Chapter 2 of Desert Gold is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Desert Gold is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Was she your wife?" asked the elder man. "No." A long silence ensued. A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat. The campfire wore down to a ruddy ashen heap.
Chapter 2 of Desert Gold is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
anemic looking from illness or emotion
From this reading “The campfire wore down to a ruddy ashen heap.”
a small outdoor fire for warmth or cooking (as at a camp)
From this reading “The campfire wore down to a ruddy ashen heap.”
a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall
From this reading “A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.”
past form of “ensue” — issue or terminate (in a specified way, state, etc.); end
From this reading “A long silence ensued.”
the act of tarrying
From this reading “A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.”
inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life
From this reading “The campfire wore down to a ruddy ashen heap.”
a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
From this reading “A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.”
the act of separating grain from chaff
From this reading “A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.”
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 A long silence ensued.
anemic looking from illness or emotion
From this reading The campfire wore down to a ruddy ashen heap.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Was she your wife?" asked the elder man.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
a small outdoor fire for warmth or cooking (as at a camp)
From this reading The campfire wore down to a ruddy ashen heap.
a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The campfire wore down to a ruddy ashen heap.
having the power of driving or impelling
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
free from liquid or moisture; lacking natural or normal moisture or depleted of water; or no longer wet
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
a person who is older than you are
From this reading "Was she your wife?" asked the elder man.
past form of “ensue” — issue or terminate (in a specified way, state, etc.); end
From this reading A long silence ensued.
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading The campfire wore down to a ruddy ashen heap.
a form of energy that is transferred by a difference in temperature
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
immediately past
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
the act of tarrying
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading A long silence ensued.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Was she your wife?" asked the elder man.
not any; not one
From this reading "No."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life
From this reading The campfire wore down to a ruddy ashen heap.
a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Was she your wife?" asked the elder man.
the act of separating grain from chaff
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading A long silence ensued.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Was she your wife?" asked the elder man.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The campfire wore down to a ruddy ashen heap.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Was she your wife?" asked the elder man.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading "Was she your wife?" asked the elder man.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading A cool wind blew up the canyon, sifting the sand through the dry sage, driving away the last of the lingering heat.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading The campfire wore down to a ruddy ashen heap.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Was she your wife?" asked the elder man.
Chapter 2 of Desert Gold by Zane Grey holds 222 sentences, grouped into 45 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 222 sentences of Desert Gold, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Desert Gold by Zane Grey exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 Desert Gold by Zane Grey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8255 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #502 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #502, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1651 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Desert Gold section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of Desert Gold 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 Gold, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
