Chapter 17 of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A REMARKABLE SCENE "Well, this is queer." Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled. By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come. Long since that illumination had been discontinued. Dave had paused with due caution as he approached its cause.
Chapter 17 of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading “Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled.”
the trait of being cautious; being attentive to possible danger
From this reading “Dave had paused with due caution as he approached its cause.”
the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside
From this reading “By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.”
stopped permanently or temporarily
From this reading “Long since that illumination had been discontinued.”
oblivious of dangers or perils or calmly resolute in facing them
From this reading “Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled.”
a condition of spiritual awareness; divine illumination
From this reading “Long since that illumination had been discontinued.”
a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water
From this reading “By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.”
any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
From this reading “By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.”
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.
In this reading “By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.”
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 A REMARKABLE SCENE "Well, this is queer."
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading Dave had paused with due caution as he approached its cause.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Long since that illumination had been discontinued.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading Dave had paused with due caution as he approached its cause.
the trait of being cautious; being attentive to possible danger
From this reading Dave had paused with due caution as he approached its cause.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled.
the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
stopped permanently or temporarily
From this reading Long since that illumination had been discontinued.
owed and payable immediately or on demand
From this reading Dave had paused with due caution as he approached its cause.
oblivious of dangers or perils or calmly resolute in facing them
From this reading Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled.
a condition of spiritual awareness; divine illumination
From this reading Long since that illumination had been discontinued.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A REMARKABLE SCENE "Well, this is queer."
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Dave had paused with due caution as he approached its cause.
a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Long since that illumination had been discontinued.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled.
of an obscure nature
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading Dave had paused with due caution as he approached its cause.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading A REMARKABLE SCENE "Well, this is queer."
unusual or striking
From this reading A REMARKABLE SCENE "Well, this is queer."
the place where some action occurs
From this reading A REMARKABLE SCENE "Well, this is queer."
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading Long since that illumination had been discontinued.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Long since that illumination had been discontinued.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading A REMARKABLE SCENE "Well, this is queer."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading A REMARKABLE SCENE "Well, this is queer."
in or at the place that
From this reading By the time he had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, daylight had come.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Dave had paused with due caution as he approached its cause.
Chapter 17 of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery by Roy Rockwood holds 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 17 holds 110 sentences of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery by Roy Rockwood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 17 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 Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery by Roy Rockwood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3627 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41896 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41896, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 302 minutes of reading across 726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery 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 Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
