Chapter 17 of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN A TIGHT FIX. Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing. "Looking for my letter," I replied, as calmly as I could. "Are you?" He glared at me.
Chapter 17 of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading “"Looking for my letter," I replied, as calmly as I could.”
causing or capable of causing death
From this reading “Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.”
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading “Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.”
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading “IN A TIGHT FIX.”
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.”
past form of “glare” — look at with a fixed gaze
From this reading “He glared at me.”
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading “"Looking for my letter," I replied, as calmly as I could.”
closely constrained or constricted or constricting
From this reading “IN A TIGHT FIX.”
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 “Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.”
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 IN A TIGHT FIX.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Are you?"
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Looking for my letter," I replied, as calmly as I could.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading "Looking for my letter," I replied, as calmly as I could.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "Looking for my letter," I replied, as calmly as I could.
causing or capable of causing death
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading IN A TIGHT FIX.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Looking for my letter," I replied, as calmly as I could.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
past form of “glare” — look at with a fixed gaze
From this reading He glared at me.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN A TIGHT FIX.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading "Looking for my letter," I replied, as calmly as I could.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading "Looking for my letter," I replied, as calmly as I could.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He glared at me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Looking for my letter," I replied, as calmly as I could.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "Looking for my letter," I replied, as calmly as I could.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
closely constrained or constricted or constricting
From this reading IN A TIGHT FIX.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
a Caucasian
From this reading Captain Hannock's face was deadly white, and I knew he had taken in at a glance what I was doing.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Are you?"
Chapter 17 of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire by Edward Stratemeyer holds 115 sentences, grouped into 23 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 17 holds 115 sentences of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire by Edward Stratemeyer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 115 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 17 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 Last Cruise of the Spitfire by Edward Stratemeyer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3938 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34367 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34367, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 328 minutes of reading across 788 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Last Cruise of the Spitfire section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire 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 Last Cruise of the Spitfire, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
