Chapter 4 of The Winds of Chance is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Winds of Chance is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Looked kind of salty for a spell, didn't it?" The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce. "Well, I'm due for a private apology. I hope you cherish no hard feelings. Eh?"
Chapter 4 of The Winds of Chance is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
succeed in representing or expressing something intangible
From this reading “The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.”
be fond of; be attached to
From this reading “I hope you cherish no hard feelings.”
settled securely and unconditionally
From this reading “The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.”
having dark hairs mixed with grey or white
From this reading “The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.”
cut or make a way through
From this reading “The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.”
a temporary police force
From this reading “The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.”
engagingly stimulating or provocative
From this reading “"Looked kind of salty for a spell, didn't it?"”
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading “The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.”
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 "Looked kind of salty for a spell, didn't it?"
an expression of regret at having caused trouble for someone
From this reading "Well, I'm due for a private apology.
succeed in representing or expressing something intangible
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
be fond of; be attached to
From this reading I hope you cherish no hard feelings.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Looked kind of salty for a spell, didn't it?"
owed and payable immediately or on demand
From this reading "Well, I'm due for a private apology.
settled securely and unconditionally
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Eh?"
emotional or moral sensitivity (especially in relation to personal principles or dignity)
From this reading I hope you cherish no hard feelings.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Looked kind of salty for a spell, didn't it?"
having dark hairs mixed with grey or white
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading I hope you cherish no hard feelings.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading I hope you cherish no hard feelings.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I hope you cherish no hard feelings.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, I'm due for a private apology.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Looked kind of salty for a spell, didn't it?"
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading "Looked kind of salty for a spell, didn't it?"
a person who rules or guides or inspires others
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Looked kind of salty for a spell, didn't it?"
not any; not one
From this reading I hope you cherish no hard feelings.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Looked kind of salty for a spell, didn't it?"
cut or make a way through
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
a temporary police force
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy
From this reading "Well, I'm due for a private apology.
engagingly stimulating or provocative
From this reading "Looked kind of salty for a spell, didn't it?"
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
orally recite the letters of or give the spelling of
From this reading "Looked kind of salty for a spell, didn't it?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, I'm due for a private apology.
which person or people
From this reading The grizzled leader of the posse, he who had effected the capture of the thieves, was speaking to Pierce.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I hope you cherish no hard feelings.
Chapter 4 of The Winds of Chance by Rex Beach holds 169 sentences, grouped into 34 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.
Chapter 4 holds 169 sentences of The Winds of Chance, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Winds of Chance by Rex Beach exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 169 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 4 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 Winds of Chance by Rex Beach on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9337 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5062 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5062, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1868 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Winds of Chance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Winds of Chance 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 Winds of Chance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
