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Black Pawl
Black Pawl

Chapter XIII

Cover illustration for Black Pawl
Context Illustration Reading 1/52 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.
He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.
Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.
She was breathless, wondering and bewildered.
She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Black Pawl

Chapter XIII

Reading 1/52 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.
Line 2
He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.
Line 3
Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.
Line 4
She was breathless, wondering and bewildered.
Line 5
She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Across preposition US /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading “He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.”

Again noun US /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.”

Bewildered noun US /bewildered/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She was breathless, wondering and bewildered.”

Come noun US /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.”

Hands plural noun US /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading “When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.”

Thing noun US /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.”

Throat noun US /θroʊt/

The passage at the back of the mouth.

From this reading “Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.”

Under preposition US /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading “Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.”

Understand noun US /understand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.”

All words in this reading · 73

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

acrossprepositionUS /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

againnounUS /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

aside

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

bent

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

bewilderednounUS /bewildered/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She was breathless, wondering and bewildered.

Black

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

blurred

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

breathless

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She was breathless, wondering and bewildered.

brushed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

caught

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

change

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

comenounUS /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

crimsoned

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

eyes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

face

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

fell

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

fingers

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

fumbled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

gather

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

gaze

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

gently

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

girl

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

golden

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

hair

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

handsplural nounUS /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

held

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

hung

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

iron-gray

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

knuckles

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

limply

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

locket

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

man

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

mop

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

near

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

Pawl

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

put

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

saw

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

sides

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

stared

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

then

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

thick

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

thingnounUS /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He stared at the little golden thing; and his eyes blurred, and he brushed his knuckles across them, and stared again.

throatnounUS /θroʊt/

The passage at the back of the mouth.

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

thus

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

together

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

UnderprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

understandnounUS /understand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

up

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading Under his gaze, bent thus upon her throat, the girl crimsoned; she did not understand, but she saw that a change had come in the man.

waist

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading She was breathless, wondering and bewildered.

WhenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading When Black Pawl saw the locket, his hands fell and hung limply at his sides.

wondering

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She was breathless, wondering and bewildered.

wrists

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She put up her hands to gather her waist together; and Black Pawl caught her wrists gently, and held them aside; and then he fumbled the locket in his thick fingers, and bent near her, so that his mop of iron-gray hair brushed her face.