Chapter 31 of Smoke of the .45 is here in full — 136 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Smoke of the .45 is here in full — 136 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DEATH CHANT “For God’s sake!” Johnny cried when he reached Madeiras. “What did you kill him for?” “Eet’s either you or heem. You t’ink I let heem pump lead into you like that?”
Chapter 31 of Smoke of the .45 is here in full — 136 sentences across 28 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.
recite with musical intonation; recite as a chant or a psalm
From this reading “THE DEATH CHANT “For God’s sake!””
possessive form of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
“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 “Johnny cried when he reached Madeiras.”
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading ““What did you kill him for?””
take somebody somewhere
From this reading “You t’ink I let heem pump lead into you like that?””
operate like a pump; move up and down, like a handle or a pedal
From this reading “You t’ink I let heem pump lead into you like that?””
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading “Johnny cried when he reached Madeiras.”
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading “THE DEATH CHANT “For God’s sake!””
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.
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.
recite with musical intonation; recite as a chant or a psalm
From this reading THE DEATH CHANT “For God’s sake!”
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Johnny cried when he reached Madeiras.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading THE DEATH CHANT “For God’s sake!”
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “What did you kill him for?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Eet’s either you or heem.
one or the other of two
From this reading “Eet’s either you or heem.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading THE DEATH CHANT “For God’s sake!”
possessive form of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading THE DEATH CHANT “For God’s sake!”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Johnny cried when he reached Madeiras.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Eet’s either you or heem.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “What did you kill him for?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading You t’ink I let heem pump lead into you like that?”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading You t’ink I let heem pump lead into you like that?”
“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 Johnny cried when he reached Madeiras.
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “What did you kill him for?”
take somebody somewhere
From this reading You t’ink I let heem pump lead into you like that?”
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading You t’ink I let heem pump lead into you like that?”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading You t’ink I let heem pump lead into you like that?”
a group of volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean to the west of Morocco; the group forms an autonomous region of Portugal
From this reading Johnny cried when he reached Madeiras.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading “Eet’s either you or heem.
operate like a pump; move up and down, like a handle or a pedal
From this reading You t’ink I let heem pump lead into you like that?”
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Johnny cried when he reached Madeiras.
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading THE DEATH CHANT “For God’s sake!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You t’ink I let heem pump lead into you like that?”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You t’ink I let heem pump lead into you like that?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DEATH CHANT “For God’s sake!”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What did you kill him for?”
at the time that
From this reading Johnny cried when he reached Madeiras.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What did you kill him for?”
Chapter 31 of Smoke of the .45 by Harry Sinclair Drago holds 136 sentences, grouped into 28 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 31 holds 136 sentences of Smoke of the .45, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Smoke of the .45 by Harry Sinclair Drago exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 136 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 31 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.
