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
above and across; more than
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
plural of “retreat” — (military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
gymnastic apparatus consisting of a pair of heavy metal circles (usually covered with leather) suspended by ropes; used for gymnastic exercises
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
hidden from general view or use
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading Barker has been gone ever since morning.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading He must have struck a warm trail.
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading He must have struck a warm trail.
a porch along the outside of a building (sometimes partly enclosed)
From this reading After supper Ashley retreats to the most secluded corner of the veranda and amuses himself blowing smoke rings over the railing.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading He must have struck a warm trail.
Chapter 8 of Under Three Flags: A Story of Mystery by Bert Leston Taylor holds 215 sentences, grouped into 43 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 8 holds 215 sentences of Under Three Flags: A Story of Mystery, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Under Three Flags: A Story of Mystery by Bert Leston Taylor exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 215 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 8 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 Under Three Flags: A Story of Mystery by Bert Leston Taylor on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7417 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65345 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65345, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1484 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Under Three Flags: A Story of Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Under Three Flags: A Story of Mystery 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 Under Three Flags: A Story of Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
