The Shepherd of the North

Chapter VII

Chapter 7 of The Shepherd of the North is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Richard Aumerle Maher • Curated US English Learning Edition

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English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.

Water!

There it lay, below them, at their feet almost!

Narrator

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LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter VII Reading 1/84

The Shepherd of the North

Chapter VII

Chapter 7 of The Shepherd of the North is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

/ðə men fled ˈoʊvər ðə rɪdʒ ʌv ðə hɪl ənd daʊn tuː ðə saʊθ tuː ɡet ðemˈselvz aʊt ʌv ðæt enˈsɜːrkəlɪŋ deθ/

Line 2

When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

/wen ðeɪ wɜːr bɪˈɑːnd ðə ˈsɜːrkəl ʌv ˈfaɪər ɑːn ðæt saɪd ðeɪ sɔː ðə fʊl ɪkˈstent ʌv wʌt hæd bəˈfɑːlən ðem ɪn wʌt hæd bɪn ðer ˈmoʊmənt ʌv ˈvɪktəri/

Line 3

Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.

Line 4

Water!

/ˈwɔːtər/

Line 5

There it lay, below them, at their feet almost!

/ðer ɪt leɪ bɪˈloʊ ðem æt ðer fiːt ˈɔːlmoʊst/

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.

befallen verb US /bəˈfɑːlən/

inflected form of “befall” — become of; happen to

From this reading “When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.”

Chain noun US /tʃeɪn/

a series of things depending on each other as if linked together

From this reading “Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.”

circle noun US /ˈsɜːrkəl/

ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point

From this reading “When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.”

encircling adjective US /enˈsɜːrkəlɪŋ/

being all around the edges; enclosing

From this reading “The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.”

extent noun US /ɪkˈstent/

the point or degree to which something extends

From this reading “When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.”

fled verb US /fled/

inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly

From this reading “The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.”

ridge noun US /rɪdʒ/

a long narrow natural elevation or striation

From this reading “The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.”

victory noun US /ˈvɪktəri/

a successful ending of a struggle or contest

From this reading “When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.”

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.

full extent adjective + noun

In this reading “When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.”

over the ridge preposition + article + noun counted as “over … ridge”

In this reading “The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.”

beyond the circle preposition + article + noun counted as “beyond … circle”

In this reading “When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.”

get near verb + particle

In this reading “Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.”

All words in this reading · 54

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.

almostadverbUS /ˈɔːlmoʊst/

(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but

From this reading There it lay, below them, at their feet almost!

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading There it lay, below them, at their feet almost!

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

befallenverbUS /bəˈfɑːlən/

inflected form of “befall” — become of; happen to

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

belowprepositionUS /bɪˈloʊ/

at or to a lower level than something

From this reading There it lay, below them, at their feet almost!

beyondprepositionUS /bɪˈɑːnd/

on the far side of; further than

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.

ChainnounUS /tʃeɪn/

a series of things depending on each other as if linked together

From this reading Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.

circlenounUS /ˈsɜːrkəl/

ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

comeverbUS /kʌm/

move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

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

From this reading Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.

deathnounUS /deθ/

the event of dying or departure from life

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

downadjectiveUS /daʊn/

being or moving lower in position or less in some value

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

encirclingadjectiveUS /enˈsɜːrkəlɪŋ/

being all around the edges; enclosing

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

extentnounUS /ɪkˈstent/

the point or degree to which something extends

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

feetnounUS /fiːt/

plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint

From this reading There it lay, below them, at their feet almost!

fireverbUS /ˈfaɪər/

start firing a weapon

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

fledverbUS /fled/

inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

fulladjectiveUS /fʊl/

containing as much or as many as is possible or normal

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

getverbUS /ɡet/

come into the possession of something concrete or abstract

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

hillnounUS /hɪl/

a local and well-defined elevation of the land

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading There it lay, below them, at their feet almost!

lakenounUS /leɪk/

a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land

From this reading Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.

layverbUS /leɪ/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading There it lay, below them, at their feet almost!

mennounUS /men/

the force of workers available

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

momentnounUS /ˈmoʊmənt/

a particular point in time

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

nearadverbUS /nɪr/

near in time or place or relationship

From this reading Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.

NotadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

onlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/

and nothing more

From this reading Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.

outadjectiveUS /aʊt/

not allowed to continue to bat or run

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

ridgenounUS /rɪdʒ/

a long narrow natural elevation or striation

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

sawverbUS /sɔː/

cut with a saw

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

sidenounUS /saɪd/

a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

southnounUS /saʊθ/

the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

themselvespronounUS /ðemˈselvz/

used when the people doing the action are also its object

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

ThereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading There it lay, below them, at their feet almost!

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading The men fled over the ridge of the hill and down to the south, to get themselves out of that encircling death.

victorynounUS /ˈvɪktəri/

a successful ending of a struggle or contest

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

WaternounUS /ˈwɔːtər/

binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent

From this reading Water!

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

WhenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading When they were beyond the circle of fire on that side, they saw the full extent of what had befallen them in what had been their moment of victory.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading Not only would the fire come south of the lake and the Chain--but they themselves could not get near the lake.

Chapter 7 of The Shepherd of the North by Richard Aumerle Maher holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 7 of The Shepherd of the North contain?

Chapter 7 holds 421 sentences of The Shepherd of the North, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 7 of The Shepherd of the North by Richard Aumerle Maher exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 7 of The Shepherd of the North?

Work through the 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 85 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 7 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 7 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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Yes. All 5856 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30093 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #30093, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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About 488 minutes of reading across 1172 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Shepherd of the North

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Shepherd of the North, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Shepherd of the North; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Heart: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Shepherd of the North; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Electrotyped: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Shepherd of the North; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
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Chapter VII

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