Chapter 7 of Stepsons of Light is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Stepsons of Light is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"A grudge? But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in. This is something else. Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads. Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
Chapter 7 of Stepsons of Light is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
possessive form of “adam” — (Old Testament) in Judeo-Christian mythology; the first man and the husband of Eve and the progenitor of the human race
From this reading “Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?”
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.”
plural of “duck” — small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs
From this reading “But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in.”
a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation
From this reading “"A grudge?”
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading “Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.”
pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)
From this reading “Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?”
an alluvial deposit that contains particles of some valuable mineral
From this reading “Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?”
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?”
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.
as might be expected
In this reading “Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.”
In this reading “Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.”
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 "A grudge?
possessive form of “adam” — (Old Testament) in Judeo-Christian mythology; the first man and the husband of Eve and the progenitor of the human race
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
any thing at all
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
plural of “duck” — small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs
From this reading But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This is something else.
a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation
From this reading "A grudge?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
and nothing more
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
a human being
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
an alluvial deposit that contains particles of some valuable mineral
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading This is something else.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Or of course it may have been some other person altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This is something else.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
in the company of; together with
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Do you reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with it?
Chapter 7 of Stepsons of Light by Eugene Manlove Rhodes holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 7 holds 429 sentences of Stepsons of Light, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Stepsons of Light by Eugene Manlove Rhodes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 7 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 Stepsons of Light by Eugene Manlove Rhodes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4688 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32704 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32704, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 390 minutes of reading across 938 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stepsons of Light section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Stepsons of Light 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 Stepsons of Light, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
