Chapter 23 of A Rogue by Compulsion is here in full — 270 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of A Rogue by Compulsion is here in full — 270 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph. "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow." Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver. One chamber of it was discharged. "Not a bad shot," he remarked critically.
Chapter 23 of A Rogue by Compulsion is here in full — 270 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
in a critical manner
From this reading “"Not a bad shot," he remarked critically.”
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “"Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."”
having lost your job
From this reading “One chamber of it was discharged.”
an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there
From this reading “EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph.”
freed from any question of guilt
From this reading “EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph.”
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading “EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph.”
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading “Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.”
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading “"Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."”
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 "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading "Not a bad shot," he remarked critically.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."
a natural or artificial enclosed space
From this reading One chamber of it was discharged.
in a critical manner
From this reading "Not a bad shot," he remarked critically.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
having lost your job
From this reading One chamber of it was discharged.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there
From this reading EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph.
freed from any question of guilt
From this reading EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not a bad shot," he remarked critically.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading One chamber of it was discharged.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One chamber of it was discharged.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
(of games) engaged in
From this reading "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph.
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading "Not a bad shot," he remarked critically.
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading "Not a bad shot," he remarked critically.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
push forcefully
From this reading Latimer thrust his hand into the dead man's pocket, and drew out a small nickel-plated revolver.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well," he observed, "he was a damned scoundrel, but he played a big game anyhow."
which person or people
From this reading EXONERATED It was Tommy who pronounced his epitaph.
Chapter 23 of A Rogue by Compulsion by Victor Bridges holds 270 sentences, grouped into 54 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 23 holds 270 sentences of A Rogue by Compulsion, unabridged, divided into 54 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of A Rogue by Compulsion by Victor Bridges exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 270 sentences, grouped into 54 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 54 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 54 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 23 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.
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Yes. All 6655 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10511 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10511, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 554 minutes of reading across 1331 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Rogue by Compulsion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of A Rogue by Compulsion 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 A Rogue by Compulsion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
