Chapter 8 of The Soldier of the Valley is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Soldier of the Valley is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I turned to my pipe and lighted it again. Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly. "Poor dog," I said. It was such a relief, and Perry misunderstood. "Has he been hurt?" he asked sympathetically.
Chapter 8 of The Soldier of the Valley is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading “Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.”
set afire or burning
From this reading “I turned to my pipe and lighted it again.”
wrongly understood
From this reading “It was such a relief, and Perry misunderstood.”
United States philosopher (1876-1957)
From this reading “It was such a relief, and Perry misunderstood.”
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading “I turned to my pipe and lighted it again.”
not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing
From this reading “Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.”
past form of “stroke” — touch lightly and repeatedly, as with brushing motions
From this reading “Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.”
with respect to the sympathetic nervous system
From this reading “"Has he been hurt?" he asked sympathetically.”
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 It was such a relief, and Perry misunderstood.
anew
From this reading I turned to my pipe and lighted it again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I turned to my pipe and lighted it again.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Has he been hurt?" he asked sympathetically.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Has he been hurt?" he asked sympathetically.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading "Poor dog," I said.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Has he been hurt?" he asked sympathetically.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Has he been hurt?" he asked sympathetically.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
be the source of pain
From this reading "Has he been hurt?" he asked sympathetically.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I turned to my pipe and lighted it again.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I turned to my pipe and lighted it again.
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
set afire or burning
From this reading I turned to my pipe and lighted it again.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
wrongly understood
From this reading It was such a relief, and Perry misunderstood.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I turned to my pipe and lighted it again.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
United States philosopher (1876-1957)
From this reading It was such a relief, and Perry misunderstood.
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading I turned to my pipe and lighted it again.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading "Poor dog," I said.
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading It was such a relief, and Perry misunderstood.
not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Poor dog," I said.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
past form of “stroke” — touch lightly and repeatedly, as with brushing motions
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading It was such a relief, and Perry misunderstood.
with respect to the sympathetic nervous system
From this reading "Has he been hurt?" he asked sympathetically.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I turned to my pipe and lighted it again.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading I turned to my pipe and lighted it again.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Old Captain came and rested his head on my knee and looked up at me, as I stroked it slowly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was such a relief, and Perry misunderstood.
Chapter 8 of The Soldier of the Valley by Nelson Lloyd holds 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 8 holds 428 sentences of The Soldier of the Valley, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Soldier of the Valley by Nelson Lloyd exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 8 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 Soldier of the Valley by Nelson Lloyd on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3731 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17156 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17156, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 310 minutes of reading across 747 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Soldier of the Valley section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Soldier of the 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 Soldier of the Valley, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
