Chapter 16 of Riders of the Silences is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Riders of the Silences is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph. He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last. He's just the start. Who's next?" He looked slowly around.
Chapter 16 of Riders of the Silences is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
engaged in or accustomed to close observation
From this reading “He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.”
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading “He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.”
depressingly dark
From this reading “He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.”
-ing form of “inflict” — impose something unpleasant
From this reading “The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.”
capital of the state of South Dakota; located in central South Dakota on the Missouri river
From this reading “He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.”
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “He's just the start.”
unbearable physical pain
From this reading “The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.”
a successful ending of a struggle or contest
From this reading “The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
engaged in or accustomed to close observation
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading He looked slowly around.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
without stop or interruption
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
the organ of sight
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
depressingly dark
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He's just the start.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
-ing form of “inflict” — impose something unpleasant
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
and nothing more
From this reading He's just the start.
the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
immediately past
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked slowly around.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading Who's next?"
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
capital of the state of South Dakota; located in central South Dakota on the Missouri river
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading He looked slowly around.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading He's just the start.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
unbearable physical pain
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
a successful ending of a struggle or contest
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading He continued, and now every man in the room was sitting up, alert, with gloomy eyes fixed upon Pierre: "Patterson is the first, but he ain't the last.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Who's next?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading The knowledge of the torment he was inflicting made the eye of Black Gandil bright with triumph.
Chapter 16 of Riders of the Silences by Max Brand holds 151 sentences, grouped into 31 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 16 holds 151 sentences of Riders of the Silences, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Riders of the Silences by Max Brand exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 16 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 Riders of the Silences by Max Brand on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4417 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9867 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9867, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 368 minutes of reading across 884 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Riders of the Silences section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of Riders of the Silences 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 Riders of the Silences, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
