Chapter 2 of The Dead-Line is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Dead-Line is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“They’re spread over a two-mile front now. Figure it out. They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles. I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.” “Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.
Chapter 2 of The Dead-Line is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
(used of persons or the military) characterized by having or bearing arms
From this reading “They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.”
in a dry laconic manner
From this reading ““Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.”
plural of “herder” — German philosopher who advocated intuition over reason (1744-1803)
From this reading “They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.”
measure the depth of something
From this reading “I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.””
plural of “rifle” — a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore
From this reading “They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.”
plural of “ruin” — an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading ““Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.”
characterized by good substantial quality
From this reading ““Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.”
being five more than twenty
From this reading “They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.”
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.
form a cover over
In this reading ““They’re spread over a two-mile front now.”
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 “They’re spread over a two-mile front now.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
(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 They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
(used of persons or the military) characterized by having or bearing arms
From this reading They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.
in a dry laconic manner
From this reading “Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.
a quad with a square body
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading Figure it out.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading “They’re spread over a two-mile front now.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.
plural of “herder” — German philosopher who advocated intuition over reason (1744-1803)
From this reading They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Figure it out.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “They’re spread over a two-mile front now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Figure it out.
above and across; more than
From this reading “They’re spread over a two-mile front now.
measure the depth of something
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
plural of “rifle” — a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore
From this reading They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.
plural of “ruin” — an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading “Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.
characterized by good substantial quality
From this reading “Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading “They’re spread over a two-mile front now.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “They’re spread over a two-mile front now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I look for ’em to spread plumb across the range, and the —— himself couldn’t stop ’em from tricklin’ in.”
being five more than twenty
From this reading They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “They’re spread over a two-mile front now.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading “Which ruins the idea of a solid dead-line,” said Hodges dryly.
in the company of; together with
From this reading They’ve got about twenty-five herders, all armed with rifles.
Chapter 2 of The Dead-Line by W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 2 holds 410 sentences of The Dead-Line, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Dead-Line by W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 2 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 Dead-Line by W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4854 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66821 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66821, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 404 minutes of reading across 971 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dead-Line section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Dead-Line 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 Dead-Line, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
