Chapter 1 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story is here in full — 627 sentences across 126 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story is here in full — 627 sentences across 126 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf. Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon! I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first. I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel. She is bound for Melbourne.
Chapter 1 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story is here in full — 627 sentences across 126 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 62/125 · 5 reading units · Lines 306–310
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.
(baseball) playing the position of catcher on a baseball team
From this reading “I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel.”
weakening in force or intensity
From this reading “Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!”
the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
From this reading “Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!”
a resort town in east central Florida
From this reading “She is bound for Melbourne.”
a clam that is usually steamed in the shell
From this reading “Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!”
pull hard
From this reading “I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel.”
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading “I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel.”
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading “I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.”
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 before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
confined by bonds
From this reading She is bound for Melbourne.
(baseball) playing the position of catcher on a baseball team
From this reading I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
weakening in force or intensity
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She is bound for Melbourne.
destroyed or killed
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She is bound for Melbourne.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
and nothing more
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
a resort town in east central Florida
From this reading She is bound for Melbourne.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
precisely, exactly
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
done under pressure
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
rescued; especially from the power and consequences of sin
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She is bound for Melbourne.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading I should have saved half an hour if I had gone in the right direction at first.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
a clam that is usually steamed in the shell
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
pull hard
From this reading I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading I could have taken a fast tug, and should have stood a chance of catching that vessel.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mother, the smoke of the steamer he had taken was just fading out on the horizon!
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading I rushed along his trail, and it led me to a wharf.
Chapter 1 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story by Mark Twain holds 627 sentences, grouped into 126 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 1 holds 627 sentences of A Double Barrelled Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 126 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 627 sentences, grouped into 126 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 126 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 126 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 1 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 A Double Barrelled Detective Story by Mark Twain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1257 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3180 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3180, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 104 minutes of reading across 252 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Double Barrelled Detective Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of A Double Barrelled Detective Story 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 A Double Barrelled Detective Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
