Chapter 19 of Captains of souls is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Captains of souls is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ronnie opened his mouth and laughed long and joyously. He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it. Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table. "François, open the door--must you go, Bertram? I wanted to see you rather pressingly.
Chapter 19 of Captains of souls is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.”
someone who performs magic tricks to amuse an audience
From this reading “He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.”
plural of “elder” — a person who is older than you are
From this reading “He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.”
-ing form of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading “He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.”
totally perplexed and mixed up
From this reading “He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.”
compacted by ironing
From this reading “Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.”
a message informing of danger
From this reading “Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.”
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 “He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.”
In this reading “Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.”
In this reading “Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.”
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 was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
anew
From this reading Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ronnie opened his mouth and laughed long and joyously.
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "François, open the door--must you go, Bertram?
a youthful male person
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
someone who performs magic tricks to amuse an audience
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "François, open the door--must you go, Bertram?
plural of “elder” — a person who is older than you are
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
-ing form of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "François, open the door--must you go, Bertram?
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "François, open the door--must you go, Bertram?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ronnie opened his mouth and laughed long and joyously.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I wanted to see you rather pressingly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
in a joyous and gleeful manner
From this reading Ronnie opened his mouth and laughed long and joyously.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading Ronnie opened his mouth and laughed long and joyously.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Ronnie opened his mouth and laughed long and joyously.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading Ronnie opened his mouth and laughed long and joyously.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "François, open the door--must you go, Bertram?
totally perplexed and mixed up
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading "François, open the door--must you go, Bertram?
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Ronnie opened his mouth and laughed long and joyously.
compacted by ironing
From this reading Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.
in a pressing manner
From this reading I wanted to see you rather pressingly.
on the contrary
From this reading I wanted to see you rather pressingly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ronnie opened his mouth and laughed long and joyously.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I wanted to see you rather pressingly.
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I wanted to see you rather pressingly.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading I wanted to see you rather pressingly.
a message informing of danger
From this reading Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
which person or people
From this reading He was, thought the doctor, like a boy conjuror who had mystified his elders and was enjoying the joke of it.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Then, without warning, he became serious again and pressed a bell on his table.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "François, open the door--must you go, Bertram?
Chapter 19 of Captains of souls by Edgar Wallace holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 19 holds 402 sentences of Captains of souls, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Captains of souls by Edgar Wallace exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 19 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 Captains of souls by Edgar Wallace on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7849 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #74687 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #74687, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1570 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Captains of souls section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Captains of souls 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 Captains of souls, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
