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The Thirty-Nine Steps

Chapter VIII · Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of The Thirty-Nine Steps is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By John Buchan • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The Thirty-Nine Steps

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

I had a crushing headache, and felt as sick as a cat.

Also my shoulder was in a bad way.

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter VIII Reading 1/54

The Thirty-Nine Steps

Chapter VIII · Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of The Thirty-Nine Steps is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/54 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

Line 2

I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

Line 3

Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

Line 4

I had a crushing headache, and felt as sick as a cat.

Line 5

Also my shoulder was in a bad way.

All words in this reading · 54

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

Also

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Also my shoulder was in a bad way.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

as

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I had a crushing headache, and felt as sick as a cat.

at

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

bad

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Also my shoulder was in a bad way.

baking

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

bodily

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

by

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

cat

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I had a crushing headache, and felt as sick as a cat.

clouded

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

crushing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I had a crushing headache, and felt as sick as a cat.

discomfort

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

dovecot

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

down

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

Dry-Fly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

escape

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

fairly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

feeling

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

felt

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I had a crushing headache, and felt as sick as a cat.

Fisherman

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

for

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

fumes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

had

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

hadn't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

happy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

headache

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I had a crushing headache, and felt as sick as a cat.

helped

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

hill-top

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

hours

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

I

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

in

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Also my shoulder was in a bad way.

lentonite

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

matters

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

me

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

my

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

natural

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

on

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

poisoned

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

position

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

sat

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

severe

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

shoulder

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Also my shoulder was in a bad way.

sick

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I had a crushing headache, and felt as sick as a cat.

stock

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

thankfulness

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

The

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

Those

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Those lentonite fumes had fairly poisoned me, and the baking hours on the dovecot hadn’t helped matters.

took

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dry-Fly Fisherman I sat down on a hill-top and took stock of my position.

very

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

was

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

wasn't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wasn’t feeling very happy, for my natural thankfulness at my escape was clouded by my severe bodily discomfort.

way

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Also my shoulder was in a bad way.

Chapter 8 of The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan holds 273 sentences, grouped into 55 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 8 of The Thirty-Nine Steps contain?

Chapter 8 holds 273 sentences of The Thirty-Nine Steps, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 8 of The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 273 sentences, grouped into 55 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.

How do I study chapter 8 of The Thirty-Nine Steps?

Work through the 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 55 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.

Can chapter 8 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Thirty-Nine Steps

Common questions about reading The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Thirty-Nine Steps?

Yes. All 2582 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #558 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Thirty-Nine Steps is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #558, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Thirty-Nine Steps take to read?

About 215 minutes of reading across 517 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Thirty-Nine Steps section by section

How to work through The Thirty-Nine Steps section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Thirty-Nine Steps to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Thirty-Nine Steps

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Thirty-Nine Steps, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Cherished: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Thirty-Nine Steps; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Affection: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Thirty-Nine Steps; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Elemental: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Thirty-Nine Steps; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Americans: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Thirty-Nine Steps; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.