Chapter 14 of The mystery of the Sea-Lark is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The mystery of the Sea-Lark is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump. The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely. “Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more. It was too dark to see anything. “I――I think so,” came back the mate’s voice.
Chapter 14 of The mystery of the Sea-Lark is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
in a courageous manner
From this reading “The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.”
draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading ““Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.”
plural of “castaway” — a person who is rejected (from society or home)
From this reading “CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.”
with great urgency
From this reading “CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.”
operate like a pump; move up and down, like a handle or a pedal
From this reading “CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.”
past form of “right” — make reparations or amends for
From this reading “The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.”
past form of “stagger” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading “The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.”
turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading “CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.”
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 “CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.”
anew
In this reading ““Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.”
be restored
In this reading ““I――I think so,” came back the mate’s voice.”
In this reading “The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.”
In this reading “CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.”
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.
any thing at all
From this reading It was too dark to see anything.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “I――I think so,” came back the mate’s voice.
a youthful male person
From this reading “Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.
in a courageous manner
From this reading The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.
draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading “Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “I――I think so,” came back the mate’s voice.
plural of “castaway” — a person who is rejected (from society or home)
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
inflected form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading It was too dark to see anything.
with great urgency
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I――I think so,” came back the mate’s voice.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was too dark to see anything.
a small worthless amount
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I――I think so,” came back the mate’s voice.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
on one occasion
From this reading “Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.
above and across; more than
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
operate like a pump; move up and down, like a handle or a pedal
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
past form of “right” — make reparations or amends for
From this reading The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.
done under pressure
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading It was too dark to see anything.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “I――I think so,” came back the mate’s voice.
in the near future
From this reading “Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.
past form of “stagger” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.
turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “I――I think so,” came back the mate’s voice.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading It was too dark to see anything.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading The vessel staggered under her load, but righted herself bravely.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “I――I think so,” came back the mate’s voice.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was too dark to see anything.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading CASTAWAYS As the wild swirl of water rushed over Jack, he clung desperately to the handle of the sloop’s pump.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Are you there?” the boy spluttered, as soon as he could breathe once more.
Chapter 14 of The mystery of the Sea-Lark by Ralph Henry Barbour holds 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 14 holds 195 sentences of The mystery of the Sea-Lark, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The mystery of the Sea-Lark by Ralph Henry Barbour exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 14 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 mystery of the Sea-Lark by Ralph Henry Barbour on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3830 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72751 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72751, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 319 minutes of reading across 766 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The mystery of the Sea-Lark section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The mystery of the Sea-Lark 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 mystery of the Sea-Lark, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
