Chapter 3 of The Ransom of Red Chief is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Ransom of Red Chief is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill. “Stop!” cried Lawyer Gooch, in amazement. “What would you do? Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife. Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.
Chapter 3 of The Ransom of Red Chief is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading ““Stop!” cried Lawyer Gooch, in amazement.”
the largest city in Montana; located in southern Montana on the Yellowstone river
From this reading “Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife.”
a person who seeks the advice of a lawyer
From this reading “Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.”
made or joined or united into one
From this reading “Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.”
plural of “entreaty” — earnest or urgent request
From this reading “Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.”
capable of making an error
From this reading “Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife.”
a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle
From this reading “He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.”
structural member consisting of a continuous horizontal timber forming the lowest member of a framework or supporting structure
From this reading “He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.”
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.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “Stop!” cried Lawyer Gooch, in amazement.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
the largest city in Montana; located in southern Montana on the Yellowstone river
From this reading Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.
a person who seeks the advice of a lawyer
From this reading Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.
made or joined or united into one
From this reading Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “Stop!” cried Lawyer Gooch, in amazement.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What would you do?
plural of “entreaty” — earnest or urgent request
From this reading Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.
capable of making an error
From this reading Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife.
fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Stop!” cried Lawyer Gooch, in amazement.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Stop!” cried Lawyer Gooch, in amazement.
free from evil or guilt
From this reading Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife.
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading “Stop!” cried Lawyer Gooch, in amazement.
a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
above and across; more than
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
in a vehement outcry
From this reading Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.
structural member consisting of a continuous horizontal timber forming the lowest member of a framework or supporting structure
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “Stop!” cried Lawyer Gooch, in amazement.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
in an exhaustive manner
From this reading Our combined entreaties cannot fail to—” “Billings!” shouted the now thoroughly moved client.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What would you do?
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife.
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 He ran to the open window, looked out below, and threw one leg over the sill.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “What would you do?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What would you do?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Come, Mr. Billings, and face your erring but innocent wife.
Chapter 3 of The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 3 holds 407 sentences of The Ransom of Red Chief, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 3 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.
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Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Ransom of Red Chief, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
