Chapter 33 of The River of Darkness is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXXIII
Chapter 33 of The River of Darkness is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GOOD-BY TO THE LAKE. Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale. "Yes," he said hoarsely, "you--you are right, Chutney. How could we have done such a foolish thing? From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
Chapter 33 of The River of Darkness is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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 spicy condiment made of chopped fruits or vegetables cooked in vinegar and sugar with ginger and spices
From this reading “"Yes," he said hoarsely, "you--you are right, Chutney.”
a steep high face of rock
From this reading “Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.”
causing or capable of causing death
From this reading “Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.”
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading “How could we have done such a foolish thing?”
a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water
From this reading “From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.”
a strong line
From this reading “Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.”
past form of “stagger” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading “Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.”
the extent of something from side to side
From this reading “From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.”
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 How could we have done such a foolish thing?
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Yes," he said hoarsely, "you--you are right, Chutney.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
a spicy condiment made of chopped fruits or vegetables cooked in vinegar and sugar with ginger and spices
From this reading "Yes," he said hoarsely, "you--you are right, Chutney.
a steep high face of rock
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading How could we have done such a foolish thing?
causing or capable of causing death
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading How could we have done such a foolish thing?
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading How could we have done such a foolish thing?
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
a farewell remark
From this reading GOOD-BY TO THE LAKE.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading How could we have done such a foolish thing?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Yes," he said hoarsely, "you--you are right, Chutney.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
in a hoarse or husky voice
From this reading "Yes," he said hoarsely, "you--you are right, Chutney.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How could we have done such a foolish thing?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading GOOD-BY TO THE LAKE.
a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Yes," he said hoarsely, "you--you are right, Chutney.
a strong line
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Yes," he said hoarsely, "you--you are right, Chutney.
past form of “stagger” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his face deadly pale.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading How could we have done such a foolish thing?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading GOOD-BY TO THE LAKE.
a special situation
From this reading How could we have done such a foolish thing?
propel through the air
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading GOOD-BY TO THE LAKE.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading How could we have done such a foolish thing?
the extent of something from side to side
From this reading From that narrow width of the ledge one could not throw a rope twenty feet in air.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes," he said hoarsely, "you--you are right, Chutney.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Yes," he said hoarsely, "you--you are right, Chutney.
Chapter 33 of The River of Darkness by William Murray Graydon holds 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 33 holds 100 sentences of The River of Darkness, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 33 of The River of Darkness by William Murray Graydon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 33 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 River of Darkness by William Murray Graydon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3841 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24297 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24297, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 320 minutes of reading across 769 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The River of Darkness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The River of Darkness 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 River of Darkness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
