Chapter 20 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You damned scoundrel!" The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat. There was some confusion and snickering in the courtroom. Finally the Judge plucked up courage: "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
Chapter 20 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state
From this reading “"The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.”
a room in which a lawcourt sits
From this reading “There was some confusion and snickering in the courtroom.”
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “"You damned scoundrel!"”
a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused
From this reading “"The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.”
of a stringed instrument; sounded with the fingers or a plectrum
From this reading “Finally the Judge plucked up courage:”
inflected form of “rap” — strike sharply
From this reading “The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat.”
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading “"You damned scoundrel!"”
-ing form of “snicker” — laugh quietly
From this reading “There was some confusion and snickering in the courtroom.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat.
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading There was some confusion and snickering in the courtroom.
soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state
From this reading "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear
From this reading Finally the Judge plucked up courage:
a room in which a lawcourt sits
From this reading There was some confusion and snickering in the courtroom.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading "You damned scoundrel!"
a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused
From this reading "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
deliver (a speech, oration, or idea)
From this reading "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
(often used in combination) having a specified direction
From this reading "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading Finally the Judge plucked up courage:
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat.
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
of a stringed instrument; sounded with the fingers or a plectrum
From this reading Finally the Judge plucked up courage:
inflected form of “rap” — strike sharply
From this reading The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat.
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading "You damned scoundrel!"
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat.
-ing form of “snicker” — laugh quietly
From this reading There was some confusion and snickering in the courtroom.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading There was some confusion and snickering in the courtroom.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Judge rapped for order and fidgeted in his seat.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was some confusion and snickering in the courtroom.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Finally the Judge plucked up courage:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was some confusion and snickering in the courtroom.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You damned scoundrel!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The defendant is ordered to deliver this cotton to Zora Cresswell," he directed.
Chapter 20 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel by W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du Bois holds 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 20 holds 396 sentences of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel by W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du Bois exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 20 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 Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel by W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du Bois on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8019 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15265 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15265, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1604 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel 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 Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
