Chapter 4 of Dragon's blood is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Dragon's blood is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily. He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe. "Just occurred to me. We must have a look in on him. Poor old Wutz, he's getting worse and worse.
Chapter 4 of Dragon's blood is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading “He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.”
having an (over)abundance of flesh
From this reading “He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.”
based on pretense; deceptively pleasing
From this reading “He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.”
in a slow and lazy manner
From this reading “THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.”
set afire or burning
From this reading “He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.”
not able to be found
From this reading “THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.”
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading “"Just occurred to me.”
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading “He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.”
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 He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.
having an (over)abundance of flesh
From this reading He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading Poor old Wutz, he's getting worse and worse.
based on pretense; deceptively pleasing
From this reading He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading We must have a look in on him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Poor old Wutz, he's getting worse and worse.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading We must have a look in on him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We must have a look in on him.
and nothing more
From this reading "Just occurred to me.
immediately past
From this reading THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.
in a slow and lazy manner
From this reading THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.
set afire or burning
From this reading He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading We must have a look in on him.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Just occurred to me.
not able to be found
From this reading THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading We must have a look in on him.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading "Just occurred to me.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Poor old Wutz, he's getting worse and worse.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading We must have a look in on him.
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Poor old Wutz, he's getting worse and worse.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading He had finished breakfast, and lighted a short, fat, glossy pipe.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Just occurred to me.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We must have a look in on him.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading Poor old Wutz, he's getting worse and worse.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Poor old Wutz, he's getting worse and worse.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE SWORD-PEN "Wutzler was missing last night," said Heywood, lazily.
Chapter 4 of Dragon's blood by Henry Milner Rideout holds 182 sentences, grouped into 37 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 4 holds 182 sentences of Dragon's blood, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Dragon's blood by Henry Milner Rideout exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 182 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 4 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 Dragon's blood by Henry Milner Rideout on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4088 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10321 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10321, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 340 minutes of reading across 818 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dragon's blood section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Dragon's blood 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 Dragon's blood, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
