Chapter 5 of Cactus and Rattlers is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Cactus and Rattlers is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Noon was passed and over. Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him. Sagebrush was gone. The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon. It was peaceful here in the cañon, and hot.
Chapter 5 of Cactus and Rattlers is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
any succulent plant of the family Cactaceae native chiefly to arid regions of the New World and usually having spines
From this reading “The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.”
past form of “ensconce” — fix firmly
From this reading “Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.”
a position particularly well suited to the person who occupies it
From this reading “Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.”
the middle of the day
From this reading “Noon was passed and over.”
quick to notice; showing quick and keen perception
From this reading “Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.”
not disturbed by strife or turmoil or war
From this reading “It was peaceful here in the cañon, and hot.”
any of several North American composite subshrubs of the genera Artemis or Seriphidium
From this reading “Sagebrush was gone.”
a dense growth of bushes
From this reading “The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.”
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.
In this reading “Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.”
In this reading “The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.”
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 Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Noon was passed and over.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
any succulent plant of the family Cactaceae native chiefly to arid regions of the New World and usually having spines
From this reading The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
with delight
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
past form of “ensconce” — fix firmly
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.
destroyed or killed
From this reading Sagebrush was gone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading It was peaceful here in the cañon, and hot.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading It was peaceful here in the cañon, and hot.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was peaceful here in the cañon, and hot.
set down according to a plan
From this reading The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.
a position particularly well suited to the person who occupies it
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
the middle of the day
From this reading Noon was passed and over.
quick to notice; showing quick and keen perception
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.
above and across; more than
From this reading Noon was passed and over.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Noon was passed and over.
not disturbed by strife or turmoil or war
From this reading It was peaceful here in the cañon, and hot.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.
any of several North American composite subshrubs of the genera Artemis or Seriphidium
From this reading Sagebrush was gone.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
a dense growth of bushes
From this reading The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tompkins, ensconced in a niche of the cañon, was delightedly observing the scene before him.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The flivver was laid up out of sight a half-mile away in a thicket of cactus and piñon.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Noon was passed and over.
Chapter 5 of Cactus and Rattlers by H. (Henry) Bedford-Jones holds 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 5 holds 178 sentences of Cactus and Rattlers, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Cactus and Rattlers by H. (Henry) Bedford-Jones exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 5 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 Cactus and Rattlers by H. (Henry) Bedford-Jones on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2134 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66996 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66996, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 177 minutes of reading across 427 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cactus and Rattlers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Cactus and Rattlers 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 Cactus and Rattlers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
