Chapter 18 of The Forfeit is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Forfeit is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror. It was the outcome of a conviction that was irresistible. The shadow of disaster was marching hard upon her heels. Nor had she the power to avoid it. As night came on Elvine remained alone in her twilit bedroom.
Chapter 18 of The Forfeit is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading “THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.”
a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune
From this reading “The shadow of disaster was marching hard upon her heels.”
highly or nervously excited
From this reading “THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.”
plural of “heel” — the bottom of a shoe or boot; the back part of a shoe or boot that touches the ground and provides elevation
From this reading “The shadow of disaster was marching hard upon her heels.”
impossible to resist; overpowering
From this reading “It was the outcome of a conviction that was irresistible.”
the act of marching; walking with regular steps (especially in a procession of some kind)
From this reading “The shadow of disaster was marching hard upon her heels.”
formed or united into a whole
From this reading “THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.”
something that results
From this reading “It was the outcome of a conviction that was irresistible.”
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 THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
Having no one else present.
From this reading As night came on Elvine remained alone in her twilit bedroom.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
(psychiatry) a relatively permanent state of worry and nervousness occurring in a variety of mental disorders, usually accompanied by compulsive behavior or attacks of panic
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As night came on Elvine remained alone in her twilit bedroom.
stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
From this reading Nor had she the power to avoid it.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading As night came on Elvine remained alone in her twilit bedroom.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading As night came on Elvine remained alone in her twilit bedroom.
an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence
From this reading It was the outcome of a conviction that was irresistible.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune
From this reading The shadow of disaster was marching hard upon her heels.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As night came on Elvine remained alone in her twilit bedroom.
highly or nervously excited
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Nor had she the power to avoid it.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading The shadow of disaster was marching hard upon her heels.
plural of “heel” — the bottom of a shoe or boot; the back part of a shoe or boot that touches the ground and provides elevation
From this reading The shadow of disaster was marching hard upon her heels.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The shadow of disaster was marching hard upon her heels.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading As night came on Elvine remained alone in her twilit bedroom.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
impossible to resist; overpowering
From this reading It was the outcome of a conviction that was irresistible.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the outcome of a conviction that was irresistible.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
the act of marching; walking with regular steps (especially in a procession of some kind)
From this reading The shadow of disaster was marching hard upon her heels.
formed or united into a whole
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Nor had she the power to avoid it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading As night came on Elvine remained alone in her twilit bedroom.
something that results
From this reading It was the outcome of a conviction that was irresistible.
possession of controlling influence
From this reading Nor had she the power to avoid it.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading As night came on Elvine remained alone in her twilit bedroom.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading The shadow of disaster was marching hard upon her heels.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Nor had she the power to avoid it.
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was the outcome of a conviction that was irresistible.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE RETURN HOME A long day of anxiety and fevered apprehension merged into a night of terror.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Nor had she the power to avoid it.
lighted by or as if by twilight
From this reading As night came on Elvine remained alone in her twilit bedroom.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The shadow of disaster was marching hard upon her heels.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the outcome of a conviction that was irresistible.
Chapter 18 of The Forfeit by Ridgwell Cullum holds 246 sentences, grouped into 50 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 246 sentences of The Forfeit, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Forfeit by Ridgwell Cullum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 246 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 Forfeit by Ridgwell Cullum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7964 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19371 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19371, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1593 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Forfeit section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Forfeit 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 Forfeit, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
