Chapter 9 of Old Farm Fairies is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Old Farm Fairies is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE LOST TRAIL. Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done. All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood. There could be no trail upon the flat plain, the Sergeant knew. A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
Chapter 9 of Old Farm Fairies is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
-ing form of “consider” — deem to be
From this reading “Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.”
having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another
From this reading “There could be no trail upon the flat plain, the Sergeant knew.”
a fortified military post where troops are stationed
From this reading “A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.”
plural of “searcher” — someone making a search or inquiry
From this reading “All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.”
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading “A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.”
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading “Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.”
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading “All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.”
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading “THE LOST TRAIL.”
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 “A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.”
In this reading “Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.”
appear or become visible; make a showing
In this reading “All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.”
In this reading “A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.”
In this reading “Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.”
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 large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
the wood from bushes or small branches
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
past form of “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
-ing form of “consider” — deem to be
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading There could be no trail upon the flat plain, the Sergeant knew.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another
From this reading There could be no trail upon the flat plain, the Sergeant knew.
a fortified military post where troops are stationed
From this reading A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
and nothing more
From this reading A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading There could be no trail upon the flat plain, the Sergeant knew.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading THE LOST TRAIL.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
not any; not one
From this reading There could be no trail upon the flat plain, the Sergeant knew.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
plural of “searcher” — someone making a search or inquiry
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
in the near future
From this reading All signs of the trail had ceased as soon as the searchers had come out of the grass and brushwood.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE LOST TRAIL.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There could be no trail upon the flat plain, the Sergeant knew.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading THE LOST TRAIL.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading There could be no trail upon the flat plain, the Sergeant knew.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Sergeant True stood on the edge of the plain considering what should next be done.
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading A large party had just returned from searching the wood between the lake and the fort.
Chapter 9 of Old Farm Fairies by Henry C. (Henry Christopher) McCook holds 236 sentences, grouped into 48 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 9 holds 236 sentences of Old Farm Fairies, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Old Farm Fairies by Henry C. (Henry Christopher) McCook exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 236 sentences, grouped into 48 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 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 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 9 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 Old Farm Fairies by Henry C. (Henry Christopher) McCook on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6841 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33994 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33994, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 570 minutes of reading across 1369 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old Farm Fairies section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of Old Farm Fairies 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 Old Farm Fairies, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
