Chapter 3 of Jesse James' Bold Stroke is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Jesse James' Bold Stroke is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE FLIGHT FROM THE CLIFF. As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail. "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared. "I begun to think I'd never git the chance to use 'em again. I ain't never been bound afore.
Chapter 3 of Jesse James' Bold Stroke is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
a member of the Shoshonean people who formerly lived between Wyoming and the Mexican border but are now chiefly in Oklahoma
From this reading “As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.”
cotton trousers made of corduroy cloth
From this reading “As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.”
plural of “feel” — an intuitive awareness
From this reading “"By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.”
give a thrashing to; beat hard
From this reading “As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.”
untanned hide especially of cattle; cut in strips it is used for whips and ropes
From this reading “As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.”
the skin that covers the top of the head
From this reading “"By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.”
detached by cutting
From this reading “As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.”
changing location by moving back and forth
From this reading “As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.”
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.
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 As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I ain't never been bound afore.
anew
From this reading "I begun to think I'd never git the chance to use 'em again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I ain't never been bound afore.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "I begun to think I'd never git the chance to use 'em again.
confined by bonds
From this reading I ain't never been bound afore.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading "I begun to think I'd never git the chance to use 'em again.
a steep high face of rock
From this reading THE FLIGHT FROM THE CLIFF.
a member of the Shoshonean people who formerly lived between Wyoming and the Mexican border but are now chiefly in Oklahoma
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
cotton trousers made of corduroy cloth
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
made known or openly avowed
From this reading "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
a quad with a square body
From this reading "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.
plural of “feel” — an intuitive awareness
From this reading "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
give a thrashing to; beat hard
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading THE FLIGHT FROM THE CLIFF.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading THE FLIGHT FROM THE CLIFF.
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading "I begun to think I'd never git the chance to use 'em again.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I begun to think I'd never git the chance to use 'em again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I begun to think I'd never git the chance to use 'em again.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "I begun to think I'd never git the chance to use 'em again.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
untanned hide especially of cattle; cut in strips it is used for whips and ropes
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
the skin that covers the top of the head
From this reading "By my scalp! it feels good to be able to move 'em," he declared.
detached by cutting
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
changing location by moving back and forth
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FLIGHT FROM THE CLIFF.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "I begun to think I'd never git the chance to use 'em again.
bound or secured closely
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
the act of using
From this reading "I begun to think I'd never git the chance to use 'em again.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading As the severed cords of rawhide dropped about his feet, Comanche Tony leaped from the tree to which he had been tied, swinging his arms like a flail.
Chapter 3 of Jesse James' Bold Stroke by William (Author at Arthur Westbrook Co. (Cleveland, Ohio)) Ward holds 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 3 holds 170 sentences of Jesse James' Bold Stroke, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Jesse James' Bold Stroke by William (Author at Arthur Westbrook Co. (Cleveland, Ohio)) Ward exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 3 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 Jesse James' Bold Stroke by William (Author at Arthur Westbrook Co. (Cleveland, Ohio)) Ward on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3248 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62236 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62236, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 270 minutes of reading across 650 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Choose one of the 18 chapters of Jesse James' Bold Stroke to begin.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Jesse James' Bold Stroke, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
