Chapter 13 of Cactus and Rattlers is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Cactus and Rattlers is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see. “What’s happened?” demanded Ramsay. “Hell’s to pay, that’s what! If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards. Dunno but what I will anyhow.”
Chapter 13 of Cactus and Rattlers is here in full — 72 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.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading “Dunno but what I will anyhow.””
plural of “buzzard” — a New World vulture that is common in South America and Central America and the southern United States
From this reading “If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.”
having brief brilliant points or flashes of light
From this reading “Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.”
of the color between blue and yellow in the color spectrum; similar to the color of fresh grass
From this reading “Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.”
possessive form of “hell” — any place of pain and turmoil
hide under a false appearance
From this reading “Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.”
small pale-colored desert rattlesnake of southwestern United States; body moves in an s-shaped curve
From this reading “Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.”
-ing form of “snarl” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.”
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 “Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.”
In this reading “Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.”
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 Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading Dunno but what I will anyhow.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
marked by strong resentment or cynicism
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Dunno but what I will anyhow.”
plural of “buzzard” — a New World vulture that is common in South America and Central America and the southern United States
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “What’s happened?” demanded Ramsay.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dunno but what I will anyhow.”
opinion or judgment
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
having brief brilliant points or flashes of light
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
of the color between blue and yellow in the color spectrum; similar to the color of fresh grass
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “What’s happened?” demanded Ramsay.
possessive form of “hell” — any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading “Hell’s to pay, that’s what!
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
go away from a place
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
in a malevolent manner
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
hide under a false appearance
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading “Hell’s to pay, that’s what!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
small pale-colored desert rattlesnake of southwestern United States; body moves in an s-shaped curve
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
-ing form of “snarl” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Hell’s to pay, that’s what!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Hell’s to pay, that’s what!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What’s happened?” demanded Ramsay.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Dunno but what I will anyhow.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading Sidewinder stood snarling malevolently at Ramsay, his glittering gray eyes filled with a greenish light, his gray mask of a face bitter to see.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading If I thought you were behind it, I’d leave you here to the buzzards.
Chapter 13 of Cactus and Rattlers by H. (Henry) Bedford-Jones holds 72 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 13 holds 72 sentences of Cactus and Rattlers, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Cactus and Rattlers by H. (Henry) Bedford-Jones exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 72 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 13 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.
