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Down the River
Down the River

Chapter XXV

Cover illustration for Down the River
Context Illustration Reading 1/25 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
TWO HOURS IN JAIL.
The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.
The man with him was a stranger to me.
The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.
The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Down the River

Chapter XXV

Reading 1/25 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
TWO HOURS IN JAIL.
Line 2
The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.
Line 3
The man with him was a stranger to me.
Line 4
The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.
Line 5
The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Appearance noun US /ˈappearance/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.”

Captain noun US /ˈcaptain/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.”

Surprised noun US /surprised/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.”

Thought noun US /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.”

All words in this reading · 68

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

appearancenounUS /ˈappearance/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

arrest

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

bad

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

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

befallen

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

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

boy

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

CaptainnounUS /ˈcaptain/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

companion

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

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

consider

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

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

constable

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

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

delivered

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

down

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

exceedingly

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

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

explanation

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

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

finding

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

Fishley

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

Ford

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

gone

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading The man with him was a stranger to me.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

hotel-keeper

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

HOURS

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

From this reading TWO HOURS IN JAIL.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

INprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading TWO HOURS IN JAIL.

insulting

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

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

JAIL

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

From this reading TWO HOURS IN JAIL.

lay

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

learning

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

made

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

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

mail

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

man

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

From this reading The man with him was a stranger to me.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

message

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

misfortune

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

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

much

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

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

officer

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

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

probably

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

reputation

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

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

Riverport

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

rough

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

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

sent

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

stranger

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

From this reading The man with him was a stranger to me.

sufficient

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

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

surprisednounUS /surprised/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

there

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

thoughtnounUS /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading The man with him was a stranger to me.

TWO

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

From this reading TWO HOURS IN JAIL.

unnecessarily

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

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

wait

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

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading The officer and his companion were unnecessarily rough and insulting to me, I thought; but when I consider the exceedingly bad reputation which I had made, I am not much surprised.

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading The mail boy had delivered his message to Captain Fishley, and the constable had been sent down to Riverport to arrest me; but not finding me there, and probably learning from the hotel-keeper where I had gone, he lay in wait for me at the Ford.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading The appearance of the constable was a sufficient explanation of the misfortune which had befallen me.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The man with him was a stranger to me.