Chapter IX of Port Argent: A Novel, “Hicks,” is here in full — 303 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter IX of Port Argent: A Novel, “Hicks,” is here in full — 303 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
|HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading. It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars. The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock. The jailor walked to and fro in the corridor. Hicks looked up from his reading, and stared in a half-comprehending way.
Chapter IX of Port Argent: A Novel, “Hicks,” is here in full — 303 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/60 · 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.
past form of “bang” — strike violently
From this reading “The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock.”
gymnastic apparatus consisting of two parallel wooden rods supported on uprights
From this reading “It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.”
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading “The jailor walked to and fro in the corridor.”
past form of “creak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading “The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock.”
plural of “hick” — a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture
From this reading “|HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading.”
fasten with a lock
From this reading “The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock.”
having accumulated rust
From this reading “It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.”
coated with whitewash
From this reading “It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.”
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.
seek information from
In this reading “Hicks looked up from his reading, and stared in a half-comprehending way.”
In this reading “The jailor walked to and fro in the corridor.”
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 |HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading.
anew
From this reading The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.
past form of “bang” — strike violently
From this reading The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock.
gymnastic apparatus consisting of two parallel wooden rods supported on uprights
From this reading It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading |HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading |HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading.
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading The jailor walked to and fro in the corridor.
past form of “creak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The jailor walked to and fro in the corridor.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Hicks looked up from his reading, and stared in a half-comprehending way.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hicks looked up from his reading, and stared in a half-comprehending way.
plural of “hick” — a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture
From this reading |HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Hicks looked up from his reading, and stared in a half-comprehending way.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading The jailor walked to and fro in the corridor.
metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock.
fasten with a lock
From this reading The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Hicks looked up from his reading, and stared in a half-comprehending way.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading |HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading.
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading |HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.
having accumulated rust
From this reading It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading |HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Hicks looked up from his reading, and stared in a half-comprehending way.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading |HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The door banged, and the key again creaked in the lock.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The jailor walked to and fro in the corridor.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Hicks looked up from his reading, and stared in a half-comprehending way.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading The jailor walked to and fro in the corridor.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading |HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Hicks looked up from his reading, and stared in a half-comprehending way.
coated with whitewash
From this reading It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was a whitewashed room and had a window with rusted bars.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading |HICKS was sitting within by a plain board table, reading.
Chapter 9 of Port Argent: A Novel by Arthur Colton holds 303 sentences, grouped into 61 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 303 sentences of Port Argent: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Port Argent: A Novel by Arthur Colton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 303 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 Port Argent: A Novel by Arthur Colton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4260 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50269 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50269, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 355 minutes of reading across 852 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Port Argent: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Port Argent: A Novel 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 Port Argent: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
