Chapter 8 of The Spread Eagle and Other Stories is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Spread Eagle and Other Stories is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
There was a mild sensation in the court. "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says. 'He's bin and gone.' "So I takes my gun and starts for Ruddy's, over the mountain. It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
Chapter 8 of The Spread Eagle and Other Stories is here in full — 406 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.
a container; usually has a lid
From this reading “'He's bin and gone.'”
plural of “cast” — the actors in a play
From this reading “"I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.”
moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
From this reading “There was a mild sensation in the court.”
the condition of belonging to a particular place or group by virtue of social or ethnic or cultural lineage
From this reading “"I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.”
an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation
From this reading “There was a mild sensation in the court.”
comparative of “short” — primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading “It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.”
plural of “start” — the beginning of anything
From this reading “"So I takes my gun and starts for Ruddy's, over the mountain.”
a small tuft or lock
From this reading “"I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.”
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 There was a mild sensation in the court.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
a container; usually has a lid
From this reading 'He's bin and gone.'
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
plural of “cast” — the actors in a play
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading There was a mild sensation in the court.
plural of “find” — a productive insight
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
destroyed or killed
From this reading 'He's bin and gone.'
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading "So I takes my gun and starts for Ruddy's, over the mountain.
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 "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'He's bin and gone.'
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was a mild sensation in the court.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
staying power
From this reading It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
From this reading There was a mild sensation in the court.
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading "So I takes my gun and starts for Ruddy's, over the mountain.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "So I takes my gun and starts for Ruddy's, over the mountain.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
above and across; more than
From this reading "So I takes my gun and starts for Ruddy's, over the mountain.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
the condition of belonging to a particular place or group by virtue of social or ethnic or cultural lineage
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation
From this reading There was a mild sensation in the court.
comparative of “short” — primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So I takes my gun and starts for Ruddy's, over the mountain.
in the near future
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
plural of “start” — the beginning of anything
From this reading "So I takes my gun and starts for Ruddy's, over the mountain.
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading "So I takes my gun and starts for Ruddy's, over the mountain.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There was a mild sensation in the court.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a mild sensation in the court.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading It's hours shorter than by the valley, for them that has good legs.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a mild sensation in the court.
a small tuft or lock
From this reading "I casts about for signs, and pretty soon I finds a wisp of red hair, roots an' all, I says, 'Ruddy's hair,' I says.
Chapter 8 of The Spread Eagle and Other Stories by Gouverneur Morris holds 406 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 8 holds 406 sentences of The Spread Eagle and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Spread Eagle and Other Stories by Gouverneur Morris exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 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 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 Spread Eagle and Other Stories by Gouverneur Morris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4414 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9888 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9888, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 367 minutes of reading across 883 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Spread Eagle and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Spread Eagle and Other Stories 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 Spread Eagle and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
