Chapter 4 of The Son of His Father is here in full — 234 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Son of His Father is here in full — 234 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes. Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair. It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting. Where was he? Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.
Chapter 4 of The Son of His Father is here in full — 234 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading “It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.”
plural of “land” — the land on which real estate is located
From this reading “GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.”
any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.
From this reading “Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.”
inflected form of “rub” — move over something with pressure
From this reading “GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.”
shaken into waves or undulations as by wind
From this reading “Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.”
made smooth by ironing
From this reading “It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.”
possessive form of “snake” — limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
From this reading “GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.”
a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading “Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.”
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.
In this reading “Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.”
make a passage or journey from one place to another
In this reading “Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.”
at or in the front
In this reading “Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.”
move upward
In this reading “Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
(sometimes followed by “of”) having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
From this reading Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
opinion or judgment
From this reading GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
plural of “land” — the land on which real estate is located
From this reading GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.
From this reading Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.
inflected form of “rub” — move over something with pressure
From this reading GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
shaken into waves or undulations as by wind
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
made smooth by ironing
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
possessive form of “snake” — limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
From this reading GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading Suddenly he became aware of the metal track in front of him, and--remembered.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading GORDON LANDS AT SNAKE'S FALL Gordon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Then one blood-stained hand went up to his head, and its fingers passed through his ruffled hair.
in or at the place that
From this reading Where was he?
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading It smoothed its way down one cheek, and finally dropped to the ground on which he was sitting.
Chapter 4 of The Son of His Father by Ridgwell Cullum holds 234 sentences, grouped into 47 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 4 holds 234 sentences of The Son of His Father, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Son of His Father by Ridgwell Cullum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 234 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 Son of His Father by Ridgwell Cullum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7807 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36170 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36170, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1562 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Son of His Father section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Son of His Father 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 Son of His Father, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
