Chapter 2 of The Last Monster 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 II
Chapter 2 of The Last Monster is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes. The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them. The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves. Mussdorf's hand vised on Gunn until the little man whimpered. Behind them there was the slow shuffle of a mighty body.
Chapter 2 of The Last Monster 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.
plural of “drape” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.”
suggestive of the supernatural; mysterious
From this reading “The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.”
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading “They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.”
plural of “glance” — a quick look
From this reading “The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.”
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading “The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.”
inflected form of “overhang” — project over
From this reading “The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.”
past form of “scratch” — cause friction
From this reading “The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.”
walk by dragging one's feet
From this reading “Behind them there was the slow shuffle of a mighty body.”
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 “They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.”
In this reading “The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.”
cooperate or pretend to cooperate
In this reading “They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.”
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 Behind them there was the slow shuffle of a mighty body.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.
eagerly desirous
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Behind them there was the slow shuffle of a mighty body.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
put or send forth
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
plural of “drape” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
suggestive of the supernatural; mysterious
From this reading The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.
plural of “glance” — a quick look
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mussdorf's hand vised on Gunn until the little man whimpered.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Mussdorf's hand vised on Gunn until the little man whimpered.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Mussdorf's hand vised on Gunn until the little man whimpered.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Mussdorf's hand vised on Gunn until the little man whimpered.
a hard crystalline metamorphic rock that takes a high polish; used for sculpture and as building material
From this reading They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.
having or showing great strength or force or intensity
From this reading Behind them there was the slow shuffle of a mighty body.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mussdorf's hand vised on Gunn until the little man whimpered.
an uneasy psychological state
From this reading The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Behind them there was the slow shuffle of a mighty body.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Mussdorf's hand vised on Gunn until the little man whimpered.
inflected form of “overhang” — project over
From this reading The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.
past form of “scratch” — cause friction
From this reading The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.
walk by dragging one's feet
From this reading Behind them there was the slow shuffle of a mighty body.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading Behind them there was the slow shuffle of a mighty body.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Behind them there was the slow shuffle of a mighty body.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance
From this reading The eerie silence that overhung the place scratched at their uneasy nerves.
up to a particular time
From this reading Mussdorf's hand vised on Gunn until the little man whimpered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mussdorf's hand vised on Gunn until the little man whimpered.
plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading The thick drapes along the walls muffled their footsteps, but they cast anxious glances behind them.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Behind them there was the slow shuffle of a mighty body.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading They went along the black marble flooring for long minutes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mussdorf's hand vised on Gunn until the little man whimpered.
Chapter 2 of The Last Monster by Gardner F. (Gardner Francis) Fox 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 2 holds 432 sentences of The Last Monster, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Last Monster by Gardner F. (Gardner Francis) Fox 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 2 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 Last Monster by Gardner F. (Gardner Francis) Fox on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 869 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63645 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63645, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 72 minutes of reading across 174 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Last Monster section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Last Monster 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 Last Monster, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
