Chapter 15 of The Swindler and Other Stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Swindler and Other Stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The words came with a rush. She began to tremble all over. She was almost sobbing. Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close. "Take your time," he said gently.
Chapter 15 of The Swindler and Other Stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
only a very short time before
From this reading “Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.”
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading “Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.”
in a gradual manner
From this reading “"Take your time," he said gently.”
the act of grasping
From this reading “Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.”
move hurridly
From this reading “The words came with a rush.”
convulsive gasp made while weeping
From this reading “She was almost sobbing.”
move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading “She began to tremble all over.”
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading “Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.”
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 words came with a rush.
(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 She began to tremble all over.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading She was almost sobbing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
only a very short time before
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading She began to tremble all over.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The words came with a rush.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
in a gradual manner
From this reading "Take your time," he said gently.
the act of grasping
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Take your time," he said gently.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
above and across; more than
From this reading She began to tremble all over.
in a noticeable manner
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
move hurridly
From this reading The words came with a rush.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Take your time," he said gently.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She began to tremble all over.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
convulsive gasp made while weeping
From this reading She was almost sobbing.
carry out
From this reading "Take your time," he said gently.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The words came with a rush.
up to a particular time
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "Take your time," he said gently.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She began to tremble all over.
move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading She began to tremble all over.
precisely as stated
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading Rivington's fingers closed very slowly, barely perceptibly, till his grip was warm and close.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was almost sobbing.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The words came with a rush.
the words that are spoken
From this reading The words came with a rush.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Take your time," he said gently.
Chapter 15 of The Swindler and Other Stories by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 15 holds 401 sentences of The Swindler and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Swindler and Other Stories by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 15 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 Swindler and Other Stories by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8523 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18644 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18644, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1705 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Swindler and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Swindler 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 Swindler and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
