Chapter 8 of The Ransom of Red Chief is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Ransom of Red Chief is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker. Now, where did I get that money?” “Take it easy, Yancey. The mountain air will soon clear it up. We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.
Chapter 8 of The Ransom of Red Chief is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
plural of “dollar” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
From this reading ““I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.”
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading ““Take it easy, Yancey.”
the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)
From this reading “We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.”
the act of someone who fishes as a diversion
From this reading “We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.”
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading “The mountain air will soon clear it up.”
(architecture) a slender upright spire at the top of a buttress of tower
From this reading “We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.”
the act of playing a musical instrument
From this reading ““I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.”
fire iron consisting of a metal rod with a handle; used to stir a fire
From this reading ““I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.”
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.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading The mountain air will soon clear it up.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.
rid of obstructions
From this reading The mountain air will soon clear it up.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Now, where did I get that money?”
plural of “dollar” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
From this reading “I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading “Take it easy, Yancey.
the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)
From this reading We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.
the act of someone who fishes as a diversion
From this reading We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Now, where did I get that money?”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.
ten 10s
From this reading “I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Take it easy, Yancey.
immediately past
From this reading “I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading “I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading Now, where did I get that money?”
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading The mountain air will soon clear it up.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, where did I get that money?”
(architecture) a slender upright spire at the top of a buttress of tower
From this reading We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.
the act of playing a musical instrument
From this reading “I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.
fire iron consisting of a metal rod with a handle; used to stir a fire
From this reading “I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.
in the near future
From this reading The mountain air will soon clear it up.
carry out
From this reading “Take it easy, Yancey.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Now, where did I get that money?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The mountain air will soon clear it up.
a special situation
From this reading We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading “I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The mountain air will soon clear it up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We’ll go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls.
in or at the place that
From this reading Now, where did I get that money?”
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading The mountain air will soon clear it up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Take it easy, Yancey.
Chapter 8 of The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 8 holds 411 sentences of The Ransom of Red Chief, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 8 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 The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry on this page, its source edition and its audio.
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.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ransom of Red Chief section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Ransom of Red Chief 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 The Ransom of Red Chief, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
