Chapter 39 of The Desert Moon mystery is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of The Desert Moon mystery is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire. I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor. “Where’s everybody?” I asked. “Out committing murders, somewhere, likely.”
Chapter 39 of The Desert Moon mystery is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
inflected form of “commit” — perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
From this reading ““Out committing murders, somewhere, likely.””
on a floor below
From this reading “The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.”
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading “I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.”
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading “I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.”
past form of “judge” — determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading “I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.”
plural of “murder” — unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being
From this reading ““Out committing murders, somewhere, likely.””
from appearances alone
From this reading “The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.”
a gem (usually a diamond) in a setting by itself
From this reading “The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.”
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.
In this reading “The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.”
In this reading “The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.”
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 I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
Having no one else present.
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I asked.
inflected form of “commit” — perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
From this reading “Out committing murders, somewhere, likely.”
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
on a floor below
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
every person
From this reading “Where’s everybody?”
bringing death
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
set up or found
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
past form of “judge” — determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading “Out committing murders, somewhere, likely.”
a room in a private house or establishment where people can sit and talk and relax
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
plural of “murder” — unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being
From this reading “Out committing murders, somewhere, likely.”
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “Out committing murders, somewhere, likely.”
the act of playing a musical instrument
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
precisely, exactly
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
from appearances alone
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
a gem (usually a diamond) in a setting by itself
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
in or at or to some place
From this reading “Out committing murders, somewhere, likely.”
not in physical motion
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
displeasing to the senses
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading I judged, from the look he gave me, and from the way he had his shoulders hunched, that he was still in a right ugly humor.
at the time that
From this reading The Fatal Mistake When I finally did get myself downstairs, I found Sam, seemingly alone in the living-room, playing solitaire.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Where’s everybody?”
Chapter 39 of The Desert Moon mystery by Kay Cleaver Strahan holds 83 sentences, grouped into 17 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 39 holds 83 sentences of The Desert Moon mystery, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of The Desert Moon mystery by Kay Cleaver Strahan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 83 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 39 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 Desert Moon mystery by Kay Cleaver Strahan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Desert Moon mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Desert Moon mystery 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 Desert Moon mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
