Chapter XXVIII of The mill of silence, “Across the Water,” is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter XXVIII of The mill of silence, “Across the Water,” is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak. “What boy was that?” I said, in a forced voice, when I could command myself. “What boy?--eh?--what boy?” His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.
Chapter XXVIII of The mill of silence, “Across the Water,” is here in full — 248 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.
plural of “artery” — a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body
From this reading “For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.”
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading “I said, in a forced voice, when I could command myself.”
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading “I said, in a forced voice, when I could command myself.”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.”
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading “For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.”
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.”
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading “His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.”
migratory
From this reading “His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.”
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 “For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.”
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 I said, in a forced voice, when I could command myself.
anew
From this reading His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.
plural of “artery” — a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
a youthful male person
From this reading “What boy was that?”
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading I said, in a forced voice, when I could command myself.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I said, in a forced voice, when I could command myself.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What boy?--eh?--what boy?”
opinion or judgment
From this reading His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading I said, in a forced voice, when I could command myself.
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading I said, in a forced voice, when I could command myself.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I said, in a forced voice, when I could command myself.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
express in speech
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading I said, in a forced voice, when I could command myself.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.
migratory
From this reading His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “What boy was that?”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading His eyes were wandering up and down the wall again.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What boy was that?”
at the time that
From this reading For an instant the blood in my arteries seemed to stop, so that I gasped when I tried to speak.
Chapter 28 of The mill of silence by Bernard Capes holds 248 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 28 holds 248 sentences of The mill of silence, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of The mill of silence by Bernard Capes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 248 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 28 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The mill of silence section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The mill of silence 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 mill of silence, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
