Chapter 9 of Clue of the Silken Ladder is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Clue of the Silken Ladder is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Why, the low-down skunk!" Pete exclaimed wrathfully. "So he planned to rob us! I'll get him!" Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
Chapter 9 of Clue of the Silken Ladder is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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.
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading “Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.”
the act of departing
From this reading “Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.”
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading “Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.”
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading “"So he planned to rob us!”
take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading “"So he planned to rob us!”
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading “"Why, the low-down skunk!"”
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading “Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.”
not firmly fastened or secured
From this reading “Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
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.
a silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading Pete exclaimed wrathfully.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I'll get him!"
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "So he planned to rob us!
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I'll get him!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll get him!"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
the act of departing
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
of the most contemptible kind
From this reading "Why, the low-down skunk!"
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pete exclaimed wrathfully.
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading "So he planned to rob us!
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading "So he planned to rob us!
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading "Why, the low-down skunk!"
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So he planned to rob us!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Why, the low-down skunk!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "So he planned to rob us!
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
not firmly fastened or secured
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "So he planned to rob us!
look attentively
From this reading Leaving Al to watch Penny, the guard ran to the tower room door and unlocked it.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why, the low-down skunk!"
in a wrathful manner
From this reading Pete exclaimed wrathfully.
Chapter 9 of Clue of the Silken Ladder by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 9 holds 408 sentences of Clue of the Silken Ladder, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Clue of the Silken Ladder by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 9 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 Clue of the Silken Ladder by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3711 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34591 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34591, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 309 minutes of reading across 743 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Clue of the Silken Ladder section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Clue of the Silken Ladder 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 Clue of the Silken Ladder, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
