Chapter 9 of The Guilty River is here in full — 108 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Guilty River is here in full — 108 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WARNED! We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring. At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease. She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible. "Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.
Chapter 9 of The Guilty River is here in full — 108 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “"Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.”
a shed at the edge of a river or lake; used to store boats
From this reading “"Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.”
a small house with a single story
From this reading “She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible.”
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading “At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.”
a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area
From this reading “We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring.”
plural of “interruption” — an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity
From this reading “At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.”
plural of “tell” — a Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer
From this reading “"Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.”
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading “WARNED!”
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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading "Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.
Having no one else present.
From this reading We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.
a shed at the edge of a river or lake; used to store boats
From this reading "Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring.
a small house with a single story
From this reading She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
move gently or carefully
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible.
a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area
From this reading We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring.
plural of “interruption” — an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.
not any; not one
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring.
capable of happening or existing
From this reading She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible.
cut with a saw
From this reading "Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring.
in the near future
From this reading She seemed to be eager to get back to the cottage as soon as possible.
the season of growth
From this reading We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring.
plural of “tell” — a Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer
From this reading "Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring.
in or at that place or location
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading WARNED!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading At that early hour there were no interruptions to dread; but Cristel was ill at ease.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We were alone in the glade, by the side of the spring.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Father tells me," she began abruptly, "he saw you at the boathouse.
Chapter 9 of The Guilty River by Wilkie Collins holds 108 sentences, grouped into 22 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 9 holds 108 sentences of The Guilty River, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Guilty River by Wilkie Collins exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 108 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 9 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 Guilty River by Wilkie Collins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2911 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3634 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3634, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 242 minutes of reading across 583 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Guilty River section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Guilty River 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 Guilty River, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
