Blood on the River: Chapters 11–18

by Elisa Carbone
Based on the true story of the settlement of Jamestown, this novel follows twelve-year-old Samuel Collier as he goes from being an orphan on the streets of London to the page of Captain John Smith on his journey to the New World.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–18, Chapters 19–27
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. coveted
    greatly desired
    With arrows flying every day, weapons and armor are more coveted than gold.
  2. intercede
    act between parties with a view to reconciling differences
    In June, Captain Smith’s name is finally cleared, and he is sworn in on the council. Maybe it is because he has been too busy lately to insult the gentlemen every single day, or because Reverend Hunt has interceded for him yet again, or simply because the council members see that they need his good sense and important skills.
  3. compulsion
    an urge to do something that might be better left undone
    Henry has no idea it was I who told, and so he has had no compulsion to kill me.
  4. encroach
    impinge or infringe upon
    Our enemies are the tribes closest to us because they feel we are encroaching on their land.
  5. exhort
    spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts
    With the weather turning colder we can’t keep sleeping in our rotting tents. He sets for us the goal of houses for everyone and cheers us on, exhorting us to push ahead.
  6. eaves
    the overhang at the lower edge of a roof
    We don’t have a proper hearth with a chimney like Mum and I used to have in our cottage. This is just a circle of stones on our dirt floor, and to let the smoke out, there is a hole at the top of the eaves.
  7. cassock
    a black garment reaching down to the ankles
    I open the door and find Master Crofts dressed in his thick wool cassock, but looking rather blue-lipped from the cold.
  8. clamor
    utter or proclaim insistently and noisily
    “Captain Smith!” I cry, and run full speed to greet him.
    Everyone starts clamoring at once. “They’re leaving us!” “They’ve stolen our food.” “We’ve no stores left.” “Those no-good lazy gentlemen...” “We’ll starve!” “Where have you been?”
  9. oration
    an instance of formal speaking
    “Can’t a man get breakfast before he has to give an oration?” Captain Smith says.
  10. cower
    show submission or fear
    “That little girl has more courage than you will ever have. And don’t you ever call me a liar again.”
    Henry cowers. “Yes, sir,” he says.
  11. imputation
    the attribution to a source or cause
    Great blame and imputation was laid upon me by them for the loss of our two men which the Indians slew, insomuch that they purposed to depose me.
  12. humility
    a lack of arrogance or false pride
    He plops me down on a log bench in the chapel. “Do not leave until you have prayed long and hard. Pray to curb your temper. Pray for humility — you will need that desperately if you become the servant of one of the gentlemen.”
  13. quell
    suppress or crush completely
    It is afternoon before we finally quell the flames. We manage to save a good part of the palisade, but the houses are virtually gone, along with everything in them.
  14. vie
    compete for something
    I laugh, remembering the teeming streets of London, with carriages and horses and people and hogs all vying for space on the cobblestones.
  15. conjecture
    a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating
    There are the usual conjectures about what it can be, the usual suspicion that there is a Spanish spy among us who is slipping ratsbane into our food and drink. But Reverend Hunt says he thinks it has something to do with the mosquitoes. We get sick as soon as they start to buzz and bite.
Created on Thu Jun 09 16:53:36 EDT 2022 (updated Mon Jul 28 16:42:47 EDT 2025)

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