Chapter 14 of The Black Bag is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Black Bag is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Are we—? Do you think—?” “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily. “They’ll not catch up with us this night. That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
Chapter 14 of The Black Bag is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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 small piece or quantity of something
From this reading ““Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.”
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading “That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.”
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading ““They’ll not catch up with us this night.”
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading “That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.”
examine and note the similarities or differences of
From this reading “That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.”
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading ““Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.”
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading ““Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.”
of or characteristic of low rank or importance
From this reading “That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.”
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 “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Are we—?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading “They’ll not catch up with us this night.
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
examine and note the similarities or differences of
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do you think—?”
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
of or characteristic of low rank or importance
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “They’ll not catch up with us this night.
not any; not one
From this reading “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Oh, no; not a bit of danger of that,” returned Brentwick hastily.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “They’ll not catch up with us this night.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Do you think—?”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “They’ll not catch up with us this night.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “They’ll not catch up with us this night.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “They’ll not catch up with us this night.
precisely as stated
From this reading That is a very inferior car they have,—so Charles says, at least; nothing to compare with this.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “Are we—?
in the company of; together with
From this reading “They’ll not catch up with us this night.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Do you think—?”
Chapter 14 of The Black Bag by Louis Joseph Vance holds 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 14 holds 395 sentences of The Black Bag, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Black Bag by Louis Joseph Vance exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 14 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.
