The Datchet Diamonds

Chapter XIV

Chapter 14 of The Datchet Diamonds is here in full — 264 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Richard Marsh • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The Datchet Diamonds

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

AMONG THIEVES Cyril was vaguely conscious of the touch of some one's hand about the region of his throat; not of a soft or a gentle hand, but of a clumsy, fumbling, yet resolute paw.

Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.

He opened his eyes, heavily, dreamily.

He heard a voice, speaking as if from afar.

"Hullo, chummie, so you ain't dead, after all?--leastways, not as yet you ain't."

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XIV Reading 1/52

The Datchet Diamonds

Chapter XIV

Chapter 14 of The Datchet Diamonds is here in full — 264 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/52 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

AMONG THIEVES Cyril was vaguely conscious of the touch of some one's hand about the region of his throat; not of a soft or a gentle hand, but of a clumsy, fumbling, yet resolute paw.

Line 2

Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.

Line 3

He opened his eyes, heavily, dreamily.

Line 4

He heard a voice, speaking as if from afar.

/hiː hɜːrd ə vɔɪs ˈspiːkɪŋ æz ɪf frʌm əˈfɑːr/

Line 5

"Hullo, chummie, so you ain't dead, after all?--leastways, not as yet you ain't."

Learner Dictionary

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.

afar adverb US /əˈfɑːr/

(old-fashioned) at or from or to a great distance; far

From this reading “He heard a voice, speaking as if from afar.”

clumsy adjective US /ˈklʌmzi/

lacking grace in movement or posture

From this reading “AMONG THIEVES Cyril was vaguely conscious of the touch of some one's hand about the region of his throat; not of a soft or a gentle hand, but of a clumsy, fumbling, yet resolute paw.”

Cyril noun US /ˈsɪrəl/

Greek missionary; the invention of the Cyrillic alphabet is attributed to him (826-869)

fumbling adjective US /ˈfʌmbəlɪŋ/

showing lack of skill or aptitude

paw verb US /pɔː/

scrape with the paws

resolute adjective US /ˈrezəluːt/

firm in purpose or belief; characterized by firmness and determination

splashing noun US /ˈsplæʃɪŋ/

the act of splashing a (liquid) substance on a surface

From this reading “Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.”

thieves noun US /θiːvz/

plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

vaguely conscious adverb + adjective

In this reading “AMONG THIEVES Cyril was vaguely conscious of the touch of some one's hand about the region of his throat; not of a soft or a gentle hand, but of a clumsy, fumbling, yet resolute paw.”

from afar preposition + adverb

In this reading “He heard a voice, speaking as if from afar.”

AMONG THIEVES preposition + noun counted as “among thief”

gentle hand adjective + noun

touch of verb + particle

All words in this reading · 57

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading AMONG THIEVES Cyril was vaguely conscious of the touch of some one's hand about the region of his throat; not of a soft or a gentle hand, but of a clumsy, fumbling, yet resolute paw.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

afaradverbUS /əˈfɑːr/

(old-fashioned) at or from or to a great distance; far

From this reading He heard a voice, speaking as if from afar.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading "Hullo, chummie, so you ain't dead, after all?--leastways, not as yet you ain't."

ain't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Hullo, chummie, so you ain't dead, after all?--leastways, not as yet you ain't."

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 "Hullo, chummie, so you ain't dead, after all?--leastways, not as yet you ain't."

AMONGprepositionUS /əˈmʌŋ/

surrounded by; in the middle of a group

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading He heard a voice, speaking as if from afar.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

chummie

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Hullo, chummie, so you ain't dead, after all?--leastways, not as yet you ain't."

clumsyadjectiveUS /ˈklʌmzi/

lacking grace in movement or posture

consciousadjectiveUS /ˈkɑːnʃəs/

intentionally conceived

CyrilnounUS /ˈsɪrəl/

Greek missionary; the invention of the Cyrillic alphabet is attributed to him (826-869)

deadadjectiveUS /ded/

no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life

From this reading "Hullo, chummie, so you ain't dead, after all?--leastways, not as yet you ain't."

dreamilyadverb

in a dreamy manner

From this reading He opened his eyes, heavily, dreamily.

eyesnounUS /aɪz/

opinion or judgment

From this reading He opened his eyes, heavily, dreamily.

fallingadjectiveUS /ˈfɑːlɪŋ/

decreasing in amount or degree

From this reading Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading He heard a voice, speaking as if from afar.

fumblingadjectiveUS /ˈfʌmbəlɪŋ/

showing lack of skill or aptitude

gentleadjectiveUS /ˈdʒentəl/

soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe

handnounUS /hænd/

the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He opened his eyes, heavily, dreamily.

heardadjectiveUS /hɜːrd/

detected or perceived by the sense of hearing

From this reading He heard a voice, speaking as if from afar.

heavilyadverbUS /ˈhevəli/

to a considerable degree

From this reading He opened his eyes, heavily, dreamily.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

Hullonoun

an expression of greeting

From this reading "Hullo, chummie, so you ain't dead, after all?--leastways, not as yet you ain't."

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading He heard a voice, speaking as if from afar.

leastwaysadverb

if nothing else (“leastwise” is informal and “leastways” is colloquial)

From this reading "Hullo, chummie, so you ain't dead, after all?--leastways, not as yet you ain't."

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.

one's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

openedadjectiveUS /ˈoʊpənd/

used of mouth or eyes

From this reading He opened his eyes, heavily, dreamily.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

pawverbUS /pɔː/

scrape with the paws

regionnounUS /ˈriːdʒən/

the extended spatial location of something

resoluteadjectiveUS /ˈrezəluːt/

firm in purpose or belief; characterized by firmness and determination

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading "Hullo, chummie, so you ain't dead, after all?--leastways, not as yet you ain't."

softadjectiveUS /sɑːft/

yielding readily to pressure or weight

someadjectiveUS /sʌm/

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

somethingpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.

soundnounUS /saʊnd/

the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause

From this reading Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.

speakingnounUS /ˈspiːkɪŋ/

the utterance of intelligible speech

From this reading He heard a voice, speaking as if from afar.

splashingnounUS /ˈsplæʃɪŋ/

the act of splashing a (liquid) substance on a surface

From this reading Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

ThenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.

THIEVESnounUS /θiːvz/

plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it

throatnounUS /θroʊt/

The passage at the back of the mouth.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.

touchverbUS /tʌtʃ/

make physical contact with, come in contact with

vaguelyadverbUS /ˈveɪɡli/

in a vague way

voicenounUS /vɔɪs/

the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech

From this reading He heard a voice, speaking as if from afar.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Then of something falling on to him--falling with a splashing sound.

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "Hullo, chummie, so you ain't dead, after all?--leastways, not as yet you ain't."

Chapter 14 of The Datchet Diamonds by Richard Marsh holds 264 sentences, grouped into 53 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.

What does chapter 14 of The Datchet Diamonds contain?

Chapter 14 holds 264 sentences of The Datchet Diamonds, unabridged, divided into 53 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 14 of The Datchet Diamonds by Richard Marsh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 264 sentences, grouped into 53 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.

How do I study chapter 14 of The Datchet Diamonds?

Work through the 53 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 53 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.

Can chapter 14 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Datchet Diamonds

Common questions about reading The Datchet Diamonds by Richard Marsh on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Datchet Diamonds?

Yes. All 3694 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40353 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Datchet Diamonds is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #40353, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Datchet Diamonds take to read?

About 307 minutes of reading across 739 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Datchet Diamonds

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Datchet Diamonds, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Datchet Diamonds; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
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Philip: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Datchet Diamonds; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter XIV

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