Chapter 30 of Death in the dusk is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of Death in the dusk is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return. The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well. I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff. Not a gleam penetrated the murk. There were cries for light, and someone tried to scratch a match, ineffectually.
Chapter 30 of Death in the dusk is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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.
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.”
patterned with alternating squares of color
From this reading “The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.”
be greater in significance than
From this reading “The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.”
plural of “foe” — an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
From this reading “The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.”
a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading “Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.”
an atmosphere in which visibility is reduced because of a cloud of some substance
From this reading “Not a gleam penetrated the murk.”
past form of “penetrate” — pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance
From this reading “Not a gleam penetrated the murk.”
cause friction
From this reading “There were cries for light, and someone tried to scratch a match, ineffectually.”
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 “I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.”
In this reading “Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.”
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 I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There were cries for light, and someone tried to scratch a match, ineffectually.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
patterned with alternating squares of color
From this reading The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.
a steep high face of rock
From this reading I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
plural of “cry” — a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
From this reading There were cries for light, and someone tried to scratch a match, ineffectually.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
be greater in significance than
From this reading The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.
plural of “foe” — an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
From this reading The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
be shiny, as if wet
From this reading Not a gleam penetrated the murk.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
in an ineffectual manner
From this reading There were cries for light, and someone tried to scratch a match, ineffectually.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their characteristics
From this reading There were cries for light, and someone tried to scratch a match, ineffectually.
the force of workers available
From this reading I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
an atmosphere in which visibility is reduced because of a cloud of some substance
From this reading Not a gleam penetrated the murk.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not a gleam penetrated the murk.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
above and across; more than
From this reading I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
past form of “penetrate” — pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance
From this reading Not a gleam penetrated the murk.
free from harm or evil
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
cause friction
From this reading There were cries for light, and someone tried to scratch a match, ineffectually.
a person, without saying who
From this reading There were cries for light, and someone tried to scratch a match, ineffectually.
absolutely still
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading The sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were cries for light, and someone tried to scratch a match, ineffectually.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading There were cries for light, and someone tried to scratch a match, ineffectually.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Rescue Like an imbecile, I waited stock-still in the darkness for the light to return.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
(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 sudden eclipse, however, had checked my foes as well.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were cries for light, and someone tried to scratch a match, ineffectually.
which person or people
From this reading I heard their footsteps cease like those of men who had walked over a cliff.
Chapter 30 of Death in the dusk by Virgil Markham holds 289 sentences, grouped into 58 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 30 holds 289 sentences of Death in the dusk, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of Death in the dusk by Virgil Markham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 289 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 30 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 Death in the dusk by Virgil Markham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8574 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75273 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75273, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1715 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Death in the dusk section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Death in the dusk 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 Death in the dusk, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
