Chapter 14 of Battling the clouds is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Battling the clouds is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied. Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly. "Don't you be feared," said the boy. "They won't come apast that scratch. You kin trust me.
Chapter 14 of Battling the clouds is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading “Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.”
to certain extent or degree
From this reading “Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.”
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading “"Don't you be feared," said the boy.”
a long fixed look
From this reading “Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.”
a person having kinship with another or others
From this reading “You kin trust me.”
a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading “Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.”
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading “Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.”
cause friction
From this reading “"They won't come apast that scratch.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "They won't come apast that scratch.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Don't you be feared," said the boy.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.
a youthful male person
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
rid of obstructions
From this reading Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "They won't come apast that scratch.
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't you be feared," said the boy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.
to certain extent or degree
From this reading Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.
possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading "Don't you be feared," said the boy.
a long fixed look
From this reading Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
a person having kinship with another or others
From this reading You kin trust me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You kin trust me.
a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.
above and across; more than
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Don't you be feared," said the boy.
filled with satisfaction
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
cause friction
From this reading "They won't come apast that scratch.
having a supporting base
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Cool, clear, honest blue eyes stared back and met his gaze fairly.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They won't come apast that scratch.
a special situation
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
From this reading You kin trust me.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
which person or people
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "They won't come apast that scratch.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading Ernest turned to the boy with the rifle who was standing guard over the wonderful, strange thing that had alighted in his father's meadow, and was satisfied.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Don't you be feared," said the boy.
Chapter 14 of Battling the clouds by Frank Cobb holds 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 14 holds 181 sentences of Battling the clouds, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Battling the clouds by Frank Cobb exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 14 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 Battling the clouds by Frank Cobb on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2803 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28625 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28625, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 233 minutes of reading across 561 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Battling the clouds section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Battling the clouds 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 Battling the clouds, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
