Chapter 21 of Burnham Breaker is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Burnham Breaker is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN THE POWER OF DARKNESS. Ralph slept, hour after hour. He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept. There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired. When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
Chapter 21 of Burnham Breaker is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading “When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.”
move deeply
From this reading “There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.”
conceived of or imagined or hoped for
From this reading “He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.”
plural of “interval” — a definite length of time marked off by two instants
From this reading “He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.”
plural of “noise” — sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading “There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.”
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading “Ralph slept, hour after hour.”
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.”
Risen from sleep; conscious.
From this reading “When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading Ralph slept, hour after hour.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading IN THE POWER OF DARKNESS.
move deeply
From this reading There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.
conceived of or imagined or hoped for
From this reading He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Ralph slept, hour after hour.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN THE POWER OF DARKNESS.
plural of “interval” — a definite length of time marked off by two instants
From this reading He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.
not any; not one
From this reading There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.
plural of “noise” — sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading IN THE POWER OF DARKNESS.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
possession of controlling influence
From this reading IN THE POWER OF DARKNESS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ralph slept, hour after hour.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading Ralph slept, hour after hour.
not in physical motion
From this reading He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IN THE POWER OF DARKNESS.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily at intervals, but still he slept.
precisely as stated
From this reading There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.
Risen from sleep; conscious.
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were no noises there to disturb him, and he had been very tired.
at the time that
From this reading When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been lying on his own bed at home.
Chapter 21 of Burnham Breaker by Homer Greene holds 246 sentences, grouped into 50 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 21 holds 246 sentences of Burnham Breaker, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Burnham Breaker by Homer Greene exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 246 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 21 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 Burnham Breaker by Homer Greene on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5988 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10449 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10449, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 499 minutes of reading across 1198 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Burnham Breaker section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Burnham Breaker 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 Burnham Breaker, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
