Chapter 18 of The Blood Ship is here in full — 163 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Blood Ship is here in full — 163 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I was in earnest. I meant to do the murder. Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term. I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight. I intended to creep aft in the night and shoot down the captain.
Chapter 18 of The Blood Ship is here in full — 163 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane
From this reading “I intended to creep aft in the night and shoot down the captain.”
calm and unruffled self-assurance
From this reading “I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.”
move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “I intended to creep aft in the night and shoot down the captain.”
a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
From this reading “I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.”
providence by virtue of planning prudently for the future
From this reading “I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.”
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading “I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.”
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading “I intended to creep aft in the night and shoot down the captain.”
a word or expression used for some particular thing
From this reading “Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.”
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.
at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane
From this reading I intended to creep aft in the night and shoot down the captain.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading I intended to creep aft in the night and shoot down the captain.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.
calm and unruffled self-assurance
From this reading I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.
move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading I intended to creep aft in the night and shoot down the captain.
a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
From this reading I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I meant to do the murder.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading I intended to creep aft in the night and shoot down the captain.
characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions
From this reading I was in earnest.
providence by virtue of planning prudently for the future
From this reading I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I was in earnest.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I was in earnest.
resulting from one's intentions
From this reading I intended to creep aft in the night and shoot down the captain.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading I meant to do the murder.
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading I meant to do the murder.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading I intended to creep aft in the night and shoot down the captain.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
by chance
From this reading I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading I intended to creep aft in the night and shoot down the captain.
a word or expression used for some particular thing
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I meant to do the murder.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I meant to do the murder.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was in earnest.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I planned the deed, not in cold blood perhaps, but certainly with coolness and foresight.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Aye, murder is what the law of man would call it, and murder is the right term.
Chapter 18 of The Blood Ship by Norman Springer holds 163 sentences, grouped into 33 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 18 holds 163 sentences of The Blood Ship, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Blood Ship by Norman Springer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 163 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 18 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 Blood Ship by Norman Springer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5106 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17414 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17414, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 425 minutes of reading across 1022 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Blood Ship section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Blood Ship 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 Blood Ship, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
