Justin Morgan Had a Horse: Chapters 14–18

by Marguerite Henry
After Justin Morgan brings home a small colt named Little Bubb, his student Joel Goss trains the horse to become a world-famous breeding stallion.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–18
40 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. timorous
    shy and fearful by nature
    Then he stepped along ever so carefully. He seemed to know she was a timorous soul.
  2. mettle
    the courage to carry on
    But if Amantha, the eldest daughter and a natural-born horsewoman, rode him to town, he galloped fast and bold, like some high-mettled Thoroughbred.
  3. gait
    an animal's manner of moving
    The bold eye, the closely-coupled body, the easy gaits, the honest disposition were all Justin Morgan’s.
  4. journeyman
    a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft
    Joel was helping a journeyman saddle his horse behind the inn when he heard the news.
  5. listless
    lacking zest or vivacity
    The journeyman clucked, and the old mare responded with a listless trot.
  6. intone
    utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically
    “I have one dollar. I have one dollar,” the Sheriff’s voice intoned. “Who’ll make it two? Who’ll make it two?”
  7. glib
    artfully persuasive in speech
    With a few glib words, the man forced twelve gold pieces worth ten dollars each into the carpenter’s hands.
  8. bridle
    put on headgear for a horse
    Then quick as a wink, he unhooked the halter, bridled the Morgan, and rode off, bareback, into the red ball of the sun.
  9. garbled
    lacking orderly continuity
    Months passed, and only garbled stories reached the inn: Justin Morgan was in the hands of a kindly blacksmith in Burlington, a cruel bricklayer at Montpelier, a horse breeder at Ryegate.
  10. waver
    be unsure or weak
    In spite of each disappointment, his faith never wavered that he would some day find the Morgan.
  11. goodly
    large in size, amount, or degree
    “Warmth and water—that’s what wounded horses need!” he explained.
    When Joel had collected a goodly supply, he presented himself to the first sergeant of the small division of cavalry stationed at Rutland.
  12. jovial
    full of or showing high-spirited merriment
    The sergeant, a shoeing smith, was a jovial fellow, squatty as an apple tree, with shining seed-like eyes almost lost in wrinkles and folds.
  13. frigate
    a medium-sized warship of the 18th and 19th centuries
    With most of the fighting on the high seas between gunboats and frigates, the foot soldiers and cavalry were not called into action.
  14. colicky
    suffering from acute abdominal pain
    Help the smith with a colicky animal, help him shoe a nervous one.
  15. conscience
    conformity to one's own sense of right conduct
    “What’s holdin’ him back?”
    “Conscience, mebbe.”
    “Conscience!” Joel choked out the word.
    “Aye. He don’t feel he’s got a right to send our militia out of Vermont.”
  16. relent
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    In the dark watches of the night Governor Chittenden relented, and while he still would not order the militia to Plattsburg, he did not forbid the men to go.
  17. jut
    extend out or project in space
    On a spit of land jutting out between the river and the lake, blockhouses and forts, storehouses and a hospital had already been built, and now the dirt was flying from trenches being dug.
  18. volley
    rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms
    To their amazement, the British saw the Americans fall back as if the volley of fire had overpowered them!
  19. hinder
    prevent the progress or accomplishment of
    Deliberately they were challenging and vexing them by hindering their drive. They felled trees across the road, and broke up bridges as they withdrew.
  20. salvo
    rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms
    Then they destroyed that bridge, too, while the ships in the bay welcomed them with loud and mighty salvos.
  21. restive
    impatient especially under restriction or delay
    Five days, while dry leaves lazied to earth and the sun set and rose, and men and mounts grew restive.
  22. flotilla
    a fleet of small craft
    But on the sixth day a flotilla of British sloops and gunboats sailed regally into the bay.
  23. sloop
    a sailing vessel with a single mast
    But on the sixth day a flotilla of British sloops and gunboats sailed regally into the bay.
  24. barrage
    the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area
    To conceal their retreat, the British kept up a barrage of fire, but in the midst of it a black storm spilled from the heavens and poured down on the battlefield.
  25. hummock
    a small natural mound
    In the thick darkness it was hard to tell the hump of a horse’s body from a hummock of earth.
  26. stanch
    stop the flow of a liquid
    “It puzzles me if ’tis the alum or your voice that stanches the blood and quiets the animals.”
  27. sprawling
    spreading out in different directions
    He caught up to Ezra and spun around, bumping into him, sending him sprawling across the ice.
  28. dejected
    affected or marked by low spirits
    Slowly, dejectedly, he returned the lantern to its peg, and said to the looming shadow that was Ezra, “I must’ve mistook that whinny for...”
  29. surly
    unfriendly and inclined toward anger or irritation
    “Look-a-here, feller,” his surly voice sounded out, “that little beast pulls better than the hull kit and caboodle. I wouldn’t hear o’ selling him. No-wise! Why, only a fortnight ago a man offered twenty dollar for him.”
  30. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    Joel felt the rough, gnarled hands close around his, felt the moneybag tucked into his palm.
  31. spry
    moving quickly and lightly
    “Justin Morgan is spry as a grasshopper!”
  32. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    Now they were approaching the President’s stand, and from the church tower, bells began ringing—all softly solemn at first, then wild and merry until they sang up to heaven itself.
  33. calico
    coarse cloth with a bright print
    There, two hundred children in crisp pinafores and calico suits were on their tiptoes, ready to sing the new song, “The Star Spangled Banner.”
  34. apparently
    seemingly; as far as one can tell
    At first the little horse eyed the man in the tall hat as if he were the one to do the approving. Then, apparently satisfied, he bugled through his nose, those high quavering notes followed by a deep snorty rumble.
  35. cadence
    a recurrent rhythmical series
    Then with Joel walking proudly behind, he moved on with lofty, cadenced action.
  36. knoll
    a small natural mound
    When the procession reached the college green, the President rode to a little knoll.
  37. sheaf
    a package of several things tied together
    He was fingering the sheaf of notes in his pocket.
  38. sire
    the male parent of an animal, especially a domestic animal
    Who is the Justin Morgan horse, anyway? Who was his sire? Who was his dam?
  39. pedigree
    the ancestry or lineage of an individual
    The talk seesawed back and forth—first about the little Morgan’s pedigree, then about his birthplace.
  40. sprig
    a small branch or stem, usually with leaves or flowers
    A sprig of evergreen from the horse’s headstall fell to the ground just then, and at sight of it Joel thought of the Green Mountains and of his trip with the schoolmaster so long ago.
Created on Fri Apr 29 11:48:04 EDT 2022 (updated Fri May 06 15:46:46 EDT 2022)

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