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The Flight of the Shadow by George MacDonald 4 Free Series Audiobook Young Adults Moral.

chapter 4 of the flight of the shadow this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by shay davenport new orleans louisiana the flight of the shadow by george mcdonald chapter four my uncle's room and my uncle in it at right angles to the long black and white house stood a building behind it of possibly earlier date but uncertain intent it had been used for many things before my uncle's time once as part of a small brewery my uncle was positive that whether built for the purpose or not it had been used as a chapel and that the house was originally the outlying cell of some convent the signs on which he founded this conclusion i was never able to appreciate to me as containing my uncle's study the wonder house of my childhood it was far more interesting than any history could have made it it had very thick walls two low stories and a high roof entering into it from the court behind the house every portion of it would seem to an ordinary beholder quite unaccounted for but it might have suggested itself to a more comprehending observer that a considerable space must lie between the roof and the low ceiling of the first floor which was taken up with the servants rooms of the ground floor part was used as a dairy part as a wood house part for certain vegetables while parts stored the turf dug for fuels from the neighboring moor between this building and house was a smaller and lower erection a mere outhouse it also was strongly built however and the roof in perfect condition seemed newer than the walls it had been raised and strengthened when used by my uncle to contain a passage leading from the house to the roof of the building just described in which he was fashioning for himself the retreat which he rightly called his study for few must be the rooms more continuously thought and read in during one lifetime than this i have now to tell how it was reached from the house you could hardly have found the way to it even had you set yourself seriously to the task without having in you a good share of the constructive faculty the whole was my uncle's contrivance but might well have been supposed to belong to the troubled times when a good hiding place would have added to the value of any home there was a large recess in the kitchen of which the hearth raised a foot or so above the flagged floor had filled the hole a huge chimney in fact built out from the wall at some time later an oblong space had been cut out of the hearth to a level with the floor and in it an iron grate constructed for the more convenient burning of coal hence the remnant of the raised hearth looked like wide hobbs to the great the recess as a corner was thereby spoiled for coal makes a very different kind of smoke from aromatic product of wood or peat right and left within the recess were two common unpainted doors with latches if you opened either you found an ordinary shallow cupboard that on the right filled with shelves and crockery that on the left with brooms and other household implements but if in the frame of the door to the left you pressed what looked like the head of a large nail not only its door but the whole cupboard turned inward on unseen hinges and revealed an ascending stair which was the approach to my uncle's room at the head of the stair you went through the wall of the house to the passage under the roof of the outhouse at the end of which a few more steps led up to the door of this study by that door you entered the roof of the more ancient building lighted almost entirely from above there was no indication outside of the existence of this floor except one tiny window which vaguely pointed arch almost in the very top of the gable here lay my nest this was the bower of my bliss its walls rose about three feet from the floor where the...

The Flight of the Shadow by George MacDonald 4 Free Series Audiobook Young Adults Moral.

chapter 4 of the flight of the shadow this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by shay davenport new orleans louisiana the flight of the shadow by george mcdonald chapter four my uncle's room and my uncle in it at right angles to the long black and white house stood a building behind it of possibly earlier date but uncertain intent it had been used for many things before my uncle's time once as part of a small brewery my uncle was positive that whether built for the purpose or not it had been used as a chapel and that the house was originally the outlying cell of some convent the signs on which he founded this conclusion i was never able to appreciate to me as containing my uncle's study the wonder house of my childhood it was far more interesting than any history could have made it it had very thick walls two low stories and a high roof entering into it from the court behind the house every portion of it would seem to an ordinary beholder quite unaccounted for but it might have suggested itself to a more comprehending observer that a considerable space must lie between the roof and the low ceiling of the first floor which was taken up with the servants rooms of the ground floor part was used as a dairy part as a wood house part for certain vegetables while parts stored the turf dug for fuels from the neighboring moor between this building and house was a smaller and lower erection a mere outhouse it also was strongly built however and the roof in perfect condition seemed newer than the walls it had been raised and strengthened when used by my uncle to contain a passage leading from the house to the roof of the building just described in which he was fashioning for himself the retreat which he rightly called his study for few must be the rooms more continuously thought and read in during one lifetime than this i have now to tell how it was reached from the house you could hardly have found the way to it even had you set yourself seriously to the task without having in you a good share of the constructive faculty the whole was my uncle's contrivance but might well have been supposed to belong to the troubled times when a good hiding place would have added to the value of any home there was a large recess in the kitchen of which the hearth raised a foot or so above the flagged floor had filled the hole a huge chimney in fact built out from the wall at some time later an oblong space had been cut out of the hearth to a level with the floor and in it an iron grate constructed for the more convenient burning of coal hence the remnant of the raised hearth looked like wide hobbs to the great the recess as a corner was thereby spoiled for coal makes a very different kind of smoke from aromatic product of wood or peat right and left within the recess were two common unpainted doors with latches if you opened either you found an ordinary shallow cupboard that on the right filled with shelves and crockery that on the left with brooms and other household implements but if in the frame of the door to the left you pressed what looked like the head of a large nail not only its door but the whole cupboard turned inward on unseen hinges and revealed an ascending stair which was the approach to my uncle's room at the head of the stair you went through the wall of the house to the passage under the roof of the outhouse at the end of which a few more steps led up to the door of this study by that door you entered the roof of the more ancient building lighted almost entirely from above there was no indication outside of the existence of this floor except one tiny window which vaguely pointed arch almost in the very top of the gable here lay my nest this was the bower of my bliss its walls rose about three feet from the floor where the...

Camp-Fire Girls in the Country 6 Stella M. Francis Braving the Spooks Teen Girls Adventure Books.
chapter 6 of campfire girls in the country by stella m francis this librivox recording is in the public domain recording by leanne howlett braving the spooks what do we do now harriet asked with a look that might have appeared comical to one not threatened with the necessity of staying out the rest of the night it never occurred to me that she might do such a thing said hazel without attempting to answer her comrades question but i don't know what we would have done if it had occurred to us we would have gone in with her and we couldn't have got in first very well unless we had run on ahead of her as soon as we saw her headed back for the house shall we try to get in through one of the windows harriet suggested and run the risk of being shot as burglars returned hazel with a knot of grimm fatality i happen to know that aunt hannah keeps an automatic pistol for that very purpose and she knows how to handle it like a man then we must stay out till morning said harriet rather dolefully i'm afraid so unless you can make your wits work better than i seem to be able to work mine let's ring the bell and wake somebody up harriet proposed we'd probably wake everybody up and then there'd be a lot of explaining to do aunt hannah probably be present clamoring with all the rest for an explanation what reason could we give that would sound plausible for being out in this attire at this time of night without telling a great big fib we'd probably get ourselves in bad doing that harriet saw the reasonableness of this argument but she was not ready yet to give up of course they must get back into the house without revealing the occasion of their going out if possible or if not they must do the best they could let's go around to marion and helen's window and wake them up by throwing pebbles against the glass was her next proposal they'll come down and let us in fortunately their room is at the opposite end of the house from your aunts and they're not likely to disturb her that sounds pretty good hazel said somewhat encouraged let's go around and see how things look they hastened to the west end of the house but the conditions they found there were anything but favorable in the first place the moon was in the southeast so that the shadow of the house darkened a considerable area of ground to the west moreover a large oak tree completed this disadvantage by throwing a dense shade on the ground near the southwest corner of the house they'd never recognize us in this place hazel objected after a hasty view of the surroundings if we succeeded in waking them up we'd do nothing better than scare them they'd think we were burglars or maybe ghosts the latter suggestion with a little shivering laugh although it was a warm night it isn't funny harriet observed with almost a shudder although she laughed derisively that we should think about ghosts with the chills running up and down our backs on an occasion like this although we know there ain't no such things my i'm beginning to feel creepy i could almost have sworn a spook touched me on the shoulder just then harriet exclaimed hazel reprovingly while she cast an apprehensive glance behind her and then looked back foolishly at her companion the first thing we know you'll have a fit of screaming now quit that kind of talk and think up something more sensible for us to do both girls lapsed into silence several moments and at length hazel said i believe the best thing we can do is to go back through the woods to our camp and stay there the rest of the night but we'll be up against the same difficulty in the morning of explaining away our predicament that we'd be up against now if we woke up somebody to let us in harriet objected no we won't hazel replied not if you let me do the explaining i think you're afraid we'll meet a ghost in the timber you're just trying to get back at me harriet said defiantly...

Camp-Fire Girls in the Country 6 Stella M. Francis Braving the Spooks Teen Girls Adventure Books.
chapter 6 of campfire girls in the country by stella m francis this librivox recording is in the public domain recording by leanne howlett braving the spooks what do we do now harriet asked with a look that might have appeared comical to one not threatened with the necessity of staying out the rest of the night it never occurred to me that she might do such a thing said hazel without attempting to answer her comrades question but i don't know what we would have done if it had occurred to us we would have gone in with her and we couldn't have got in first very well unless we had run on ahead of her as soon as we saw her headed back for the house shall we try to get in through one of the windows harriet suggested and run the risk of being shot as burglars returned hazel with a knot of grimm fatality i happen to know that aunt hannah keeps an automatic pistol for that very purpose and she knows how to handle it like a man then we must stay out till morning said harriet rather dolefully i'm afraid so unless you can make your wits work better than i seem to be able to work mine let's ring the bell and wake somebody up harriet proposed we'd probably wake everybody up and then there'd be a lot of explaining to do aunt hannah probably be present clamoring with all the rest for an explanation what reason could we give that would sound plausible for being out in this attire at this time of night without telling a great big fib we'd probably get ourselves in bad doing that harriet saw the reasonableness of this argument but she was not ready yet to give up of course they must get back into the house without revealing the occasion of their going out if possible or if not they must do the best they could let's go around to marion and helen's window and wake them up by throwing pebbles against the glass was her next proposal they'll come down and let us in fortunately their room is at the opposite end of the house from your aunts and they're not likely to disturb her that sounds pretty good hazel said somewhat encouraged let's go around and see how things look they hastened to the west end of the house but the conditions they found there were anything but favorable in the first place the moon was in the southeast so that the shadow of the house darkened a considerable area of ground to the west moreover a large oak tree completed this disadvantage by throwing a dense shade on the ground near the southwest corner of the house they'd never recognize us in this place hazel objected after a hasty view of the surroundings if we succeeded in waking them up we'd do nothing better than scare them they'd think we were burglars or maybe ghosts the latter suggestion with a little shivering laugh although it was a warm night it isn't funny harriet observed with almost a shudder although she laughed derisively that we should think about ghosts with the chills running up and down our backs on an occasion like this although we know there ain't no such things my i'm beginning to feel creepy i could almost have sworn a spook touched me on the shoulder just then harriet exclaimed hazel reprovingly while she cast an apprehensive glance behind her and then looked back foolishly at her companion the first thing we know you'll have a fit of screaming now quit that kind of talk and think up something more sensible for us to do both girls lapsed into silence several moments and at length hazel said i believe the best thing we can do is to go back through the woods to our camp and stay there the rest of the night but we'll be up against the same difficulty in the morning of explaining away our predicament that we'd be up against now if we woke up somebody to let us in harriet objected no we won't hazel replied not if you let me do the explaining i think you're afraid we'll meet a ghost in the timber you're just trying to get back at me harriet said defiantly...

Camp-Fire Girls in the Country 5 Stella M. Francis Locked Out Teen Girls Adventure Books.
chapter 5 of camp fire girls in the country by stella m francis this librivox recording is in the public domain recording by leanne howlett locked out hazel what is the matter what in the world are you doing this inquiry coming from harriet who had been awakened by hazel's odd exclamation caused the latter to turn half around although she retained her position at the window her friend was sitting up in bed come here quick hazel urged in a strange almost hollow voice harriet was soon at her side and following with her eyes the direction indicated by her companion's finger she saw the form of a woman scarcely clothed for an out-of-doors excursion even in the middle of the night and with her uncovered hair hanging loosely over her shoulders why it's your aunt harriet exclaimed what is she doing where is she going i don't know hazel replied i must go out and see i'll go with you the other girl volunteered we'll put on our tennis shoes and kimonos and slip on our crabbinetted raincoats that'll be enough and try to catch her before she gets away from us hazel said come on quick in a second both girls were executing this dressing program with greater rapidity than they ever before had engaged in any proceeding of like character after it was completed they hastened downstairs and out the back way the night wanderer was no longer in sight but while dressing hazel had kept watched through the east window and observed the direction her aunt was taking she saw her pass through a gate leading into the orchard and then lost her as the shadow of a large apple tree obscured her from view hazel led the way from the rear entrance to the orchard gate as they passed through harriet inquired what do you suppose she is doing what could have caused her to come out here at this time of night it's a hard thing for me to figure out hazel replied with as much deliberation as was consistent with her rapid movements but one possible explanation has occurred to me what's that i'm afraid yesterday's experience and the loss she says she suffered have affected her mind oh i hope not harriet deplored sympathetically so do i but i'm afraid it's something of that kind they were now running along a path that led them through the mist of the orchard toward a timber of 20 or 30 acres and extent directly to the east near the far edge of this timber the girls camp was located and the pursuit was leading them directly toward it the orchard covered about three acres consisting principally of large apple peach cherry and pear trees most of them many years old as the two girls were running through this place harriet inquired of hazel have you any idea what time it is yes was the reply it's 20 minutes after two i slipped on my wrist watch as we were dressing and i looked at it when we got out in the moonlight where do you think your aunt has gone harriet continued that's pretty hard to say about the best we can do is to follow this path that's what she was doing when she disappeared from my view at the east edge of the orchard the girls found another gate which opened into the timberland they passed through and continued their way along the path that wound among the trees in a general easterly direction the timber was fairly clear of dead wood and underbrush so that there was little obstruction to their progress finally the followers of antana came to the edge of a small clearing which was crossed by the path and were about to slip into the open when hazel stopped suddenly and seized her companion by the arm there she is she said in a warning whisper but harriet saw the object of the attention of her friend almost as soon as did the ladder and it was unnecessary to stop her she stood still on a weighted instruction what next to do it was not long coming let's hide behind these bushes and watch her hazel proposed she led the way in harriet followed the bushes were only a few...

Camp-Fire Girls in the Country 5 Stella M. Francis Locked Out Teen Girls Adventure Books.
chapter 5 of camp fire girls in the country by stella m francis this librivox recording is in the public domain recording by leanne howlett locked out hazel what is the matter what in the world are you doing this inquiry coming from harriet who had been awakened by hazel's odd exclamation caused the latter to turn half around although she retained her position at the window her friend was sitting up in bed come here quick hazel urged in a strange almost hollow voice harriet was soon at her side and following with her eyes the direction indicated by her companion's finger she saw the form of a woman scarcely clothed for an out-of-doors excursion even in the middle of the night and with her uncovered hair hanging loosely over her shoulders why it's your aunt harriet exclaimed what is she doing where is she going i don't know hazel replied i must go out and see i'll go with you the other girl volunteered we'll put on our tennis shoes and kimonos and slip on our crabbinetted raincoats that'll be enough and try to catch her before she gets away from us hazel said come on quick in a second both girls were executing this dressing program with greater rapidity than they ever before had engaged in any proceeding of like character after it was completed they hastened downstairs and out the back way the night wanderer was no longer in sight but while dressing hazel had kept watched through the east window and observed the direction her aunt was taking she saw her pass through a gate leading into the orchard and then lost her as the shadow of a large apple tree obscured her from view hazel led the way from the rear entrance to the orchard gate as they passed through harriet inquired what do you suppose she is doing what could have caused her to come out here at this time of night it's a hard thing for me to figure out hazel replied with as much deliberation as was consistent with her rapid movements but one possible explanation has occurred to me what's that i'm afraid yesterday's experience and the loss she says she suffered have affected her mind oh i hope not harriet deplored sympathetically so do i but i'm afraid it's something of that kind they were now running along a path that led them through the mist of the orchard toward a timber of 20 or 30 acres and extent directly to the east near the far edge of this timber the girls camp was located and the pursuit was leading them directly toward it the orchard covered about three acres consisting principally of large apple peach cherry and pear trees most of them many years old as the two girls were running through this place harriet inquired of hazel have you any idea what time it is yes was the reply it's 20 minutes after two i slipped on my wrist watch as we were dressing and i looked at it when we got out in the moonlight where do you think your aunt has gone harriet continued that's pretty hard to say about the best we can do is to follow this path that's what she was doing when she disappeared from my view at the east edge of the orchard the girls found another gate which opened into the timberland they passed through and continued their way along the path that wound among the trees in a general easterly direction the timber was fairly clear of dead wood and underbrush so that there was little obstruction to their progress finally the followers of antana came to the edge of a small clearing which was crossed by the path and were about to slip into the open when hazel stopped suddenly and seized her companion by the arm there she is she said in a warning whisper but harriet saw the object of the attention of her friend almost as soon as did the ladder and it was unnecessary to stop her she stood still on a weighted instruction what next to do it was not long coming let's hide behind these bushes and watch her hazel proposed she led the way in harriet followed the bushes were only a few...

Camp-Fire Girls in the Country 4 Stella M. Francis Teen Girls Adventure Audiobook Free

Camp-Fire Girls in the Country 4 Stella M. Francis Teen Girls Adventure Audiobook Free

Discoverers and Explorers by Edward R. Shaw 11 Francisco Pizarro Free Audiobooks Educational Library.
chapter 11 of discoverers and explorers this librivox recording is in the public domain discoverers and explorers by edward r shaw chapter 11 francisco pizarro among the men who had been with balboa and who had heard of the wonderful country of the incas was francisco pizarro he determined to find this rich country and to conquer it securing a band of about 200 men well-armed and mounted on strong horses he led them in spite of terrible hardships over mountains through valleys and across plateaus to kahamarca the city where the inca or king was then staying the natives gazed at the spaniards in wonder and dread these simple people thought that the white-faced bearded strangers who carried thunderbolts in their hands and who rode such frightful licking animals were gods in spite of their fear the indians received the strangers kindly and gave them food and shelter that evening pizarro and desoto taking with them 35 horsemen visited the inca and arranged with him for a meeting next day in the open square it was a strange visit the inga was surrounded by his slaves and chieftains and was very polite to the strangers but the spaniards began to feel very uneasy an army composed of thousands of indians was encamped only two miles away and compared with it the 200 men of pizarro appeared powerless the situation of the spaniards should the inca decide to oppose them seemed without hope pizarro scarcely slept that night he lay awake planning how he might take the inca prisoner the next day about noon the indian procession approached the marketplace first came attendants who cleared the way then followed nobles and men of high rank richly dressed and covered with ornaments of gold and gems last came the inca carried on a throne of solid gold which was gorgeously trimmed with the plumes of tropical birds the indian monarch wore rich garments adorned with gold ornaments and around his neck was a collar of superb emeralds of great size and brilliancy he took his position near the center of the square his escort numbering several thousand gathered around him looking about the inca failed to see any of the spaniards where are the strangers he asked just then pizarro's chaplain with his bible in his hand approached the inca the chaplain said that he and his people had been sent by a mighty prince to beg the inca to accept the true religion and consent to be tributary to the great emperor charles v who would then protect them the inca grew very angry at this and declared that he would not change his faith nor be any man's tributary he then indignantly threw the sacred book upon the ground and demanded satisfaction from the spaniards for this insult to him at this the priest gave the signal and the spaniards rushed from their hiding places and attacked the panic-stricken indians the inca and his attendants were wholly unprepared being unarmed and utterly defenseless the spaniards charged through them showing no mercy their swords slashing right and left and their prancing horses trampling the natives underfoot the guns and firearms of the spaniards made such havoc and confusion that the terrified indians offered no resistance indeed they could not offer any in the vicinity of the inca the struggle was fierce the indians faithful to the last to their beloved monarch threw themselves before him shielded him with their naked bodies from the swords of the spaniards at last as night drew near the spaniards fearing that the inca might escape attempted to kill him but pizarro desired that he should be taken alive and in a loud voice ordered his followers as they valued their own lives not to strike the inca stretching out his arm to save the monarch pizarro received a wound on his hand this was the only wound received by a spaniard during the attack at length the inca was cast from his throne and falling to the ground was caught by pizarro he...

Discoverers and Explorers by Edward R. Shaw 11 Francisco Pizarro Free Audiobooks Educational Library.
chapter 11 of discoverers and explorers this librivox recording is in the public domain discoverers and explorers by edward r shaw chapter 11 francisco pizarro among the men who had been with balboa and who had heard of the wonderful country of the incas was francisco pizarro he determined to find this rich country and to conquer it securing a band of about 200 men well-armed and mounted on strong horses he led them in spite of terrible hardships over mountains through valleys and across plateaus to kahamarca the city where the inca or king was then staying the natives gazed at the spaniards in wonder and dread these simple people thought that the white-faced bearded strangers who carried thunderbolts in their hands and who rode such frightful licking animals were gods in spite of their fear the indians received the strangers kindly and gave them food and shelter that evening pizarro and desoto taking with them 35 horsemen visited the inca and arranged with him for a meeting next day in the open square it was a strange visit the inga was surrounded by his slaves and chieftains and was very polite to the strangers but the spaniards began to feel very uneasy an army composed of thousands of indians was encamped only two miles away and compared with it the 200 men of pizarro appeared powerless the situation of the spaniards should the inca decide to oppose them seemed without hope pizarro scarcely slept that night he lay awake planning how he might take the inca prisoner the next day about noon the indian procession approached the marketplace first came attendants who cleared the way then followed nobles and men of high rank richly dressed and covered with ornaments of gold and gems last came the inca carried on a throne of solid gold which was gorgeously trimmed with the plumes of tropical birds the indian monarch wore rich garments adorned with gold ornaments and around his neck was a collar of superb emeralds of great size and brilliancy he took his position near the center of the square his escort numbering several thousand gathered around him looking about the inca failed to see any of the spaniards where are the strangers he asked just then pizarro's chaplain with his bible in his hand approached the inca the chaplain said that he and his people had been sent by a mighty prince to beg the inca to accept the true religion and consent to be tributary to the great emperor charles v who would then protect them the inca grew very angry at this and declared that he would not change his faith nor be any man's tributary he then indignantly threw the sacred book upon the ground and demanded satisfaction from the spaniards for this insult to him at this the priest gave the signal and the spaniards rushed from their hiding places and attacked the panic-stricken indians the inca and his attendants were wholly unprepared being unarmed and utterly defenseless the spaniards charged through them showing no mercy their swords slashing right and left and their prancing horses trampling the natives underfoot the guns and firearms of the spaniards made such havoc and confusion that the terrified indians offered no resistance indeed they could not offer any in the vicinity of the inca the struggle was fierce the indians faithful to the last to their beloved monarch threw themselves before him shielded him with their naked bodies from the swords of the spaniards at last as night drew near the spaniards fearing that the inca might escape attempted to kill him but pizarro desired that he should be taken alive and in a loud voice ordered his followers as they valued their own lives not to strike the inca stretching out his arm to save the monarch pizarro received a wound on his hand this was the only wound received by a spaniard during the attack at length the inca was cast from his throne and falling to the ground was caught by pizarro he...