Chapter 20 of Black'erchief Dick is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Black'erchief Dick is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so? I wouldn’t wed with him if I could help it.” Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension. She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat. The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
Chapter 20 of Black'erchief Dick is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension.”
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading “Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension.”
possessive form of “ben” — a mountain or tall hill
-ing form of “gurgle” — flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise
From this reading “The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.”
a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading ““Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so?”
a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal)
From this reading ““Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so?”
the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
From this reading “The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.”
take in marriage
From this reading “I wouldn’t wed with him if I could help it.””
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.
In this reading “The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.”
In this reading “She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.”
In this reading “Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension.”
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 The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
(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 “Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so?
Having no one else present.
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension.
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so?
possessive form of “ben” — a mountain or tall hill
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I wouldn’t wed with him if I could help it.”
any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension.
-ing form of “gurgle” — flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise
From this reading The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading I wouldn’t wed with him if I could help it.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I wouldn’t wed with him if I could help it.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I wouldn’t wed with him if I could help it.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I wouldn’t wed with him if I could help it.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I wouldn’t wed with him if I could help it.”
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading “Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so?
a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal)
From this reading “Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so?
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension.
of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
From this reading The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading “Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so?
the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
From this reading The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
plural of “wave” — one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
take in marriage
From this reading I wouldn’t wed with him if I could help it.”
(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 The tide was well up and the waves leaped against the stern with a gurgling sound.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading She and Pet Salt were alone together on the deck of Ben’s old boat.
a Caucasian
From this reading Anny spoke anxiously, her little face white with apprehension.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I wouldn’t wed with him if I could help it.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I wouldn’t wed with him if I could help it.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Pet Salt, are you sure all this is so?
Chapter 20 of Black'erchief Dick by Margery Allingham holds 116 sentences, grouped into 24 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 20 holds 116 sentences of Black'erchief Dick, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Black'erchief Dick by Margery Allingham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 116 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 20 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 Black'erchief Dick by Margery Allingham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4332 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62304 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62304, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 361 minutes of reading across 867 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Black'erchief Dick section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Black'erchief Dick 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 Black'erchief Dick, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
