Chapter 6 of The Moving Finger is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Moving Finger is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly. They were only curious, there was nothing to fear. In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them. “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?” The horse was done.
Chapter 6 of The Moving Finger is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
moving forward
From this reading “In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.”
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading “They were only curious, there was nothing to fear.”
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading ““Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?””
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading “In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.”
the back of a horse
From this reading “In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.”
with low volume
From this reading “There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.”
plural of “rock” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading “There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.”
the light of the stars
From this reading “In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.”
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 In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
moving forward
From this reading In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading They were only curious, there was nothing to fear.
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading The horse was done.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading They were only curious, there was nothing to fear.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading The horse was done.
the back of a horse
From this reading In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading They were only curious, there was nothing to fear.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.
and nothing more
From this reading They were only curious, there was nothing to fear.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
with low volume
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
plural of “rock” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
cut with a saw
From this reading In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
the light of the stars
From this reading In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
in the direction of
From this reading In the dim starlight they saw a man on horseback advancing towards them.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no doubt about it, and he rose to his feet It was the other side of the rocks, and they walked round quietly.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were only curious, there was nothing to fear.
which person or people
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Hallo!” called out Stanesby, as he came quite close, “who the devil are you?”
Chapter 6 of The Moving Finger by Mary Gaunt holds 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 6 holds 441 sentences of The Moving Finger, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Moving Finger by Mary Gaunt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 6 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 Moving Finger by Mary Gaunt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3046 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21335 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21335, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 253 minutes of reading across 610 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Moving Finger section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Moving Finger 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 Moving Finger, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
