Chapter 22 of To The West is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of To The West is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed. Where were they going? I asked myself. Along the track by which I had just come? They must be, I thought, and bent on seizing Gunson's claim.
Chapter 22 of To The West is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
(used of persons or the military) characterized by having or bearing arms
From this reading “It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.”
an assertion of a right (as to money or property)
From this reading “They must be, I thought, and bent on seizing Gunson's claim.”
past form of “count” — determine the number or amount of
From this reading “It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.”
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.”
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading “It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.”
small stuff that is used for lashing two or more ropes together
From this reading “They must be, I thought, and bent on seizing Gunson's claim.”
hurl as if with a sling
From this reading “It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.”
a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading “Along the track by which I had just come?”
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 he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
(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 It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading Along the track by which I had just come?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
(used of persons or the military) characterized by having or bearing arms
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I asked myself.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading They must be, I thought, and bent on seizing Gunson's claim.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Along the track by which I had just come?
an assertion of a right (as to money or property)
From this reading They must be, I thought, and bent on seizing Gunson's claim.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Along the track by which I had just come?
past form of “count” — determine the number or amount of
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
being one more than seven
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
start firing a weapon
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
the act of departing
From this reading Where were they going?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They must be, I thought, and bent on seizing Gunson's claim.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
and nothing more
From this reading Along the track by which I had just come?
the force of workers available
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading They must be, I thought, and bent on seizing Gunson's claim.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading I asked myself.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading They must be, I thought, and bent on seizing Gunson's claim.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
small stuff that is used for lashing two or more ropes together
From this reading They must be, I thought, and bent on seizing Gunson's claim.
hurl as if with a sling
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading They must be, I thought, and bent on seizing Gunson's claim.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading Along the track by which I had just come?
plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
(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 It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Where were they going?
in or at the place that
From this reading Where were they going?
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Along the track by which I had just come?
during the time that
From this reading It was he plainly enough, and he had one hand in a sling; while, as I peered forward round one of the trees, I counted eight men about the fire; and they all seemed to be well armed.
Chapter 22 of To The West by George Manville Fenn holds 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 22 holds 413 sentences of To The West, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of To The West by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 22 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 To The West by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9550 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21495 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21495, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1910 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through To The West section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of To The West 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 To The West, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
