Chapter 18 of Dick Merriwell's Trap is here in full — 290 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Dick Merriwell's Trap is here in full — 290 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Dick turned like a flash. He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife. He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild. That quick move by Arlington had saved Dick. This Merriwell instantly understood.
Chapter 18 of Dick Merriwell's Trap is here in full — 290 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/58 · 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 city in northern Texas between Dallas and Fort Worth
From this reading “He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.”
the act of causing something to happen
From this reading “He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.”
a city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading “He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.”
past form of “clutch” — take hold of; grab
From this reading “He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.”
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.”
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “Dick turned like a flash.”
being of delicate or slender build
From this reading “He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.”
a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading “He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.”
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 “He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.”
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 Dick turned like a flash.
in addition
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
a city in northern Texas between Dallas and Fort Worth
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading That quick move by Arlington had saved Dick.
the act of causing something to happen
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
a city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
past form of “clutch” — take hold of; grab
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
someone who is a detective
From this reading Dick turned like a flash.
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading Dick turned like a flash.
travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading This Merriwell instantly understood.
edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Dick turned like a flash.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This Merriwell instantly understood.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading That quick move by Arlington had saved Dick.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading That quick move by Arlington had saved Dick.
rescued; especially from the power and consequences of sin
From this reading That quick move by Arlington had saved Dick.
cut with a saw
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
being of delicate or slender build
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
the season of growth
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Dick turned like a flash.
fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation
From this reading This Merriwell instantly understood.
which person or people
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading He also saw that Chester Arlington had made a spring and clutched the arm of this youth, thus causing the knife to fly a trifle wild.
a young person (especially a young man or boy)
From this reading He saw a slender, dark-faced youth, who had stepped from behind the curtains and thrown the knife.
Chapter 18 of Dick Merriwell's Trap by Burt L. Standish holds 290 sentences, grouped into 58 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 18 holds 290 sentences of Dick Merriwell's Trap, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Dick Merriwell's Trap by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 290 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 18 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 Dick Merriwell's Trap by Burt L. Standish on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5513 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41866 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41866, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 459 minutes of reading across 1103 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dick Merriwell's Trap section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Dick Merriwell's Trap 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 Dick Merriwell's Trap, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
