Chapter 15 of The Bright Face of Danger is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Bright Face of Danger is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak. She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action. "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment. "For why should we travel their way without any destination? There is nothing for us now in that direction.
Chapter 15 of The Bright Face of Danger is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/60 · 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.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.”
female equivalent of a count or earl
From this reading “THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.”
the place designated as the end (as of a race or journey)
From this reading “"For why should we travel their way without any destination?”
abounding in grass
From this reading “THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.”
plural of “guard” — a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading “"I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.”
the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading “THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.”
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading “THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “"For why should we travel their way without any destination?”
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 “"I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.”
In this reading “THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.”
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 "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action.
later than; following
From this reading "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "For why should we travel their way without any destination?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
female equivalent of a count or earl
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action.
the place designated as the end (as of a race or journey)
From this reading "For why should we travel their way without any destination?
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading There is nothing for us now in that direction.
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "For why should we travel their way without any destination?
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
abounding in grass
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
plural of “guard” — a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There is nothing for us now in that direction.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is nothing for us now in that direction.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action.
a particular point in time
From this reading "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There is nothing for us now in that direction.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading There is nothing for us now in that direction.
the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading "For why should we travel their way without any destination?
not in physical motion
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There is nothing for us now in that direction.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading "For why should we travel their way without any destination?
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is nothing for us now in that direction.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action.
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading THE TOWER OF MORLON The Countess still lay on the grassy couch beneath the oak.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "For why should we travel their way without any destination?
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There is nothing for us now in that direction.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "For why should we travel their way without any destination?
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "For why should we travel their way without any destination?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "For why should we travel their way without any destination?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading She seemed to have lost all will as to her course of action.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "I think best not to go with those guards," I explained after a moment.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading "For why should we travel their way without any destination?
Chapter 15 of The Bright Face of Danger by Robert Neilson Stephens holds 301 sentences, grouped into 61 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 15 holds 301 sentences of The Bright Face of Danger, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Bright Face of Danger by Robert Neilson Stephens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 301 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 15 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 Bright Face of Danger by Robert Neilson Stephens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4175 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30417 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30417, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 347 minutes of reading across 835 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bright Face of Danger section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Bright Face of Danger 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 Bright Face of Danger, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
