Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:25:30

Excerpt #1, from Simple Sabotage Field Manual, by United States. Office of Strategic Services

…(1) While loading or unloading, handle cargo carelessly in order to cause damage. Arrange the cargo so that the weakest and lightest crates and boxes will be at the bottom of the hold, while the heaviest ones are on top of them. Put hatch covers and tarpaulins on sloppily, so that rain and deck wash will injure the cargo. Tie float valves open so that storage tanks will overflow on perishable goods. (9) Communications (a) Telephone (1) At office, hotel and exchange switch boards delay putting enemy calls through, give them wrong numbers, cut them off “accidentally,” or forget to disconnect them so that the line cannot be used again. (2) Hamper official and especially military business by making at least one telephone call a day to an enemy headquarters; when you get them, tell them you have the wrong number. Call military or police offices and make anonymous false reports of fires, air raids, bombs. (3) In offices and buildings used by the enemy, unscrew the earphone of telephone receivers and remove the diaphragm. Electricians and telephone repair men can make poor connections and damage insulation so…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #2, from 13 Days: The Chronicle of an Escape from a German Prison, by John Alan Lyde Caunter

…behind to be brought up by a miniature railway train especially constructed for the purpose of supplying the prison camps. The camp with several others, as we found out afterwards, was situated on the Lüneburg Heide, some eight miles east-north-east of the town of Schwarmstedt and five or six miles on the Berlin side of the river Aller. Crossing the river and leaving the valley through which it flowed, we quickly entered a wild tract of country, through which the only road was a rough cart track. The soil was peaty with a deep layer of sand and black dust on the top of it. For the first two or three miles we passed through several very fine pine forests interspersed with young plantations and rough scrub. This type of country gave way to a flat marshy-looking area covered with rank vegetation and stunted fir-trees. Streams and ditches cut up the land, and it struck one as being a very wet place even in the summer, in winter it would probably be a swamp. At last we reached the camp and found ourselves looking at a collection of wooden huts with tarred felt roofs, surrounded by a barbed wire fence, seemingly planted at random in the midst of the wildness. CHAPTER III…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #3, from Around the World on a Bicycle Volume II, by Thomas Stevens

…are making a mistake, and pausing in the act of transferring bread and caviare to his mouth, he says to me, impressively: “This is only sukuski, you know, on this table.” “Why, of course. Didn’t you know that. Your ignorance surprises me; I thought you knew.”. And then we follow the example of everybody else and pass over to the other side. The sukuski is taken before the regular meal in Russia. The tidbits and the vodka are partaken of to prepare and stimulate the appetite for the regular meal. Not yet, however, are we fully initiated into the mysteries of the Caspian steamer’s service. Wine is flowing freely, and as we seat ourselves the captain passes down his bottle. Presently I hold my glass to be refilled by a spectacled naval officer sitting opposite. With a polite bow he fills it to the brim. The next moment, I happen to catch the captain’s eye, it contains a meaning twinkle of amusement. Heavens! this is not a French steamer, even if the cookery is somewhat Frenchy; neither is it a table-d’hote with claret flowing ad libitum. The ridiculous mistake has been made of taking the captain’s polite hospitality and the liberal display of bottles for the free wine of the French table-d’hote. The officer with the eyeglasses lands at Tchislikar in the afternoon, for which I am not sorry. At Tchislikar we are met by a lighter with several Turcoman passengers. The sea is pretty rough, and the united efforts of several boatmen are…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #4, from Symbolic Logic, by Lewis Carroll

…As the process is simply the reverse of that discussed in the previous Chapter, we can avail ourselves of the results there obtained, as far as they go. First, let us suppose that we find a Red Counter placed in the North-West Cell. ·——-·… |(.)| | |—|—| | | | ·——-·… We know that this represents each of the Trio of equivalent Propositions “Some xy exist” = “Some x are y” = “Some y are x”. Similarly we may interpret a Red Counter, when placed in the North-East, or South-West, or South-East Cell. Next, let us suppose that we find a Grey Counter placed in the North-West Cell. ·——-·… |( )| | |—|—| | | | ·——-·…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #5, from Our Pirate Hoard, by Thomas A. Janvier

…envied. This made me feel quite comfortable about the remote future, but it did not simplify the problem of living comfortably in the immediate present. My cousin was a very tough, wiry little man, barely turned of fifty. There was any quantity of life left in him–his father, who had been just such another, had lived till he was eighty-nine. There was not much of a chance, therefore, that either the asylum or I would receive anything from his estate for ever so long–and I may add I was very glad, for my part, that things were that way. Gregory Wilkinson was a first-rate fellow, for all his queerness and sudden ways, and I should have been sorry enough to have been his chief heir. One reason why I liked him so much was because he was so fond of Susan. When we were married–although he had not seen her then–he sent her forks, and he had lived up to those forks ever since. Susan was rather flustered when I showed her the telegram; but she went to work with a will, and got the little spare room in order, and stewed some peaches and made some biscuits for supper. Susan’s biscuits were something extraordinary. Gregory Wilkinson came all right, and after supper–he said that it was the nicest supper he had eaten in a long while–she did the honors of the Swallow’s Nest in the pretty way that is her especial peculiarity. She showed him the cow-stable, with the cow in it, and the colored girl milking away in her usual vigorous fashion,…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #6, from The Valley of the Moon, by Jack London

…anything,” Billy was saying to Saxon. “Listen to that,” Mary triumphed. “You bet the man that marries me’ll have to talk things over first.” “Billy’s only givin’ her hot air,” Bert plagued. “They all do it before they’re married.” Mary sniffed contemptuously. “I’ll bet Saxon leads him around by the nose. And I’m goin’ to say, loud an’ strong, that I’ll lead the man around by the nose that marries me.” “Not if you love him,” Saxon interposed. “All the more reason,” Mary pursued. Bert assumed an expression and attitude of mournful dejection. “Now you see why me an’ Mary don’t get married,” he said. “I’m some big Indian myself, an’ I’ll be everlastingly jiggerooed if I put up for a wigwam I can’t be boss of.” “And I’m no squaw,” Mary retaliated, “an’ I wouldn’t marry a big buck Indian if all the rest of the men in the world was dead.” “Well this big buck Indian ain’t asked you yet.” “He knows what he’d get if he did.” “And after that maybe he’ll think twice before he does ask you.” Saxon, intent on diverting the conversation into pleasanter channels, clapped her hands as if with sudden recollection….

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #7, from Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare

…And so bestow these papers as you bade me. CASSIUS. That done, repair to Pompey’s theatre. [Exit Cinna.] Come, Casca, you and I will yet, ere day, See Brutus at his house: three parts of him Is ours already, and the man entire Upon the next encounter, yields him ours. CASCA. O, he sits high in all the people’s hearts! And that which would appear offence in us, His countenance, like richest alchemy, Will change to virtue and to worthiness. CASSIUS. Him, and his worth, and our great need of him, You have right well conceited. Let us go, For it is after midnight; and ere day, We will awake him, and be sure of him. [Exeunt.] ACT II SCENE I. Rome. Brutus’ orchard….

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #8, from Studying the short story, by J. Berg Esenwein

…70. However, the adjutant Gamba seemed to be offering the watch in good faith. Fortunato did not hold out his hand, but he said to him with a bitter smile: 71. “Why do you jest with me?” 72. “By Heaven, I am not joking! Only tell me where Gianetto is and this watch is yours.” [Sidenote: Compare with ¶67.] 73. Fortunato allowed an incredulous sigh to escape him; and, fixing his black eyes on those of the adjutant, he sought to find in them the faith he wished to have in his words. [Sidenote: A typical Latin protest.] 74. “May I lose my epaulets,” cried the adjutant, “if I do not give you the watch on these terms! My comrades are witnesses, and I cannot go back on my word!” [Sidenote: A key to the plot.] [Sidenote: MAIN CRISIS.] 75. So speaking, he held the watch nearer and nearer until it almost touched the pale cheeks of the child, whose face showed plainly the combat going on in his heart between covetousness and his respect for the laws of hospitality. His bare breast heaved violently, and he seemed to be almost stifling. All the time the watch dangled and…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #9, from Ten Months in a German Raider: A prisoner of war aboard the Wolf, by Cameron

…and was familiar with this particular make. I told him I was, having owned at one time an engine of this make. After giving the officer this information he was overheard by one of the womenfolk repeating it to the Chief Officer. We top side prisoners were some worked up, believe me. We had it all “doped out” that after sinking the Matunga we should proceed off some island that was inhabited but had no wireless or cable connections, there the women, children and medicos would be put in the life-boat and I would tow them with the launch to some nearby harbour. This would have been the logical thing to do if Commander Nerger wanted to conform to the articles of the Geneva Convention, which specifically states that medical officers in event of capture shall be set free at the first available opportunity. Nerger also told me and my wife that he would land us in some safe place at the first opportunity, provided he could do so without jeopardising his own safety. He also told the medical officers and the rest of the women the same thing. I maintain that at this time Nerger could have landed us with perfect safety to himself and his ship–as the Wolf was about to leave the Pacific Ocean, having finished her activities in that locality. At that time nobody had information regarding the Wolf’s previous movements nor any knowledge of her mine-laying operations. However, at the last…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #10, from Esperanto Self

…(intr.) upside down, to get overthrown; fari, to make, fariĝi, to become; perdiĝi, to get lost; vidiĝi, to be seen. Used with intransitive verbs, iĝ- gives the idea of a becoming, a GRADUAL TRANSITION from one state to another: morti, to die, mortiĝi, to become dead, to die away, to expire; sidi, to be seated, sidiĝi, to become seated, to sit down. NOTE that, since verbs in -iĝ are of necessity intransitive, their participles should only be used in the ACTIVE FORM. Thus: renversiĝinta, having become overthrown, and not renversiĝita; perdiĝinta, having become lost, not perdiĝita; and so on. One might of course simply say renversita, overthrown, and perdita, lost, though the meaning would in that case not be quite the same. -il denotes an INSTRUMENT, TOOL, or MEANS: tranĉi, to cut, tranĉilo, a knife; filtri, to filter, filtrilo, a filter; teni, to hold, tenilo, a handle.–Ilo, tool, instrument; ilaro, set of tools. -ind denotes WORTHINESS (English -WORTHY): laŭdi, to praise, laŭdinda, praiseworthy; vidinda, worth seeing, vidindaĵoj, things worth seeing, sights.–Inda (je), worthy (of); indeco, worthiness. -ing denotes the HOLDER OF A SINGLE OBJECT (compare -uj below): plumo, pen, plumingo, penholder; fingro, finger, fingringo,…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #11, from A Smaller Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, by William Smith

…called upon to give their verdict. Sometimes the law expressly empowered the jury to impose an additional penalty (προστίμημα) besides the ordinary one. Here the proposition emanated from the jury themselves, any one of whom might move that the punishment allowed by the law should be awarded. He was said προστιμᾶσθαι, and the whole dicasts, if (upon a division) they adopted his proposal, were said προστιμᾷν. TINTINNĀBŬLUM (κώδων), a bell. Bells were of various forms among the Greeks and Romans, as among us. TĪRO, the name given by the Romans to a newly enlisted soldier, as opposed to veteranus, one who had had experience in war. The mode of levying troops is described under EXERCITUS. The age at which the liability to military service commenced was 17. From their first enrolment the Roman soldiers, when not actually serving against an enemy, were perpetually occupied in military exercises. They were exercised every day, the tirones twice, in the morning and afternoon, and the veterani once. The state of a tiro was called tirocinium; and a soldier who had attained skill in his profession was then said tirocinium ponere, or deponere. In civil life the terms tiro and tirocinium were applied to the assumption of the toga virilis, which was called tirocinium fori [TOGA], and to the first…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #12, from The Radio Amateur’s Hand Book, by A. Frederick Collins

…OPERATION OF VACUUM TUBE RECEPTORS From the foregoing chapters you have seen that the vacuum tube can be used either as a detector or an amplifier or as a generator of electric oscillations, as in the case of the heterodyne receiving set. To understand how a vacuum tube acts as a detector and as an amplifier you must first know what electrons are. The way in which the vacuum tube sets up sustained oscillations will be explained in Chapter XVIII in connection with the Operation of Vacuum Tube Transmitters. What Electrons Are.–Science teaches us that masses of matter are made up of molecules, that each of these is made up of atoms, and each of these, in turn, is made up of a central core of positive particles of electricity surrounded by negative particles of electricity as shown in the schematic diagram, Fig. 69. The little black circles inside the large circle represent positive particles of electricity and the little white circles outside of the large circle represent negative particles of electricity, or electrons as they are called. [Illustration: Fig. 69.–Schematic Diagram of an Atom.] It is the number of positive particles of electricity an atom has that determines the kind of an element that is formed when enough atoms of the same kind are joined together to build it up. Thus hydrogen, which…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

A production of Friendlyskies.net