Chapter 12 of The Call of the Canyon is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Call of the Canyon is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time. A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state. Night had fallen. The stars were out. She had stumbled over a low ledge.
Chapter 12 of The Call of the Canyon is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course
From this reading “A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.”
understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something
From this reading “A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.”
playing or singing with instrumental or vocal accompaniment
From this reading “Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.”
a division of some larger or more complex organization
From this reading “A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.”
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading “Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.”
a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water
From this reading “She had stumbled over a low ledge.”
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading “A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.”
past form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading “She had stumbled over a low ledge.”
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 fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
playing or singing with instrumental or vocal accompaniment
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
a division of some larger or more complex organization
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading Night had fallen.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Night had fallen.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water
From this reading She had stumbled over a low ledge.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading She had stumbled over a low ledge.
involving the mind or an intellectual process
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Night had fallen.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The stars were out.
above and across; more than
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
plural of “rock” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had stumbled over a low ledge.
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading The stars were out.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
past form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading She had stumbled over a low ledge.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The stars were out.
push forcefully
From this reading A fall over rocks and a severe thrust from a sharp branch brought an acute appreciation of her position, if not of her mental state.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
not clearly expressed or understood
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The stars were out.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Vague sense of movement, of darkness, and of cold attended Carley’s consciousness for what seemed endless time.
Chapter 12 of The Call of the Canyon by Zane Grey holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 12 holds 432 sentences of The Call of the Canyon, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Call of the Canyon by Zane Grey exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 12 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 The Call of the Canyon by Zane Grey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5820 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1881 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1881, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 485 minutes of reading across 1164 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Call of the Canyon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Call of the Canyon 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 The Call of the Canyon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
