Chapter 11 of A Secret of the Lebombo is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of A Secret of the Lebombo is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
What were they planning? Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms? He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case. Ha! The silence was broken at last.
Chapter 11 of A Secret of the Lebombo is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil
From this reading “Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?”
plural of “firearm” — a portable gun
From this reading “Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?”
-ing form of “force” — to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means
From this reading “Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?”
an act of formulating a program for a definite course of action
From this reading “What were they planning?”
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading “He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.”
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading “He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.”
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading “Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?”
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading “Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
put in effect
In this reading “He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.”
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 He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The silence was broken at last.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading The silence was broken at last.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
an occurrence of something
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
with ease (“easy” is sometimes used informally for “easily”)
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
start firing a weapon
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
plural of “firearm” — a portable gun
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
-ing form of “force” — to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
(astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing; the right ascension for an observer at a particular location and time of day
From this reading Ha!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
evidencing the possession of inside information
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
immediately past
From this reading The silence was broken at last.
not any; not one
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
an act of formulating a program for a definite course of action
From this reading What were they planning?
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading The silence was broken at last.
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading He had read of such a situation, and his heart sank as he realised how easily it could be carried out in his case.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Could it be that they had some devilish scheme of forcing him out by fire or smoke, knowing that he had no firearms?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The silence was broken at last.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading What were they planning?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The silence was broken at last.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading What were they planning?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What were they planning?
Chapter 11 of A Secret of the Lebombo by Bertram Mitford holds 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 11 holds 422 sentences of A Secret of the Lebombo, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of A Secret of the Lebombo by Bertram Mitford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 11 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 A Secret of the Lebombo by Bertram Mitford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4709 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32916 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32916, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 392 minutes of reading across 942 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Secret of the Lebombo section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of A Secret of the Lebombo 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 A Secret of the Lebombo, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
