Chapter 4 of The Freebooters of the Wilderness is here in full — 242 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Freebooters of the Wilderness is here in full — 242 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe. "Old man been giving you some good advice?" "I don't know whether you'd call it good or not. Let's heap the logs on, Brydges, and make the shadows dance." Brydges did some hard thinking and let the Ranger do the heaping.
Chapter 4 of The Freebooters of the Wilderness is here in full — 242 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/48 · 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.
nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate
From this reading “STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.”
a game played with playing cards
From this reading “STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.”
-ing form of “heap” — bestow in large quantities
From this reading “Brydges did some hard thinking and let the Ranger do the heaping.”
plural of “log” — a segment of the trunk of a tree when stripped of branches
From this reading “Let's heap the logs on, Brydges, and make the shadows dance."”
a member of the Texas state highway patrol; formerly a mounted lawman who maintained order on the frontier
From this reading “Brydges did some hard thinking and let the Ranger do the heaping.”
block consisting of a thick piece of something
From this reading “STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.”
-ing form of “stack” — load or cover with stacks
From this reading “STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.”
past form of “straddle” — sit or stand astride of
From this reading “STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.”
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.
a proposal for an appropriate course of action
From this reading "Old man been giving you some good advice?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.
nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate
From this reading STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Old man been giving you some good advice?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Let's heap the logs on, Brydges, and make the shadows dance."
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "I don't know whether you'd call it good or not.
a game played with playing cards
From this reading STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.
an artistic form of nonverbal communication
From this reading Let's heap the logs on, Brydges, and make the shadows dance."
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Brydges did some hard thinking and let the Ranger do the heaping.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Brydges did some hard thinking and let the Ranger do the heaping.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I don't know whether you'd call it good or not.
the act of giving
From this reading "Old man been giving you some good advice?"
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Old man been giving you some good advice?"
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Brydges did some hard thinking and let the Ranger do the heaping.
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading Let's heap the logs on, Brydges, and make the shadows dance."
-ing form of “heap” — bestow in large quantities
From this reading Brydges did some hard thinking and let the Ranger do the heaping.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I don't know whether you'd call it good or not.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I don't know whether you'd call it good or not.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I don't know whether you'd call it good or not.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Brydges did some hard thinking and let the Ranger do the heaping.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Let's heap the logs on, Brydges, and make the shadows dance."
set afire or burning
From this reading STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.
plural of “log” — a segment of the trunk of a tree when stripped of branches
From this reading Let's heap the logs on, Brydges, and make the shadows dance."
engage in
From this reading Let's heap the logs on, Brydges, and make the shadows dance."
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Old man been giving you some good advice?"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "I don't know whether you'd call it good or not.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Old man been giving you some good advice?"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Let's heap the logs on, Brydges, and make the shadows dance."
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "I don't know whether you'd call it good or not.
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.
a member of the Texas state highway patrol; formerly a mounted lawman who maintained order on the frontier
From this reading Brydges did some hard thinking and let the Ranger do the heaping.
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading Let's heap the logs on, Brydges, and make the shadows dance."
block consisting of a thick piece of something
From this reading STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "Old man been giving you some good advice?"
-ing form of “stack” — load or cover with stacks
From this reading STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.
past form of “straddle” — sit or stand astride of
From this reading STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading STACKING THE CARDS Bat straddled the slab and lighted his pipe.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading Brydges did some hard thinking and let the Ranger do the heaping.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading "I don't know whether you'd call it good or not.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Old man been giving you some good advice?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I don't know whether you'd call it good or not.
Chapter 4 of The Freebooters of the Wilderness by Agnes C. Laut holds 242 sentences, grouped into 49 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 242 sentences of The Freebooters of the Wilderness, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Freebooters of the Wilderness by Agnes C. Laut exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 242 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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 Freebooters of the Wilderness by Agnes C. Laut on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6242 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18116 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18116, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 520 minutes of reading across 1249 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Freebooters of the Wilderness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Freebooters of the Wilderness 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 Freebooters of the Wilderness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
