Chapter 31 of Poison Island is here in full — 241 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Poison Island is here in full — 241 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WE COME TO DR. BEAUREGARD'S HOUSE. Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him. He turned half-about as the pistol slid from his fingers. He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
Chapter 31 of Poison Island is here in full — 241 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/48 · 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.
very attractive; capturing interest
From this reading “He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.”
possessive form of “glass” — a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading “Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.”
past form of “leach” — cause (a liquid) to leach or percolate
From this reading “He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.”
walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury
From this reading “Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.”
inflected form of “slide” — move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading “He turned half-about as the pistol slid from his fingers.”
the act of suffocating (someone) by constricting the windpipe
From this reading “He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.”
put in motion or move to act
From this reading “Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.”
having wings or as if having wings of a specified kind
From this reading “Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.”
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 gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
in actual fact
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BEAUREGARD'S HOUSE.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading WE COME TO DR.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WE COME TO DR.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
very attractive; capturing interest
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading He turned half-about as the pistol slid from his fingers.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He turned half-about as the pistol slid from his fingers.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
possessive form of “glass” — a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He turned half-about as the pistol slid from his fingers.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He turned half-about as the pistol slid from his fingers.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading BEAUREGARD'S HOUSE.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
past form of “leach” — cause (a liquid) to leach or percolate
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
not any; not one
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
a brief written record
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
and nothing more
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
From this reading He turned half-about as the pistol slid from his fingers.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
inflected form of “slide” — move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading He turned half-about as the pistol slid from his fingers.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
travel by means of steam power
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
in or at that place or location
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
the act of suffocating (someone) by constricting the windpipe
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading WE COME TO DR.
put in motion or move to act
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned half-about as the pistol slid from his fingers.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading WE COME TO DR.
make whistling sounds
From this reading He gave no cry; only there leached us a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes before fetching its note.
having wings or as if having wings of a specified kind
From this reading Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard had actually pulled the trigger and winged him.
Chapter 31 of Poison Island by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 241 sentences, grouped into 49 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 31 holds 241 sentences of Poison Island, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Poison Island by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 241 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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 31 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.
