Chapter 18 of The Lash is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Lash is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A COUNTER MOVE Shaughnessy stirred uneasily in his chair. Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side. His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom. With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils. Then he remembered.
Chapter 18 of The Lash is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
affected by involuntary jerky muscular contractions; resembling a spasm
From this reading “Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.”
having the physical appearance of death
From this reading “With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.”
administer a drug to
From this reading “With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.”
the process of taking food into the body through the mouth (as by eating)
From this reading “With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.”
plural of “nostril” — either one of the two external openings to the nasal cavity in the nose
From this reading “With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.”
cut or make a way through
From this reading “His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.”
past form of “reel” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading “His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.”
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “A COUNTER MOVE Shaughnessy stirred uneasily in his chair.”
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 “With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.”
In this reading “His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.”
In this reading “Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.”
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 A COUNTER MOVE Shaughnessy stirred uneasily in his chair.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading A COUNTER MOVE Shaughnessy stirred uneasily in his chair.
affected by involuntary jerky muscular contractions; resembling a spasm
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
From this reading A COUNTER MOVE Shaughnessy stirred uneasily in his chair.
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.
having the physical appearance of death
From this reading With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.
administer a drug to
From this reading With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.
construct, build, or erect
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A COUNTER MOVE Shaughnessy stirred uneasily in his chair.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A COUNTER MOVE Shaughnessy stirred uneasily in his chair.
as a matter of instinct
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
the process of taking food into the body through the mouth (as by eating)
From this reading With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading A COUNTER MOVE Shaughnessy stirred uneasily in his chair.
plural of “nostril” — either one of the two external openings to the nasal cavity in the nose
From this reading With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
cut or make a way through
From this reading His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.
compacted by ironing
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
past form of “reel” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading Then he remembered.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A COUNTER MOVE Shaughnessy stirred uneasily in his chair.
shake, as from cold
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
From this reading With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading A COUNTER MOVE Shaughnessy stirred uneasily in his chair.
inflected form of “strive” — attempt by employing effort
From this reading His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.
moving very fast
From this reading With a swift intake of breath the deathly smell of the drug crept into his nostrils.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading His head reeled, his bewildered eyes strove to pierce the gloom.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading A COUNTER MOVE Shaughnessy stirred uneasily in his chair.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Then, with a convulsive shudder, he sat erect, one hand instinctively pressed against his left side.
Chapter 18 of The Lash by Olin L. (Olin Linus) Lyman holds 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 138 sentences of The Lash, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Lash by Olin L. (Olin Linus) Lyman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 Lash by Olin L. (Olin Linus) Lyman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4304 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38341 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38341, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 358 minutes of reading across 861 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Lash section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Lash 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 Lash, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
