Chapter 1 of Brigands of the Moon is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Brigands of the Moon is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him. The summons to Detective-Colonel Halsey's office surprised us. Dean eyed me. "You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?" "He wants you, also," I retorted.
Chapter 1 of Brigands of the Moon is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 3/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 11–15
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.
a boy or man
From this reading “A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.”
an administrator in charge of a division of a university or college
From this reading “Dean eyed me.”
every person
From this reading “A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.”
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading “Dean eyed me.”
past form of “retort” — answer back
From this reading “"He wants you, also," I retorted.”
a request to be present
From this reading “The summons to Detective-Colonel Halsey's office surprised us.”
plural of “vault” — a burial chamber (usually underground)
From this reading “"You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?"”
lean and sinewy
From this reading “A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.”
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 A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
in addition
From this reading "He wants you, also," I retorted.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?"
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?"
a boy or man
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
an administrator in charge of a division of a university or college
From this reading Dean eyed me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The summons to Detective-Colonel Halsey's office surprised us.
every person
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading Dean eyed me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The summons to Detective-Colonel Halsey's office surprised us.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He wants you, also," I retorted.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "He wants you, also," I retorted.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
the sound of laughing
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Dean eyed me.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading The summons to Detective-Colonel Halsey's office surprised us.
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading "You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?"
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
past form of “retort” — answer back
From this reading "He wants you, also," I retorted.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
a request to be present
From this reading The summons to Detective-Colonel Halsey's office surprised us.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading The summons to Detective-Colonel Halsey's office surprised us.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The summons to Detective-Colonel Halsey's office surprised us.
accumulated wealth in the form of money or jewels etc.
From this reading "You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?"
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The summons to Detective-Colonel Halsey's office surprised us.
plural of “vault” — a burial chamber (usually underground)
From this reading "You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?"
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading "He wants you, also," I retorted.
lean and sinewy
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?"
Chapter 1 of Brigands of the Moon by Ray Cummings holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 1 holds 415 sentences of Brigands of the Moon, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Brigands of the Moon by Ray Cummings exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 1 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 Brigands of the Moon by Ray Cummings on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7750 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19066 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19066, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1550 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Brigands of the Moon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Brigands of the Moon 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 Brigands of the Moon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
