Chapter 20 of Randy of the River is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Randy of the River is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack. "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner. "He tried to run us down," answered the captain, quietly. "Was he hurt?" "Not in the least."
Chapter 20 of Randy of the River is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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 Hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
From this reading “WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.”
(New Testament) disciple of Jesus; brother of Peter; patron saint of Scotland
From this reading “WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.”
plural of “bang” — a vigorous blow
From this reading “WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.”
an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading “WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.”
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading “WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.”
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading “"It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.”
a boat propelled by a steam engine
From this reading “WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.”
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading “WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.”
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 WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
in the past
From this reading "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
a Hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
(New Testament) disciple of Jesus; brother of Peter; patron saint of Scotland
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "He tried to run us down," answered the captain, quietly.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
plural of “bang” — a vigorous blow
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
a youthful male person
From this reading "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
be the source of pain
From this reading "Was he hurt?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Not in the least."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading "Not in the least."
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not in the least."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
on one occasion
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
with low volume
From this reading "He tried to run us down," answered the captain, quietly.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading "He tried to run us down," answered the captain, quietly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
in the near future
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
a boat propelled by a steam engine
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "He tried to run us down," answered the captain, quietly.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading "He tried to run us down," answered the captain, quietly.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "He tried to run us down," answered the captain, quietly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Was he hurt?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing at Nyack.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
Chapter 20 of Randy of the River by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 20 holds 135 sentences of Randy of the River, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Randy of the River by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 20 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 Randy of the River by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4517 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21416 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21416, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 376 minutes of reading across 904 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Randy of the River section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Randy of the River 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 Randy of the River, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
