Chapter 16 of The Sealed Valley is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Sealed Valley is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The half-breed had already laid himself down to sleep again. After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters. The three white men talked together low-voiced. It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them. Joe Mixer clapped his thigh and cried softly:
Chapter 16 of The Sealed Valley is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
arousing affect
From this reading “After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.”
remote in manner
From this reading “After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.”
the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small)
From this reading “It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.”
a party of people assembled to promote sociability and communal activity
From this reading “Joe Mixer clapped his thigh and cried softly:”
past form of “sober” — cause to become sober
From this reading “It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.”
having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited
From this reading “After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.”
the part of the leg between the hip and the knee
From this reading “Joe Mixer clapped his thigh and cried softly:”
the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern
From this reading “After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.”
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.
an auspicious state resulting from favorable outcomes
In this reading “It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.”
In this reading “After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.”
In this reading “The three white men talked together low-voiced.”
In this reading “The three white men talked together low-voiced.”
In this reading “After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.”
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 After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
arousing affect
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
later than; following
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
anew
From this reading The half-breed had already laid himself down to sleep again.
remote in manner
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading The half-breed had already laid himself down to sleep again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Joe Mixer clapped his thigh and cried softly:
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.
inflected form of “clap” — put quickly or forcibly
From this reading Joe Mixer clapped his thigh and cried softly:
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Joe Mixer clapped his thigh and cried softly:
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The half-breed had already laid himself down to sleep again.
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The half-breed had already laid himself down to sleep again.
an offensive term for an offspring of parents of different racial group (especially of Caucasian and American Indian ancestry)
From this reading The half-breed had already laid himself down to sleep again.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading The half-breed had already laid himself down to sleep again.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Joe Mixer clapped his thigh and cried softly:
set down according to a plan
From this reading The half-breed had already laid himself down to sleep again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The three white men talked together low-voiced.
the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small)
From this reading It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
the force of workers available
From this reading The three white men talked together low-voiced.
a public toilet for men
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
a party of people assembled to promote sociability and communal activity
From this reading Joe Mixer clapped his thigh and cried softly:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
any competition
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading The half-breed had already laid himself down to sleep again.
past form of “sober” — cause to become sober
From this reading It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.
with low volume
From this reading Joe Mixer clapped his thigh and cried softly:
having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading The three white men talked together low-voiced.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The half-breed had already laid himself down to sleep again.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.
the part of the leg between the hip and the knee
From this reading Joe Mixer clapped his thigh and cried softly:
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading The three white men talked together low-voiced.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The half-breed had already laid himself down to sleep again.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading The three white men talked together low-voiced.
the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
precisely as stated
From this reading It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was as if the very magnitude of their good fortune had sobered them.
a Caucasian
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
in the company of; together with
From this reading After the manner of his race, he held himself aloof, affecting a stolid unconcern with white men's matters.
Chapter 16 of The Sealed Valley by Hulbert Footner holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 16 holds 408 sentences of The Sealed Valley, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Sealed Valley by Hulbert Footner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 16 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 Sealed Valley by Hulbert Footner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7294 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57139 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57139, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1459 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sealed Valley section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Sealed Valley 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 Sealed Valley, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
