Chapter 4 of The River's End is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The River's End is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts. He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath. He had caught her. Her brother was out of town. And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.
Chapter 4 of The River's End is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
plural of “butt” — thick end of the handle
From this reading “"I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.”
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “"I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.”
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading “And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.”
granted exemption
From this reading “"I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.”
having branches or flower heads that bend downward
From this reading “"I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.”
a distinctive odor that is pleasant
From this reading “And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.”
past form of “recall” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading “He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.”
plural of “smoke” — a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading “"I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.”
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 And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading Her brother was out of town.
plural of “butt” — thick end of the handle
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading He had caught her.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
in a close relation or position in time or space
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.
granted exemption
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had caught her.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
having branches or flower heads that bend downward
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Her brother was out of town.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Her brother was out of town.
a distinctive odor that is pleasant
From this reading And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.
past form of “recall” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.
plural of “smoke” — a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
a person, without saying who
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I see someone smokes," he excused himself, nodding at the cigarette butts.
in or at that place or location
From this reading And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading Her brother was out of town.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And there was a distinctly unAmerican perfume in the smoke that someone had left in the room.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
the words that are spoken
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He was watching her closely and would have recalled the words in the next breath.
Chapter 4 of The River's End by James Oliver Curwood holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 4 holds 417 sentences of The River's End, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The River's End by James Oliver Curwood exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 4 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's End by James Oliver Curwood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3719 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4747 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4747, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 309 minutes of reading across 744 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The River's End section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The River's End 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's End, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
