Chapter 18 of The White Desert is here in full — 241 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The White Desert is here in full — 241 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste. "You got my telegram?" He asked it almost breathlessly. "Ah, _oui! oui, oui, oui_! _Sacre_, and you are the wizard!"
Chapter 18 of The White Desert is here in full — 241 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/48 · 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.
in a breathless manner
From this reading “He asked it almost breathlessly.”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.”
the largest city in Texas; located in southeastern Texas near the Gulf of Mexico; site of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
From this reading “It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.”
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.”
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading “It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.”
the Mormon temple
From this reading “It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.”
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading “"You got my telegram?"”
someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field
From this reading “_Sacre_, and you are the wizard!"”
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 It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah, _oui! oui, oui, oui_!
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading He asked it almost breathlessly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading _Sacre_, and you are the wizard!"
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading He asked it almost breathlessly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
in a breathless manner
From this reading He asked it almost breathlessly.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "You got my telegram?"
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He asked it almost breathlessly.
the largest city in Texas; located in southeastern Texas near the Gulf of Mexico; site of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "You got my telegram?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah, _oui! oui, oui, oui_!
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Sacre_, and you are the wizard!"
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
the Mormon temple
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading "You got my telegram?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
in the direction of
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
create by training and teaching
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
which person or people
From this reading It was a grinning Barry Houston who leaped from the train at Tabernacle a week later and ran open-armed through the snow toward the waiting Ba'tiste.
someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field
From this reading _Sacre_, and you are the wizard!"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You got my telegram?"
Chapter 18 of The White Desert by Courtney Ryley Cooper holds 241 sentences, grouped into 49 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 18 holds 241 sentences of The White Desert, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The White Desert by Courtney Ryley Cooper exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 241 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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 18 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 White Desert by Courtney Ryley Cooper on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5458 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20155 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20155, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 454 minutes of reading across 1092 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The White Desert section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The White Desert 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 White Desert, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
