Chapter XV of Forbidden Cargoes, “Unseen Foes,” is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter XV of Forbidden Cargoes, “Unseen Foes,” is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows. Night, dead calm, hot, and no moon. Motionless clouds hanging low, and dark. Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all. Ten feet below him was the sea.
Chapter XV of Forbidden Cargoes, “Unseen Foes,” is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
make calm or still
From this reading “Night, dead calm, hot, and no moon.”
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading “Motionless clouds hanging low, and dark.”
decoration that is hung (as a tapestry) on a wall or over a window
From this reading “Motionless clouds hanging low, and dark.”
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading “Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.”
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading “Night, dead calm, hot, and no moon.”
not in physical motion
From this reading “Motionless clouds hanging low, and dark.”
breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.”
the part of the Earth's surface between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn; characterized by a hot climate
From this reading “It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows.”
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 “Ten feet below him was the sea.”
In this reading “Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.”
In this reading “Motionless clouds hanging low, and dark.”
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 It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows.
(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 Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Night, dead calm, hot, and no moon.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading Ten feet below him was the sea.
make calm or still
From this reading Night, dead calm, hot, and no moon.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading Motionless clouds hanging low, and dark.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Motionless clouds hanging low, and dark.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Night, dead calm, hot, and no moon.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Ten feet below him was the sea.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.
decoration that is hung (as a tapestry) on a wall or over a window
From this reading Motionless clouds hanging low, and dark.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Ten feet below him was the sea.
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading Night, dead calm, hot, and no moon.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Motionless clouds hanging low, and dark.
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading Night, dead calm, hot, and no moon.
not in physical motion
From this reading Motionless clouds hanging low, and dark.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows.
not any; not one
From this reading Night, dead calm, hot, and no moon.
and nothing more
From this reading It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows.
above and across; more than
From this reading Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.
breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading Such a darkness as Pant had never before known hung over all.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading Ten feet below him was the sea.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading Ten feet below him was the sea.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows.
the part of the Earth's surface between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn; characterized by a hot climate
From this reading It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was night, such a night as only the tropics knows.
Chapter 15 of Forbidden Cargoes by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell holds 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 15 holds 138 sentences of Forbidden Cargoes, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Forbidden Cargoes by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 15 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 Forbidden Cargoes by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3831 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42728 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42728, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 319 minutes of reading across 767 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Forbidden Cargoes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Forbidden Cargoes 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 Forbidden Cargoes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
