Chapter 31 of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HAUNTED. Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form. Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene. But he saw nothing. The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
Chapter 31 of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading “Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.”
large shaggy-haired brown bison of North American plains
From this reading “Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.”
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading “The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.”
(astronomy) the reappearance of a celestial body after an eclipse
From this reading “The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.”
having lost your job
From this reading “Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.”
having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
From this reading “HAUNTED.”
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading “The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.”
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading “Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.”
In this reading “The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.”
In this reading “Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.”
In this reading “The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.”
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 The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
large shaggy-haired brown bison of North American plains
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But he saw nothing.
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
(astronomy) the reappearance of a celestial body after an eclipse
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
being one more than seven
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
having lost your job
From this reading Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
From this reading HAUNTED.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
not any; not one
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading But he saw nothing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
on one occasion
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
and nothing more
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
with speed
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.
cut with a saw
From this reading But he saw nothing.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.
in the direction of
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
two times
From this reading Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Twice he fired his revolver as he approached to light up the scene.
in or at the place that
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
a Caucasian
From this reading Buffalo Bill at once moved rapidly toward the spot where he had seen the white form.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading The rear of the corridor had no egress, only a window some eight feet from the floor.
Chapter 31 of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise by Prentiss Ingraham holds 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 31 holds 71 sentences of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise by Prentiss Ingraham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 31 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 Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise by Prentiss Ingraham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3467 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64262 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64262, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 288 minutes of reading across 694 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise 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 Buffalo Bill's Big Surprise, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
