Glimmering

Example: And it is just as well, young Will, that you have only a glimmering of an idea of the gift that is in you, for until the first ordeals of learning are over, you will be in great danger.

Definition: A faint glimpse or idea.

Contemplation

Example: He shouted in fury, then recovered himself, and sat looking down in cold contemplation that was more terrible than rage. p. 25

Definition: Full or deep consideration; reflection.

______shire

ex. Cheshire, Yorkshire, Hampshire, etc.

Example: Will thought that if he were a fox he would have kept clear too; his mother might be married to a jeweller, but with generations of Buckinghamshire farmers behind her, she was no joke when the old instincts were roused. p. 5

Definition: One of the counties of Great Britain.

Ominous

Example: Togther they pushed the loaded cart down the road to the house, and the cawing behind them died to an ominous murmur, like thw swollen Thames in spring. p. 11

Definiton: Portending evil or harm; foreboding; threatning; inauspicious

Din

Example: In the midst of all the din and the flurry, he had suddenly had a feeling stronger than any he had every known: he had been aware that someone was trying to tell him something, something that had missed him because he could not understand the words. p. 11

Definition: A loud, confused noise.

Irresolute

Example: In the doorway, paused irresolute with one hand on the ricketty door, stood the sahambling old tramp of the day before. p. 29

Definition: Not resolute; doubtful; infirm of purpose; vacillating.

Strident

Example: Whild the old lady sat motionless in her chair, and he and Merriman stoood again beside the hearth, the great hall was fuilled suddenly with a hideous mixture of moaning and mumbling and strident wailing, like the caged voices of an evil zoo. p. 45

Definition: Making or having a harsh sound; grating; creaking.

Dell

Example: "Yet before the winter is three-quarters done," Merriman said, "you will be creeping into this dell to look at the snow drops that grow everywhere between the trees." p. 53

Definiton: A small, usually wooded valley; vale.

Peril

Example: "We are besieged, as you see," Merriman said, coming forward to join them.  "They hope to gain a hold over you while you are not yet grown into your full power.  And this is only the beginning of the peril, Will." p. 47

Definiton: Expose to injury, loss, or destruction; grave risk; jeoprady; danger.

Copse

Example: He stood on a snow-mounted hill, with a copse of tall trees capping it far beyond, and two black birds drifting tiny to and fro above the trees. p. 32

Definition: A thicket of small trees or bushes; a small wood.