Chapter 5 of The Law-Breakers is here in full — 283 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Law-Breakers is here in full — 283 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains. They rode abreast. Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening. It was a gait they would keep as long as daylight lasted. Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.
Chapter 5 of The Law-Breakers is here in full — 283 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
being up to particular standard or level especially in being up to date in knowledge
From this reading “They rode abreast.”
the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading “Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.”
past form of “last” — persist for a specified period of time
From this reading “It was a gait they would keep as long as daylight lasted.”
to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.”
plural of “plain” — extensive tract of level open land
From this reading “BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.”
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading “Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.”
of a light brown to brownish orange color; the color of tanned leather
From this reading “BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.”
dressed in a uniform
From this reading “BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.”
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.
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 It was a gait they would keep as long as daylight lasted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.
being up to particular standard or level especially in being up to date in knowledge
From this reading They rode abreast.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
at or in the front
From this reading Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It was a gait they would keep as long as daylight lasted.
confined by bonds
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.
the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside
From this reading It was a gait they would keep as long as daylight lasted.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a gait they would keep as long as daylight lasted.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.
and nothing more
From this reading Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading It was a gait they would keep as long as daylight lasted.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.
past form of “last” — persist for a specified period of time
From this reading It was a gait they would keep as long as daylight lasted.
to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.
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 It was a gait they would keep as long as daylight lasted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.
the force of workers available
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.
plural of “plain” — extensive tract of level open land
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading Sergeant McBain's horse kept its nose just ahead of the others.
plural of “side” — a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.
in or characteristic of a region of the United States south of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
of a light brown to brownish orange color; the color of tanned leather
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They rode abreast.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.
dressed in a uniform
From this reading BOUND FOR THE SOUTHERN TRAIL Three uniformed men rode hard across the tawny plains.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a gait they would keep as long as daylight lasted.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Their horses were a-lather; their lean sides tuckered, but their gait remained unslackening.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It was a gait they would keep as long as daylight lasted.
Chapter 5 of The Law-Breakers by Ridgwell Cullum holds 283 sentences, grouped into 57 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 5 holds 283 sentences of The Law-Breakers, unabridged, divided into 57 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Law-Breakers by Ridgwell Cullum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 283 sentences, grouped into 57 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 57 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 57 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 5 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 Law-Breakers by Ridgwell Cullum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10144 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29958 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29958, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2029 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Law-Breakers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Law-Breakers 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 Law-Breakers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
