Chapter 2 of The Scalp Hunters is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Scalp Hunters is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion. I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back. My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body. No! I could not have slain that buffalo for the Koh-i-noor.
Chapter 2 of The Scalp Hunters is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
large shaggy-haired brown bison of North American plains
From this reading “I could not have slain that buffalo for the Koh-i-noor.”
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading “My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.”
edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle
From this reading “My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.”
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.”
not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing
From this reading “My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.”
people who have been slain (as in battle)
From this reading “I could not have slain that buffalo for the Koh-i-noor.”
past form of “slaughter” — kill (animals) usually for food consumption
From this reading “I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.”
susceptible to attack
From this reading “My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.”
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.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.
large shaggy-haired brown bison of North American plains
From this reading I could not have slain that buffalo for the Koh-i-noor.
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.
lighted by or as if by twilight
From this reading It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I could not have slain that buffalo for the Koh-i-noor.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion.
edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle
From this reading My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I could not have slain that buffalo for the Koh-i-noor.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.
go away from a place
From this reading It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion.
used to form the superlative
From this reading My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion.
not any; not one
From this reading No!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I could not have slain that buffalo for the Koh-i-noor.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion.
above and across; more than
From this reading I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.
not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing
From this reading My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.
people who have been slain (as in battle)
From this reading I could not have slain that buffalo for the Koh-i-noor.
past form of “slaughter” — kill (animals) usually for food consumption
From this reading I could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back.
carry out
From this reading It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I could not have slain that buffalo for the Koh-i-noor.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.
susceptible to attack
From this reading My knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion.
Chapter 2 of The Scalp Hunters by Mayne Reid holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 2 holds 399 sentences of The Scalp Hunters, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Scalp Hunters by Mayne Reid exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 2 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 Scalp Hunters by Mayne Reid on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8568 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23268 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #23268, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1714 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Scalp Hunters section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Scalp Hunters 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 Scalp Hunters, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
