Chapter II of Crossed Trails in Mexico, “The Mystery Man,” is here in full — 111 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter II of Crossed Trails in Mexico, “The Mystery Man,” is here in full — 111 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?" "Open the door. Hurry!" "All right--I'll be there--in a jiffy." In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
Chapter II of Crossed Trails in Mexico, “The Mystery Man,” is here in full — 111 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
past form of “dilate” — become wider
From this reading “In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.”
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading “In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.”
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading “Hurry!"”
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading “"All right--I'll be there--in a jiffy."”
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"”
plural of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading “In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.”
in a sleepy manner
From this reading “After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"”
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.”
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 “After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"”
In this reading “In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.”
In this reading “"Open the door.”
utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
In this reading “After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"”
In this reading “In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.”
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 "All right--I'll be there--in a jiffy."
later than; following
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "All right--I'll be there--in a jiffy."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "All right--I'll be there--in a jiffy."
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
past form of “dilate” — become wider
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "Open the door.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
opinion or judgment
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading Hurry!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "All right--I'll be there--in a jiffy."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "All right--I'll be there--in a jiffy."
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading "All right--I'll be there--in a jiffy."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
plural of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading "Open the door.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
precisely, exactly
From this reading "All right--I'll be there--in a jiffy."
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
in a sleepy manner
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
not in physical motion
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Open the door.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "All right--I'll be there--in a jiffy."
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After she had knocked several times, Peggy called out sleepily, "Who's that?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading In a few moments Peggy flung the door open, and Jo Ann stepped inside, her eyes still dilated with excitement.
Chapter 2 of Crossed Trails in Mexico by Helen Randolph holds 111 sentences, grouped into 23 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 2 holds 111 sentences of Crossed Trails in Mexico, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Crossed Trails in Mexico by Helen Randolph exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 111 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 2 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 Crossed Trails in Mexico by Helen Randolph on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2803 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44061 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44061, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 233 minutes of reading across 561 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Crossed Trails in Mexico section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Crossed Trails in Mexico 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 Crossed Trails in Mexico, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
