Chapter 17 of The Henchman is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Henchman is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk. "Railway guide, William," he ordered sharply. "Yep." "And call up the station agent. Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."
Chapter 17 of The Henchman is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect
From this reading “"And call up the station agent.”
a job in an organization
From this reading “Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."”
of or relating to or belonging to the genus Bos
From this reading “Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.”
past form of “ponder” — reflect deeply on a subject
From this reading “Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.”
an idea that preoccupies the mind and holds the attention
From this reading “Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.”
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading “"Railway guide, William," he ordered sharply.”
look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.”
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."”
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 Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."
an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect
From this reading "And call up the station agent.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
a job in an organization
From this reading Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."
of or relating to or belonging to the genus Bos
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "And call up the station agent.
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
someone employed to conduct others
From this reading "Railway guide, William," he ordered sharply.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Railway guide, William," he ordered sharply.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."
move something or somebody to a lower position
From this reading Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."
come together
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading "Railway guide, William," he ordered sharply.
past form of “ponder” — reflect deeply on a subject
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
an idea that preoccupies the mind and holds the attention
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading "Railway guide, William," he ordered sharply.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
past form of “rouse” — become active
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
in an aggressive manner
From this reading "Railway guide, William," he ordered sharply.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading "And call up the station agent.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Shelby read, pondered, and finally roused from his preoccupation to meet the bovine stare of his clerk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "And call up the station agent.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Railway guide, William," he ordered sharply.
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading Have him wire for a lower berth on the Lehigh to-night."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Yep."
Chapter 17 of The Henchman by Mark Lee Luther holds 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 17 holds 153 sentences of The Henchman, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Henchman by Mark Lee Luther exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 17 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 Henchman by Mark Lee Luther on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4440 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19148 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19148, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 370 minutes of reading across 888 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Henchman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Henchman 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 Henchman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
