Chapter 26 of Poison Island is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of Poison Island is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MAN IN BLACK. Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows. I tasted it as I ran. My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle. But on the farther side of the ridge I ran no longer.
Chapter 26 of Poison Island is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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 gliding joint between the distal ends of the tibia and fibula and the proximal end of the talus
From this reading “My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.”
inflected form of “flap” — move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
From this reading “My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.”
a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
From this reading “Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.”
past form of “pant” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.”
tear or be torn violently
From this reading “My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.”
cause friction
From this reading “Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.”
close-fitting hosiery to cover the foot and leg; come in matched pairs (usually used in the plural)
From this reading “My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.”
plural of “strip” — a relatively long narrow piece of something
From this reading “My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.”
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 Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
a gliding joint between the distal ends of the tibia and fibula and the proximal end of the talus
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading THE MAN IN BLACK.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But on the farther side of the ridge I ran no longer.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
at any time
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
plural of “eyebrow” — the arch of hair above each eye
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
more distant in especially space or time
From this reading But on the farther side of the ridge I ran no longer.
inflected form of “flap” — move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
past form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE MAN IN BLACK.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I tasted it as I ran.
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
for more time
From this reading But on the farther side of the ridge I ran no longer.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading THE MAN IN BLACK.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
not any; not one
From this reading But on the farther side of the ridge I ran no longer.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But on the farther side of the ridge I ran no longer.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
past form of “pant” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
a long narrow natural elevation or striation
From this reading But on the farther side of the ridge I ran no longer.
tear or be torn violently
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
cause friction
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
a garment worn on the upper half of the body
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading But on the farther side of the ridge I ran no longer.
close-fitting hosiery to cover the foot and leg; come in matched pairs (usually used in the plural)
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
plural of “strip” — a relatively long narrow piece of something
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
past form of “taste” — have flavor; taste of something
From this reading I tasted it as I ran.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MAN IN BLACK.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading My shirt hung in strips, and one stocking flapped open on a rip from knee to ankle.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Before ever I gained the gap I was panting, and as I panted the blood ran into my mouth from a deep scratch across the eyebrows.
Chapter 26 of Poison Island by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 holds 130 sentences of Poison Island, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of Poison Island by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 26 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 Poison Island by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4634 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16604 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16604, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 386 minutes of reading across 927 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Poison Island section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Poison Island 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 Poison Island, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
