Chapter 2 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story is here in full — 630 sentences across 126 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story is here in full — 630 sentences across 126 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see. “It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it. And here is a candle which is burned half-way down. The remaining half of it has marks cut upon it an inch apart. Soon I will tell you where I found these things.
Chapter 2 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story is here in full — 630 sentences across 126 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 71/126 · 5 reading units · Lines 351–355
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.
of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles
From this reading “He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.”
a thin layer covering something
From this reading ““It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it.”
past form of “crane” — stretch (the neck) so as to see better
From this reading “He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.”
a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading “The remaining half of it has marks cut upon it an inch apart.”
changed from a solid to a liquid state
From this reading ““It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it.”
plural of “neck” — the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
From this reading “He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.”
obtained from suet and used in making soap, candles and lubricants
From this reading ““It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it.”
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.”
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 He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The remaining half of it has marks cut upon it an inch apart.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And here is a candle which is burned half-way down.
separated or at a distance in place or position or time
From this reading The remaining half of it has marks cut upon it an inch apart.
treated by heating to a high temperature but below the melting or fusing point
From this reading And here is a candle which is burned half-way down.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading And here is a candle which is burned half-way down.
of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
a thin layer covering something
From this reading “It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it.
past form of “crane” — stretch (the neck) so as to see better
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading The remaining half of it has marks cut upon it an inch apart.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading And here is a candle which is burned half-way down.
set up or found
From this reading Soon I will tell you where I found these things.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading The remaining half of it has marks cut upon it an inch apart.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And here is a candle which is burned half-way down.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading And here is a candle which is burned half-way down.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Soon I will tell you where I found these things.
a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading The remaining half of it has marks cut upon it an inch apart.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And here is a candle which is burned half-way down.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it.
English businessman who created a retail chain (1888-1964)
From this reading The remaining half of it has marks cut upon it an inch apart.
changed from a solid to a liquid state
From this reading “It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it.
plural of “neck” — the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it.
a separate part of a whole
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
not used up
From this reading The remaining half of it has marks cut upon it an inch apart.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
From this reading “It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it.
in the near future
From this reading Soon I will tell you where I found these things.
obtained from suet and used in making soap, candles and lubricants
From this reading “It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it.
express in words
From this reading Soon I will tell you where I found these things.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Soon I will tell you where I found these things.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Soon I will tell you where I found these things.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The remaining half of it has marks cut upon it an inch apart.
in or at the place that
From this reading Soon I will tell you where I found these things.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading And here is a candle which is burned half-way down.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Soon I will tell you where I found these things.
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading He held up a piece of coarse wire; the crowd craned their necks to see.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Soon I will tell you where I found these things.
Chapter 2 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story by Mark Twain holds 630 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 2 holds 630 sentences of A Double Barrelled Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 126 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 630 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 2 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.
