Chapter 4 of Stalky & Co. is here in full — 239 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Stalky & Co. is here in full — 239 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“There was a C on it. I thought it was Mr. Corkran’s. This is a very serious business, young gentlemen. That’s what it is. I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
Chapter 4 of Stalky & Co. is here in full — 239 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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 commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “This is a very serious business, young gentlemen.”
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading “This is a very serious business, young gentlemen.”
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading “I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.””
by chance
From this reading “I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.””
by chance
From this reading “I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.””
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading “This is a very serious business, young gentlemen.”
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading “I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.””
a thing, without saying which
From this reading “I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.””
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 “There was a C on it.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading This is a very serious business, young gentlemen.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
From this reading “There was a C on it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I thought it was Mr. Corkran’s.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading This is a very serious business, young gentlemen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I thought it was Mr. Corkran’s.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This is a very serious business, young gentlemen.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “There was a C on it.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
by chance
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
a form of address for a man
From this reading I thought it was Mr. Corkran’s.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “There was a C on it.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
by chance
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading This is a very serious business, young gentlemen.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
a thing, without saying which
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That’s what it is.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “There was a C on it.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This is a very serious business, young gentlemen.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I thought it was Mr. Corkran’s.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
precisely as stated
From this reading This is a very serious business, young gentlemen.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “There was a C on it.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading That’s what it is.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading This is a very serious business, young gentlemen.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I didn’t know, perhaps, but there might be something on your side which you hadn’t said to Mr. King or Mr. Prout, maybe.”
Chapter 4 of Stalky & Co. by Rudyard Kipling holds 239 sentences, grouped into 48 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 4 holds 239 sentences of Stalky & Co., unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Stalky & Co. by Rudyard Kipling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 239 sentences, grouped into 48 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 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 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 4 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 Stalky & Co. by Rudyard Kipling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5387 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3006 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3006, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 448 minutes of reading across 1078 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stalky & Co. section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Stalky & Co. 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 Stalky & Co., each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
