Chapter 2 of Found at Blazing Star is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Found at Blazing Star is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Then it was YOU made these holes?" "No," said Cass, with ill-concealed disgust. "Nobody but a stranger would go foolin' round such a spot." He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here." The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
Chapter 2 of Found at Blazing Star is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
turn up, loosen, or remove earth
From this reading “He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."”
fill with distaste
From this reading “"No," said Cass, with ill-concealed disgust.”
plural of “hole” — an opening into or through something
From this reading “"Then it was YOU made these holes?"”
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading “The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.”
socially incorrect in behavior
From this reading “He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."”
the quality of being significant
From this reading “He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."”
make square
From this reading “The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.”
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading “The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.”
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 "Nobody but a stranger would go foolin' round such a spot."
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Nobody but a stranger would go foolin' round such a spot."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No," said Cass, with ill-concealed disgust.
turn up, loosen, or remove earth
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
fill with distaste
From this reading "No," said Cass, with ill-concealed disgust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Nobody but a stranger would go foolin' round such a spot."
a young female
From this reading The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Nobody but a stranger would go foolin' round such a spot."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
plural of “hole” — an opening into or through something
From this reading "Then it was YOU made these holes?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No," said Cass, with ill-concealed disgust.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Then it was YOU made these holes?"
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading "Then it was YOU made these holes?"
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
not any; not one
From this reading "No," said Cass, with ill-concealed disgust.
no person; not anyone
From this reading "Nobody but a stranger would go foolin' round such a spot."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading "Nobody but a stranger would go foolin' round such a spot."
socially incorrect in behavior
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "No," said Cass, with ill-concealed disgust.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
the quality of being significant
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "Nobody but a stranger would go foolin' round such a spot."
make square
From this reading The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading "Nobody but a stranger would go foolin' round such a spot."
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "Nobody but a stranger would go foolin' round such a spot."
in a churlish manner
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He stopped, as the rude significance of his speech struck him, and added surlily, "I mean--no one would dig here."
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then it was YOU made these holes?"
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading "Then it was YOU made these holes?"
precisely as stated
From this reading The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Then it was YOU made these holes?"
a Caucasian
From this reading The girl laughed and showed a set of very white teeth in her square jaw.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "No," said Cass, with ill-concealed disgust.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Nobody but a stranger would go foolin' round such a spot."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Then it was YOU made these holes?"
Chapter 2 of Found at Blazing Star by Bret Harte holds 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 195 sentences of Found at Blazing Star, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Found at Blazing Star by Bret Harte exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Found at Blazing Star by Bret Harte on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 773 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2794 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2794, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 64 minutes of reading across 155 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Found at Blazing Star section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Found at Blazing Star 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 Found at Blazing Star, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
