Chapter 18 of The Peril Finders is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Peril Finders is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"But it would be desperate work." "Yes, sir, they'd make us desperate; but it would be their own doing. We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it. They've only got to leave us alone and there'd be no desperate work." "But they may be friendly Indians."
Chapter 18 of The Peril Finders is here in full — 431 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.
a natural or artificial enclosed space
From this reading “We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.”
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading “We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.”
arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
From this reading “"But it would be desperate work."”
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading “"But they may be friendly Indians."”
plural of “indian” — a native or inhabitant of India
From this reading “"But they may be friendly Indians."”
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading “We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.”
a stock or supply of foods
From this reading “We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.”
plural of “rifle” — a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore
From this reading “We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.”
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.
Having no one else present.
From this reading They've only got to leave us alone and there'd be no desperate work."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "But it would be desperate work."
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But it would be desperate work."
a natural or artificial enclosed space
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
From this reading "But it would be desperate work."
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading "Yes, sir, they'd make us desperate; but it would be their own doing.
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading "But they may be friendly Indians."
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading They've only got to leave us alone and there'd be no desperate work."
plural of “indian” — a native or inhabitant of India
From this reading "But they may be friendly Indians."
moving to the inside of something
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "But it would be desperate work."
go away from a place
From this reading They've only got to leave us alone and there'd be no desperate work."
engage in
From this reading "Yes, sir, they'd make us desperate; but it would be their own doing.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "But they may be friendly Indians."
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
not any; not one
From this reading They've only got to leave us alone and there'd be no desperate work."
and nothing more
From this reading They've only got to leave us alone and there'd be no desperate work."
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading "Yes, sir, they'd make us desperate; but it would be their own doing.
a stock or supply of foods
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
plural of “rifle” — a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Yes, sir, they'd make us desperate; but it would be their own doing.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading "Yes, sir, they'd make us desperate; but it would be their own doing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They've only got to leave us alone and there'd be no desperate work."
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Yes, sir, they'd make us desperate; but it would be their own doing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They've only got to leave us alone and there'd be no desperate work."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Yes, sir, they'd make us desperate; but it would be their own doing.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading We could bring up our provisions into the chamber nearest the water, and command it with our rifles so that they couldn't get to it.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading "But it would be desperate work."
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "But it would be desperate work."
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, sir, they'd make us desperate; but it would be their own doing.
Chapter 18 of The Peril Finders by George Manville Fenn holds 431 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 18 holds 431 sentences of The Peril Finders, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Peril Finders by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 431 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 18 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 Peril Finders by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9857 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25429 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25429, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1972 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Peril Finders section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Peril Finders 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 Peril Finders, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
