Chapter 17 of The Tracer of Lost Persons is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Tracer of Lost Persons is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry. They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together. Then came the Philippine troubles, then that Chinese affair. Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned. They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
Chapter 17 of The Tracer of Lost Persons is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
appointed to a post or duty
From this reading “"When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.”
troops trained to fight on horseback
From this reading “"When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.”
the state of being inactive
From this reading “Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned.”
a metal pot for stewing or boiling; usually has a lid
From this reading “They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together.”
a region in northeastern China
From this reading “They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.”
official language of the Philippines; based on Tagalog; draws its lexicon from other Philippine languages
From this reading “Then came the Philippine troubles, then that Chinese affair.”
past form of “resign” — leave (a job, post, or position) voluntarily
From this reading “Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned.”
a republic in northern South America on the Caribbean; achieved independence from Spain in 1811; rich in oil
From this reading “They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.”
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 vaguely specified concern
From this reading Then came the Philippine troubles, then that Chinese affair.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together.
appointed to a post or duty
From this reading "When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Then came the Philippine troubles, then that Chinese affair.
troops trained to fight on horseback
From this reading "When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.
any of the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in China; regarded as dialects of a single language (even though they are mutually unintelligible) because they share an ideographic writing system
From this reading Then came the Philippine troubles, then that Chinese affair.
having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination
From this reading "When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
the state of being inactive
From this reading Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned.
a metal pot for stewing or boiling; usually has a lid
From this reading They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading "When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.
a region in northeastern China
From this reading They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
the force of workers available
From this reading They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together.
not any; not one
From this reading They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
official language of the Philippines; based on Tagalog; draws its lexicon from other Philippine languages
From this reading Then came the Philippine troubles, then that Chinese affair.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading "When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.
past form of “resign” — leave (a job, post, or position) voluntarily
From this reading Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned.
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task
From this reading Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned.
be standing; be upright
From this reading Then I did staff duty, and could not stand the inactivity and resigned.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Then came the Philippine troubles, then that Chinese affair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then came the Philippine troubles, then that Chinese affair.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together.
plural of “trouble” — a source of difficulty
From this reading Then came the Philippine troubles, then that Chinese affair.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together.
the act of using
From this reading They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
a republic in northern South America on the Caribbean; achieved independence from Spain in 1811; rich in oil
From this reading They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading They had no use for me in Manchuria; I tired of waiting, and went to Venezuela.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading They are good men; we went up Kettle Hill together.
at the time that
From this reading "When I left the Point I was assigned to the colored cavalry.
Chapter 17 of The Tracer of Lost Persons by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 17 holds 186 sentences of The Tracer of Lost Persons, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Tracer of Lost Persons by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 17 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 Tracer of Lost Persons by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4027 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13180 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13180, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 335 minutes of reading across 806 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Tracer of Lost Persons section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Tracer of Lost Persons 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 Tracer of Lost Persons, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
