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The red feathers
The red feathers

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of The red feathers is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Theodore Goodridge Roberts • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for The red feathers
Context Illustration Reading 1/38 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.
All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.
He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.
Pitch black though it was, he could see dimly.
“Red Eye,” he called, guardedly.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The red feathers

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of The red feathers is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/38 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.
/ə briːf rɪˈtɜːrn tuː ˈpaʊər ðə ˈlɪtəl braʊn aʊl ˈweɪtɪd ɪn ðə wʊdz nɪr ðə ˈvɪlədʒ ənˈtɪl kloʊs əˈpɑːn ˈmɪdnaɪt/
Line 2
All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.
/ɔːl wɑːz ˈkwaɪət wen hiː æt læst fluː tuː ðə lɑːdʒ tuː wɪtʃ hiː hæd siːn red aɪ rɪˈtaɪr ˈaʊərz bɪˈfɔːr/
Line 3
He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.
/hiː pɜːrtʃt ɑːn ðə piːk ʌv ðə lɑːdʒ ənd ˈkɑːkɪŋ hɪz hed brɔːt wʌn ˈjeloʊ aɪ tuː ber ɑːn ðə dɑːrk ˌɪnˈtɪriər/
Line 4
Pitch black though it was, he could see dimly.
/pɪtʃ blæk ðoʊ ɪt wɑːz hiː kʊd siː ˈdɪmli/
Line 5
“Red Eye,” he called, guardedly.
/red aɪ hiː kɔːld ˈɡɑːrdɪdli/

Learner Dictionary

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.

cocking verb US /ˈkɑːkɪŋ/

-ing form of “cock” — tilt or slant to one side

From this reading “He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
dimly adverb US /ˈdɪmli/

in a dim indistinct manner

From this reading “Pitch black though it was, he could see dimly.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
guardedly adverb US /ˈɡɑːrdɪdli/

in a conservative manner

From this reading ““Red Eye,” he called, guardedly.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
owl noun US /aʊl/

nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes

From this reading “A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
peak noun US /piːk/

the most extreme possible amount or value

From this reading “He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
perched verb US /pɜːrtʃt/

past form of “perch” — sit, as on a branch

From this reading “He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Pitch noun US /pɪtʃ/

the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration

From this reading “Pitch black though it was, he could see dimly.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
retire verb US /rɪˈtaɪr/

go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position

From this reading “All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

little brown adjective + noun

In this reading “A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.”

2,935 times in 426,211 chapters
in the woods preposition + article + noun counted as “in … woods”

In this reading “A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.”

16,805 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 58

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.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
AlladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
bearverbUS /ber/

have

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
blackadjectiveUS /blæk/

being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light

From this reading Pitch black though it was, he could see dimly.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
BRIEFadjectiveUS /briːf/

of short duration or distance

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
broughtverbUS /brɔːt/

inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
brownnounUS /braʊn/

an orange of low brightness and saturation

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
calledverbUS /kɔːld/

past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to

From this reading “Red Eye,” he called, guardedly.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
closeadjectiveUS /kloʊs/

at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
cockingverbUS /ˈkɑːkɪŋ/

-ing form of “cock” — tilt or slant to one side

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading Pitch black though it was, he could see dimly.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
darknounUS /dɑːrk/

absence of light or illumination

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
dimlyadverbUS /ˈdɪmli/

in a dim indistinct manner

From this reading Pitch black though it was, he could see dimly.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
EyenounUS /aɪ/

the organ of sight

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
flewverbUS /fluː/

inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
guardedlyadverbUS /ˈɡɑːrdɪdli/

in a conservative manner

From this reading “Red Eye,” he called, guardedly.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
headnounUS /hed/

the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hoursnounUS /ˈaʊərz/

a period of time assigned for work

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
interioradjectiveUS /ˌɪnˈtɪriər/

situated within or suitable for inside a building

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Pitch black though it was, he could see dimly.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
lastadjectiveUS /læst/

immediately past

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
lodgeverbUS /lɑːdʒ/

be a lodger; stay temporarily

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
midnightnounUS /ˈmɪdnaɪt/

12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
nearadverbUS /nɪr/

near in time or place or relationship

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
owlnounUS /aʊl/

nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
peaknounUS /piːk/

the most extreme possible amount or value

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
perchedverbUS /pɜːrtʃt/

past form of “perch” — sit, as on a branch

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
PitchnounUS /pɪtʃ/

the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration

From this reading Pitch black though it was, he could see dimly.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
POWERnounUS /ˈpaʊər/

possession of controlling influence

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
quietadjectiveUS /ˈkwaɪət/

characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
RednounUS /red/

red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
retireverbUS /rɪˈtaɪr/

go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
RETURNverbUS /rɪˈtɜːrn/

go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
seeverbUS /siː/

perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading Pitch black though it was, he could see dimly.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
seenverbUS /siːn/

inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading Pitch black though it was, he could see dimly.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
TOparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
untilprepositionUS /ənˈtɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
villagenounUS /ˈvɪlədʒ/

a community of people smaller than a town

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
waitedverbUS /ˈweɪtɪd/

past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading All was quiet when he at last flew to the lodge to which he had seen Red Eye retire, hours before.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
woodsnounUS /wʊdz/

the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area

From this reading A BRIEF RETURN TO POWER The little brown owl waited in the woods, near the village, until close upon midnight.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
yellowadjectiveUS /ˈjeloʊ/

of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk

From this reading He perched on the peak of the lodge, and, cocking his head, brought one yellow eye to bear on the dark interior.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Chapter 17 of The red feathers by Theodore Goodridge Roberts holds 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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.

What does chapter 17 of The red feathers contain?

Chapter 17 holds 194 sentences of The red feathers, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 17 of The red feathers by Theodore Goodridge Roberts exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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.

How do I study chapter 17 of The red feathers?

Work through the 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 39 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.

Can chapter 17 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 17 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.

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