Chapter 24 of The Portal of Dreams is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of The Portal of Dreams is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE OFFER OF PAROLE. Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression. Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face. "Nice place, ain't hit--fer a murder?" "That's about all," I responded affably enough.
Chapter 24 of The Portal of Dreams is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
in an affable manner
From this reading “"That's about all," I responded affably enough.”
hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
From this reading “Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression.”
marked by rude or peremptory shortness
From this reading “Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.”
a town in northwestern Canada in the Yukon on the Yukon River; a boom town around 1900 when gold was discovered in the Klondike
From this reading “Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.”
covered with or as if with clothes or a wrap or cloak
From this reading “Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.”
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading “Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.”
a promise
From this reading “THE OFFER OF PAROLE.”
explore, often with the goal of finding something or somebody
From this reading “Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression.”
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 “Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.”
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 "Nice place, ain't hit--fer a murder?"
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "That's about all," I responded affably enough.
in an affable manner
From this reading "That's about all," I responded affably enough.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Nice place, ain't hit--fer a murder?"
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "That's about all," I responded affably enough.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
From this reading Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression.
marked by rude or peremptory shortness
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
a town in northwestern Canada in the Yukon on the Yukon River; a boom town around 1900 when gold was discovered in the Klondike
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
a feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized
From this reading Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression.
showing sorrow
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
covered with or as if with clothes or a wrap or cloak
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "That's about all," I responded affably enough.
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Nice place, ain't hit--fer a murder?"
past form of “fold” — bend or lay so that one part covers the other
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
cause to move by striking
From this reading "Nice place, ain't hit--fer a murder?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "That's about all," I responded affably enough.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading "Nice place, ain't hit--fer a murder?"
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading "Nice place, ain't hit--fer a murder?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE OFFER OF PAROLE.
make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading THE OFFER OF PAROLE.
a promise
From this reading THE OFFER OF PAROLE.
by chance
From this reading Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "Nice place, ain't hit--fer a murder?"
explore, often with the goal of finding something or somebody
From this reading Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression.
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading "That's about all," I responded affably enough.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Perhaps the disappointment of my cursory reconnoiter showed itself in my expression.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's about all," I responded affably enough.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE OFFER OF PAROLE.
which person or people
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Curt Dawson, who stood with his arms folded and his loose length draped against the door-jamb, grinned at my dolorous face.
Chapter 24 of The Portal of Dreams by Charles Neville Buck holds 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 24 holds 151 sentences of The Portal of Dreams, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of The Portal of Dreams by Charles Neville Buck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 24 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 Portal of Dreams by Charles Neville Buck on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3656 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31927 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31927, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 304 minutes of reading across 732 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Portal of Dreams section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Portal of Dreams 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 Portal of Dreams, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
