Chapter 16 of The Story of the Foss River Ranch is here in full — 325 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Story of the Foss River Ranch is here in full — 325 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little. The spirit had a bracing effect upon him. The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful. The change was not lost upon Lablache. It was a veritable game of the cat and the mouse.
Chapter 16 of The Story of the Foss River Ranch is here in full — 325 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/65 · 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.
adopted in order to deceive
From this reading “The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.”
a structural member used to stiffen a framework
From this reading “The spirit had a bracing effect upon him.”
the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white
From this reading “The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.”
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading “It was a veritable game of the cat and the mouse.”
being full of or promoting cheer; having or showing good spirits
From this reading “The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.”
lasting for a markedly brief time
From this reading “The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.”
any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading “It was a veritable game of the cat and the mouse.”
often used as intensifiers
From this reading “It was a veritable game of the cat and the mouse.”
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 THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.
adopted in order to deceive
From this reading The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.
a structural member used to stiffen a framework
From this reading The spirit had a bracing effect upon him.
the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white
From this reading The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading It was a veritable game of the cat and the mouse.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading The change was not lost upon Lablache.
being full of or promoting cheer; having or showing good spirits
From this reading The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading The spirit had a bracing effect upon him.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading It was a veritable game of the cat and the mouse.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The spirit had a bracing effect upon him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The spirit had a bracing effect upon him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a veritable game of the cat and the mouse.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The change was not lost upon Lablache.
showing sly or knowing malice in a glance
From this reading The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading The change was not lost upon Lablache.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
lasting for a markedly brief time
From this reading The dull leering eyes assumed a momentary brightness, and he almost grew cheerful.
any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading It was a veritable game of the cat and the mouse.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The change was not lost upon Lablache.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
in the near future
From this reading THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
the vital principle or animating force within living things
From this reading The spirit had a bracing effect upon him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading THE NIGHT OF THE PUSKY Presently the old man drew himself up a little.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The spirit had a bracing effect upon him.
often used as intensifiers
From this reading It was a veritable game of the cat and the mouse.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The change was not lost upon Lablache.
Chapter 16 of The Story of the Foss River Ranch by Ridgwell Cullum holds 325 sentences, grouped into 65 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 325 sentences of The Story of the Foss River Ranch, unabridged, divided into 65 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Story of the Foss River Ranch by Ridgwell Cullum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 325 sentences, grouped into 65 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 65 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 65 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 Story of the Foss River Ranch by Ridgwell Cullum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7054 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14482 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14482, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 587 minutes of reading across 1411 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Story of the Foss River Ranch section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Story of the Foss River Ranch 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 Story of the Foss River Ranch, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
