Chapter 16 of The Air Pirate is here in full — 295 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Air Pirate is here in full — 295 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE HOUNDS FROM THIBET AND MR. VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away. The moon had set. The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near. Helzephron sat down on a stool a few yards away from me.
Chapter 16 of The Air Pirate is here in full — 295 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/59 · 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 geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading “VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.”
the first light of day
From this reading “The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.”
the act of discovering something
From this reading “VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.”
having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number; often used in combination
From this reading “VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.”
an indirect suggestion
From this reading “The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.”
plural of “hound” — any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping ears
From this reading “THE HOUNDS FROM THIBET AND MR.”
someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own
From this reading “VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.”
a simple seat without a back or arms
From this reading “Helzephron sat down on a stool a few yards away from me.”
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 “VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.”
In this reading “Helzephron sat down on a stool a few yards away from me.”
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
In this reading “VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.”
In this reading “Helzephron sat down on a stool a few yards away from me.”
In this reading “The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.”
In this reading “VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.”
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 VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE HOUNDS FROM THIBET AND MR.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
the first light of day
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
the act of discovering something
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Helzephron sat down on a stool a few yards away from me.
having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number; often used in combination
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Helzephron sat down on a stool a few yards away from me.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading THE HOUNDS FROM THIBET AND MR.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The moon had set.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Helzephron sat down on a stool a few yards away from me.
an indirect suggestion
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
plural of “hound” — any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping ears
From this reading THE HOUNDS FROM THIBET AND MR.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Helzephron sat down on a stool a few yards away from me.
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading The moon had set.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
a form of address for a man
From this reading THE HOUNDS FROM THIBET AND MR.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
above and across; more than
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Helzephron sat down on a stool a few yards away from me.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The moon had set.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
a simple seat without a back or arms
From this reading Helzephron sat down on a stool a few yards away from me.
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading The short summer night was over, and the first grey hint of the dawn, that I should never see, was near.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE HOUNDS FROM THIBET AND MR.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China; located in the Himalayas
From this reading THE HOUNDS FROM THIBET AND MR.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
in the company of; together with
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
plural of “yard” — a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading VARGUS; WITH A DISCOVERY ON BOARD THE PIRATE They turned my chair so that I faced the mouth of the cave, which was some thirty yards away.
Chapter 16 of The Air Pirate by Guy Thorne holds 295 sentences, grouped into 59 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 16 holds 295 sentences of The Air Pirate, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Air Pirate by Guy Thorne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 295 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 16 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 The Air Pirate by Guy Thorne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4421 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40361 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40361, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 368 minutes of reading across 885 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Air Pirate section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Air Pirate 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 The Air Pirate, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
