Chapter 4 of The Fatal Cord, and The Falcon Rover 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 IV
Chapter 4 of The Fatal Cord, and The Falcon Rover is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder. Would she accept the title, or correct it? He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked. There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper. Their absence inspired him with hope.
Chapter 4 of The Fatal Cord, and The Falcon Rover 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.
in an audible manner
From this reading “His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.”
expected hopefully
From this reading “His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.”
being of such surpassing excellence as to suggest inspiration by the gods
From this reading “Their absence inspired him with hope.”
someone in charge of other people
From this reading “There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.”
cultivated in temperate regions
From this reading “He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.”
of a stringed instrument; sounded with the fingers or a plectrum
From this reading “He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.”
a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
From this reading “His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.”
gymnastic apparatus consisting of a pair of heavy metal circles (usually covered with leather) suspended by ropes; used for gymnastic exercises
From this reading “There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.”
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 “He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.”
the hand that is on the left side of the body
In this reading “He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.”
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 He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.
the state of being absent
From this reading Their absence inspired him with hope.
consider or hold as true
From this reading Would she accept the title, or correct it?
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.
in an audible manner
From this reading His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.
expected hopefully
From this reading His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
a small circle
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
make right or correct
From this reading Would she accept the title, or correct it?
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Their absence inspired him with hope.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.
the act of retaining something
From this reading He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading Their absence inspired him with hope.
being of such surpassing excellence as to suggest inspiration by the gods
From this reading Their absence inspired him with hope.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Would she accept the title, or correct it?
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
someone in charge of other people
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Would she accept the title, or correct it?
cultivated in temperate regions
From this reading He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
of a stringed instrument; sounded with the fingers or a plectrum
From this reading He had already glanced at her left hand, holding a peach she had plucked.
a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
From this reading His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.
gymnastic apparatus consisting of a pair of heavy metal circles (usually covered with leather) suspended by ropes; used for gymnastic exercises
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
cut with a saw
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Would she accept the title, or correct it?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Their absence inspired him with hope.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His heart throbbed audibly, as he awaited the rejoinder.
a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with
From this reading Would she accept the title, or correct it?
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were rings; but among them he saw not the plain circlet nor its keeper.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Their absence inspired him with hope.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Would she accept the title, or correct it?
Chapter 4 of The Fatal Cord, and The Falcon Rover by Mayne Reid holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 432 sentences of The Fatal Cord, and The Falcon Rover, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Fatal Cord, and The Falcon Rover by Mayne Reid exactly as it stands in the 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 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 The Fatal Cord, and The Falcon Rover by Mayne Reid on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3936 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35195 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35195, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 328 minutes of reading across 788 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fatal Cord, and The Falcon Rover section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Fatal Cord, and The Falcon Rover 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 Fatal Cord, and The Falcon Rover, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
