Chapter 16 of Sergeant Silk, the Prairie Scout is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Sergeant Silk, the Prairie Scout is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?" Percy urged. Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette. "There isn't a great deal to tell," he responded quietly. He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.
Chapter 16 of Sergeant Silk, the Prairie Scout is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.”
hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading “He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.”
inflected form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.”
United States writer whose novels explored human alienation (1916-1990)
From this reading “Percy urged.”
gathered for protruding fullness
From this reading “Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.”
-ing form of “rest” — not move; be in a resting position
From this reading “He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.”
past form of “spare” — refrain from harming
From this reading “THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"”
plural of “wolf” — any of various predatory carnivorous canine mammals of North America and Eurasia that usually hunt in packs
From this reading “THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"”
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 “He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.”
In this reading “Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.”
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 Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading "There isn't a great deal to tell," he responded quietly.
hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading "There isn't a great deal to tell," he responded quietly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "There isn't a great deal to tell," he responded quietly.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There isn't a great deal to tell," he responded quietly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.
inflected form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
plural of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.
United States writer whose novels explored human alienation (1916-1990)
From this reading Percy urged.
gathered for protruding fullness
From this reading Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.
with low volume
From this reading "There isn't a great deal to tell," he responded quietly.
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading "There isn't a great deal to tell," he responded quietly.
-ing form of “rest” — not move; be in a resting position
From this reading He leant forward, resting an elbow on his knees.
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
a fabric made from the fine threads produced by certain insect larvae
From this reading Silk puffed for a few moments at his cigarette.
past form of “spare” — refrain from harming
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
express in words
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There isn't a great deal to tell," he responded quietly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "There isn't a great deal to tell," he responded quietly.
past form of “urge” — force or impel in an indicated direction
From this reading Percy urged.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
plural of “wolf” — any of various predatory carnivorous canine mammals of North America and Eurasia that usually hunt in packs
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading THE MAN THAT THE WOLVES SPARED "Won't you tell us about it, Sergeant?"
Chapter 16 of Sergeant Silk, the Prairie Scout by Robert Leighton holds 219 sentences, grouped into 44 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 16 holds 219 sentences of Sergeant Silk, the Prairie Scout, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Sergeant Silk, the Prairie Scout by Robert Leighton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 219 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 Sergeant Silk, the Prairie Scout by Robert Leighton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2717 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35180 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35180, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 226 minutes of reading across 544 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sergeant Silk, the Prairie Scout section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Sergeant Silk, the Prairie Scout 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 Sergeant Silk, the Prairie Scout, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
