Chapter 18 of Little Rifle is here in full — 311 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Little Rifle is here in full — 311 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WOOING IN THE WILDERNESS. Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun. “Shall I read it?” asked Harry in a husky voice. “Yes,” was the whispered answer. And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
Chapter 18 of Little Rifle is here in full — 311 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/62 · 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.
an anniversary of the day on which a person was born (or the celebration of it)
From this reading “And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.”
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading “Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.”
(American football) a successful forward pass in football
From this reading “And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.”
muscular and heavily built
From this reading ““Shall I read it?” asked Harry in a husky voice.”
put into a recess
From this reading “Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.”
move stealthily
From this reading “Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.”
(politics) a state of disfavor
From this reading “WOOING IN THE WILDERNESS.”
a man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage)
From this reading “WOOING IN THE WILDERNESS.”
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.
In this reading ““Shall I read it?” asked Harry in a husky voice.”
In this reading “And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.”
In this reading “WOOING IN THE WILDERNESS.”
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 “Shall I read it?” asked Harry in a husky voice.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
react verbally
From this reading “Yes,” was the whispered answer.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Shall I read it?” asked Harry in a husky voice.
dearly loved
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
an anniversary of the day on which a person was born (or the celebration of it)
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
(American football) a successful forward pass in football
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
a female human offspring
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
cause to move by pulling
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
muscular and heavily built
From this reading “Shall I read it?” asked Harry in a husky voice.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Shall I read it?” asked Harry in a husky voice.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading WOOING IN THE WILDERNESS.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Shall I read it?” asked Harry in a husky voice.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
past form of “present” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading “Shall I read it?” asked Harry in a husky voice.
put into a recess
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
cut with a saw
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “Shall I read it?” asked Harry in a husky voice.
move stealthily
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
the capital raised by a corporation through the issue of shares entitling holders to an ownership interest
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Little Rifle stood pale and breathless, as he saw Harry Northend draw the slip of paper from the secret recess in the stock of his gun.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WOOING IN THE WILDERNESS.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And he read: “On the completion of her second birthday, I presented this rifle to my beloved daughter Hagar.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “Shall I read it?” asked Harry in a husky voice.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Yes,” was the whispered answer.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “Yes,” was the whispered answer.
(politics) a state of disfavor
From this reading WOOING IN THE WILDERNESS.
a man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage)
From this reading WOOING IN THE WILDERNESS.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes,” was the whispered answer.
Chapter 18 of Little Rifle by Edward Sylvester Ellis holds 311 sentences, grouped into 63 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 18 holds 311 sentences of Little Rifle, unabridged, divided into 63 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Little Rifle by Edward Sylvester Ellis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 311 sentences, grouped into 63 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 63 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 63 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 18 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 Little Rifle by Edward Sylvester Ellis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Little Rifle section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Little Rifle 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 Little Rifle, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
