Secrets at Sea: Chapters 5–8

by Richard Peck
The oldest of her surviving mouse siblings, Helena recounts the adventures of her family when they hid in the trunk of a human to sail from New York to England.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–11, Chapters 12–16
40 words 13 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. skein
    coils of worsted yarn
    Another express wagon was forever bringing up a parcel from off the train. Bolts of fine silks. And cambric and lawn for new petticoats, long ones and short ones. Paper patterns. Buttons on cards. Skeins of ribbon.
  2. snippet
    a small piece of anything
    Louise and Beatrice and I were up half the night every night, bringing down snippets of satin and serge that had fallen from the dressmakers’ scissors.
  3. fritter
    fried batter containing meat, vegetables, or fruit
    But she made apple fritters for all, and we were up the other half of the night, bringing back all the peelings we could carry.
  4. morsel
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    And I stuck in a morsel of apple fritter wrapped in waxed paper.
  5. taffeta
    a crisp, smooth, lustrous fabric
    For good measure, I brought her a scrap of watered taffeta from off the floor under a dressmaker.
  6. sprig
    a small branch or stem, usually with leaves or flowers
    Under their porch, I stepped into a new skirt, summery with sprigs.
  7. grapple
    grip or seize, as in a wrestling match
    Aunt Fannie Fenimore grappled with her shawls.
  8. milliner
    someone who makes and sells hats
    She will put them in the wrong clothes and give them the wrong advice. She takes her cut from all the worst seamstresses and milliners and tailors in New York.
  9. fateful
    having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences
    She meant my sisters, my late sisters, Vicky and Alice. Thoughtless girls who’d ventured out across the ice on the rain barrel on a fateful day of freeze and thaw.
  10. awash
    covered with water
    The marble was awash, and water is not a happy subject for us mice.
  11. prow
    the front part of a vessel
    Cutting through the seething sea was the sharp prow of a ship.
  12. intone
    speak carefully, as with rising and falling pitch
    “It is called the Atlantic Ocean,” Aunt Fannie intoned, “and it is just at three thousand miles across.”
  13. hunker
    squat, hunch, or crouch down
    By the time the sun of that last morning crept across Camilla’s sleeping form, we were hunkered, lurking within the drawers.
  14. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    A scent of Mrs. Flint’s coffee wafted up from the kitchen, and the house woke around us.
  15. dither
    make a fuss; be agitated
    Mrs. Cranston dithered up and down the hall.
  16. embroider
    decorate with needlework
    Beside me, Louise went to work, sorting through the handkerchiefs for the one embroidered with violets.
  17. bulkhead
    a partition that divides a ship or plane into compartments
    “That’s solid sheet metal you ’ave there behind the wood on them bulkheads,” came the voice in rather an odd accent.
  18. rivet
    hold someone's attention
    We were riveted. Two eyes, redder than rubies, looked down at us.
  19. haunch
    the upper part of the leg of an animal, often used for food
    Drawing up, he planted a hand on his big haunch and gave us the once-over.
  20. agape
    with the mouth wide open as in wonder or awe
    Louise’s hand was clapped over her mouth. Beatrice was agape.
  21. lurch
    move haltingly and unsteadily
    The cabin lurched and rolled. We must have been out on the open sea now, the surging sea.
  22. transfixed
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    Beatrice was transfixed. “Pleased,” she breathed. “So pleased.”
  23. rapt
    feeling great delight and interest
    Beatrice looked up at Nigel, rapt.
  24. galley
    the area for food preparation on a ship
    We were this close to the doors of the kitchen—the galley—when they banged open.
  25. gaunt
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    A mouse stood there: tall, gray, gaunt, very upright.
  26. assume
    take on titles, offices, duties, or responsibilities
    I am Mouse-in-Waiting to Her Royal Highness, the Princess Louise, fourth daughter of the Queen. In the British Empire, Mice-in-Waiting assume a royal rank.
  27. jubilee
    a special anniversary or the celebration of it
    “After a tour of the colonies, the Princess Louise and I are returning to London for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Sixty years upon the greatest throne in human history!”
  28. jar
    affect in a disagreeable way
    I may have dozed just lightly when an unearthly moan jarred me awake.
  29. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    Then she sprang off the bed and scrabbled around on the carpet, out of sight.
  30. gouge
    make a groove in
    I am too proud to eavesdrop, and so I could only wedge myself into the pearls, avoiding the hatpins, with Camilla’s garnet ring gouging into my back and Beatrice’s nose in my ear.
  31. preen
    pride or congratulate oneself for an achievement
    Louise looked very superior. “It is the Law of the Sea.” She preened.
  32. fringe
    an ornamental border of short lengths of hanging threads
    The lap robe was a blanket in the ship’s colors, with fringe.
  33. trough
    a concave shape with an open top
    Up I swung and lit in his brim. It was a curly trough around the crown of his hat.
  34. supple
    moving and bending with ease
    It was a curly trough around the crown of his hat. I settled in, very supple.
  35. valet
    a servant who acts as a personal attendant to his employer
    Ladies travel with their maids, as everybody knows. I supposed gentlemen traveled with their valets, or whatever persons like Plunkett were called.
  36. throng
    a large gathering of people
    Then out of the milling throng came another pair of quite a different kind, though also English.
  37. davit
    a crane-like device for suspending or lowering equipment
    The lifeboats swung from their davits.
  38. multitude
    a large gathering of people
    What strange fate had brought me so near him, I wondered, in all this multitude of humans?
  39. saucy
    improperly forward or bold
    But no saucy, beady eyes appeared to peer out of her squirrel pelts.
  40. pelt
    the dressed hairy coat of a mammal
    But no saucy, beady eyes appeared to peer out of her squirrel pelts.
Created on Tue Apr 30 14:17:26 EDT 2024 (updated Thu May 02 12:35:14 EDT 2024)

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