Chapter 25 of Desert Conquest is here in full — 298 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXV
Chapter 25 of Desert Conquest is here in full — 298 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus. But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing. In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water. "By the Lord Harry!" he ejaculated. "There's water in the ditches."
Chapter 25 of Desert Conquest is here in full — 298 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/59 · 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 “ditch” — a long narrow excavation in the earth
From this reading “"There's water in the ditches."”
a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading “In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.”
characterized by or capable of producing music
From this reading “In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.”
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading “But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.”
one of the twelve Apostles (first century)
From this reading “With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.”
plural of “streak” — an unbroken series of events
From this reading “With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.”
maintained at length without interruption or weakening
From this reading “In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.”
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 In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "By the Lord Harry!" he ejaculated.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
the first light of day
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
plural of “ditch” — a long narrow excavation in the earth
From this reading "There's water in the ditches."
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "By the Lord Harry!" he ejaculated.
beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading "By the Lord Harry!" he ejaculated.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "By the Lord Harry!" he ejaculated.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
ten 10s
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
the sound of laughing
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading "By the Lord Harry!" he ejaculated.
assembled for use; especially by being attached to a support
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
characterized by or capable of producing music
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
one of the twelve Apostles (first century)
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
plural of “streak” — an unbroken series of events
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
maintained at length without interruption or weakening
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There's water in the ditches."
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
a special situation
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading In his ears sounded a sustained, musical murmur, nothing less than the happy laugh of running water.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With the first streaks of dawn Casey and Simon mounted and rode for Talapus.
plural of “yard” — a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading But before they had ridden five hundred yards Casey discovered an extraordinary thing.
Chapter 25 of Desert Conquest by A. M. (Arthur Murray) Chisholm holds 298 sentences, grouped into 60 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 25 holds 298 sentences of Desert Conquest, unabridged, divided into 60 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 25 of Desert Conquest by A. M. (Arthur Murray) Chisholm exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 298 sentences, grouped into 60 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 60 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 60 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 25 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 Desert Conquest by A. M. (Arthur Murray) Chisholm on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8923 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25728 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25728, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1785 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Desert Conquest section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Desert Conquest 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 Desert Conquest, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
