Chapter 17 of Smoke of the .45 is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Smoke of the .45 is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him. He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it. But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance. Not for a second did Kent think of begging off. He knew Gallup too well.
Chapter 17 of Smoke of the .45 is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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 solicitation for money or food (especially in the street by an apparently penniless person)
From this reading “Not for a second did Kent think of begging off.”
the act of examining resemblances
From this reading “But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.”
a small cube with 1 to 6 spots on the six faces; used in gambling to generate random numbers
From this reading “But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.”
inflected form of “foresee” — realize beforehand
From this reading “He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.”
a town in northwestern New Mexico near the Arizona border
From this reading “GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.”
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading “But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.”
a county in southeastern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, it was the first to be colonized by the Romans
From this reading “GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.”
of lesser importance or stature or rank
From this reading “But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.”
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 “But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.”
In this reading “But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.”
In this reading “But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.”
In this reading “He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.”
In this reading “Not for a second did Kent think of begging off.”
keep in mind for attention or consideration
In this reading “Not for a second did Kent think of begging off.”
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 Not for a second did Kent think of begging off.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.
a solicitation for money or food (especially in the street by an apparently penniless person)
From this reading Not for a second did Kent think of begging off.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.
the act of examining resemblances
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
a small cube with 1 to 6 spots on the six faces; used in gambling to generate random numbers
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Not for a second did Kent think of begging off.
plural of “event” — something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Not for a second did Kent think of begging off.
inflected form of “foresee” — realize beforehand
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
a town in northwestern New Mexico near the Arizona border
From this reading He knew Gallup too well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.
someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.
the quality of being important and worthy of note
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
a county in southeastern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, it was the first to be colonized by the Romans
From this reading GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading He knew Gallup too well.
go away from a place
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
of lesser importance or stature or rank
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
not any; not one
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not for a second did Kent think of begging off.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Not for a second did Kent think of begging off.
the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Not for a second did Kent think of begging off.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading But now, by comparison, Johnny Dice and his evil genius seemed of minor importance.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading GALLUP’S PRICE Kent slunk into his chair as they left him.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Not for a second did Kent think of begging off.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading He knew Gallup too well.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading He knew Gallup too well.
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading He had foreseen this day, but events had so happened since the steer-shipping as to leave his mind no time to worry about it.
Chapter 17 of Smoke of the .45 by Harry Sinclair Drago holds 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 17 holds 122 sentences of Smoke of the .45, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Smoke of the .45 by Harry Sinclair Drago exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 17 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 Smoke of the .45 by Harry Sinclair Drago on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5164 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63072 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63072, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 430 minutes of reading across 1033 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Smoke of the .45 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Smoke of the .45 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 Smoke of the .45, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
