Chapter 9 of Shifting Winds: A Tough Yarn is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Shifting Winds: A Tough Yarn is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath. Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them. "D'ye belong to Cove?" "No, I doan't; only stoppin' there a bit." "Ye don't happen to know a 'ooman o' the name o' Gaff, do ye?"
Chapter 9 of Shifting Winds: A Tough Yarn is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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 “accost” — speak to someone
From this reading “Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.”
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “"D'ye belong to Cove?"”
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading “"Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.”
a small inlet
From this reading “"D'ye belong to Cove?"”
a sharp metal spike or spur that is fastened to the leg of a gamecock
From this reading “"Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.”
come to pass
From this reading “"Ye don't happen to know a 'ooman o' the name o' Gaff, do ye?"”
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading “"Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.”
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading “Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.”
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 "No, I doan't; only stoppin' there a bit."
past form of “accost” — speak to someone
From this reading Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading "D'ye belong to Cove?"
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading "No, I doan't; only stoppin' there a bit."
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
a small inlet
From this reading "D'ye belong to Cove?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "D'ye belong to Cove?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Ye don't happen to know a 'ooman o' the name o' Gaff, do ye?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, I doan't; only stoppin' there a bit."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ye don't happen to know a 'ooman o' the name o' Gaff, do ye?"
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
a sharp metal spike or spur that is fastened to the leg of a gamecock
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.
come to pass
From this reading "Ye don't happen to know a 'ooman o' the name o' Gaff, do ye?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "No, I doan't; only stoppin' there a bit."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
and nothing more
From this reading Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Ye don't happen to know a 'ooman o' the name o' Gaff, do ye?"
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Ye don't happen to know a 'ooman o' the name o' Gaff, do ye?"
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, I doan't; only stoppin' there a bit."
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading "Ye don't happen to know a 'ooman o' the name o' Gaff, do ye?"
and nothing more
From this reading "No, I doan't; only stoppin' there a bit."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ye don't happen to know a 'ooman o' the name o' Gaff, do ye?"
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
Identical; not different.
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, I doan't; only stoppin' there a bit."
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Fine night it is," responded Gaff and Billy in the same breath.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "No, I doan't; only stoppin' there a bit."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "D'ye belong to Cove?"
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Gaff suddenly turned and accosted the stranger just as he had passed them.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading "Ye don't happen to know a 'ooman o' the name o' Gaff, do ye?"
Chapter 9 of Shifting Winds: A Tough Yarn by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne holds 439 sentences, grouped into 88 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 439 sentences of Shifting Winds: A Tough Yarn, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Shifting Winds: A Tough Yarn by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 439 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 Shifting Winds: A Tough Yarn by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3982 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21702 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21702, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 331 minutes of reading across 797 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shifting Winds: A Tough Yarn section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Shifting Winds: A Tough Yarn 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 Shifting Winds: A Tough Yarn, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
