Chapter 13 of The Octopus : A Story of California is here in full — 754 sentences across 151 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Octopus : A Story of California is here in full — 754 sentences across 151 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing. “Stop!” cried Hilma, laying her hand upon young Vacca's arm. “Stop the horses. Listen, what was that?” The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
Chapter 13 of The Octopus : A Story of California is here in full — 754 sentences across 151 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/150 · 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.
a framework erected over an oil well to allow drill tubes to be raised and lowered
From this reading “On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.”
the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy
From this reading “On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.”
cause to stop
From this reading “The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.”
make short successive sounds
From this reading “The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.”
plural of “revolver” — a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading “The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.”
plural of “rifle” — a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore
From this reading “The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.”
the stealing of cattle
From this reading “The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.”
annual or biennial grass having erect flower spikes and light brown grains
From this reading “The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.”
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 The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading “Stop!” cried Hilma, laying her hand upon young Vacca's arm.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “Stop!” cried Hilma, laying her hand upon young Vacca's arm.
a framework erected over an oil well to allow drill tubes to be raised and lowered
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
separated in space or coming from or going to a distance
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
cause to stop
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading “Stop!” cried Hilma, laying her hand upon young Vacca's arm.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Stop!” cried Hilma, laying her hand upon young Vacca's arm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading “Stop the horses.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
the production of eggs (especially in birds)
From this reading “Stop!” cried Hilma, laying her hand upon young Vacca's arm.
hear with intention
From this reading Listen, what was that?”
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
farm consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle)
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
make short successive sounds
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
plural of “revolver” — a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
plural of “rifle” — a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
the stealing of cattle
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
plural of “sound” — the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “Stop!” cried Hilma, laying her hand upon young Vacca's arm.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Listen, what was that?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading “Stop!” cried Hilma, laying her hand upon young Vacca's arm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Stop!” cried Hilma, laying her hand upon young Vacca's arm.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Listen, what was that?”
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading On their way to Derrick's ranch house, Hilma and Mrs. Derrick heard the sounds of distant firing.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Listen, what was that?”
annual or biennial grass having erect flower spikes and light brown grains
From this reading The carry-all came to a halt and from far away across the rustling wheat came the faint rattle of rifles and revolvers.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading “Stop!” cried Hilma, laying her hand upon young Vacca's arm.
Chapter 13 of The Octopus : A Story of California by Frank Norris holds 754 sentences, grouped into 151 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 13 holds 754 sentences of The Octopus : A Story of California, unabridged, divided into 151 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Octopus : A Story of California by Frank Norris exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 754 sentences, grouped into 151 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 151 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 151 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 13 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 Octopus : A Story of California by Frank Norris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 12572 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #268 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #268, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2515 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Octopus : A Story of California section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Octopus : A Story of California 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 Octopus : A Story of California, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
