Chapter 9 of The Black Bag is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Black Bag is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp. Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against: QUEENSBOROUGH ... DEP ... 11a10.
Chapter 9 of The Black Bag is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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 busy port and financial center in northern Belgium on the Scheldt river; it has long been a center for the diamond industry and the first stock exchange was opened there in 1460
From this reading “which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.”
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading “Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:”
a line of units following one after another
From this reading “Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:”
command with authority
From this reading “which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.”
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading “which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.”
a thin cylindrical pointed writing implement; a rod of marking substance encased in wood
From this reading “Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:”
most quickly
From this reading “which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.”
an established line of travel or access
From this reading “which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 11a10.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 11a10.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
a busy port and financial center in northern Belgium on the Scheldt river; it has long been a center for the diamond industry and the first stock exchange was opened there in 1460
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
a line of units following one after another
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DEP ...
command with authority
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
used to form the superlative
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
a thin cylindrical pointed writing implement; a rod of marking substance encased in wood
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading QUEENSBOROUGH ...
most quickly
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
an established line of travel or access
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Beneath it, in the second column from the right, the pencil had put a check-mark against:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading which happened to be the quickest and most direct route between London and Antwerp.
Chapter 9 of The Black Bag by Louis Joseph Vance holds 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 9 holds 406 sentences of The Black Bag, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Black Bag by Louis Joseph Vance exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 9 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 Black Bag by Louis Joseph Vance on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5724 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9779 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9779, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 477 minutes of reading across 1145 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Bag section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Black Bag 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 Black Bag, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
