Chapter 20 of The fog is here in full — 1036 sentences across 208 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The fog is here in full — 1036 sentences across 208 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SIDETRACKED I The train had gone. Carol had gone. The town remained—the factory—work—memories. Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop. The office chanced to be empty as he entered.
Chapter 20 of The fog is here in full — 1036 sentences across 208 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/207 · 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.
joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
From this reading “Carol had gone.”
past form of “chance” — be the case by chance
From this reading “The office chanced to be empty as he entered.”
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading “Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.”
a plant consisting of one or more buildings with facilities for manufacturing
From this reading “The town remained—the factory—work—memories.”
Recollections of past events.
From this reading “The town remained—the factory—work—memories.”
plural of “puddle” — a mixture of wet clay and sand that can be used to line a pond and that is impervious to water when dry
From this reading “Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.”
past form of “sidetrack” — wander from a direct or straight course
From this reading “SIDETRACKED I The train had gone.”
(usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately
From this reading “Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.”
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 “Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.”
In this reading “Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.”
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.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The office chanced to be empty as he entered.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The office chanced to be empty as he entered.
joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
From this reading Carol had gone.
past form of “chance” — be the case by chance
From this reading The office chanced to be empty as he entered.
an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading The office chanced to be empty as he entered.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading The office chanced to be empty as he entered.
a plant consisting of one or more buildings with facilities for manufacturing
From this reading The town remained—the factory—work—memories.
destroyed or killed
From this reading SIDETRACKED I The train had gone.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading SIDETRACKED I The train had gone.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The office chanced to be empty as he entered.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading SIDETRACKED I The train had gone.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
Recollections of past events.
From this reading The town remained—the factory—work—memories.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading The office chanced to be empty as he entered.
plural of “pocket” — a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
plural of “puddle” — a mixture of wet clay and sand that can be used to line a pond and that is impervious to water when dry
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading The town remained—the factory—work—memories.
do one's shopping
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
past form of “sidetrack” — wander from a direct or straight course
From this reading SIDETRACKED I The train had gone.
very drunk
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading SIDETRACKED I The train had gone.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading The town remained—the factory—work—memories.
create by training and teaching
From this reading SIDETRACKED I The train had gone.
(usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
having been turned so that the bottom is no longer the bottom
From this reading Coat collar upturned, hands deep-thrust in trousers pockets, Nathan slopped through the puddles along down to the shop.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading The town remained—the factory—work—memories.
Chapter 20 of The fog by William Dudley Pelley holds 1036 sentences, grouped into 208 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 20 holds 1036 sentences of The fog, unabridged, divided into 208 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The fog by William Dudley Pelley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1036 sentences, grouped into 208 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 208 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 208 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 20 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 fog by William Dudley Pelley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13561 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70037 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #70037, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2713 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The fog section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The fog 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 fog, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
