Chapter 4 of Dyke Darrel the Railroad Detective is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Dyke Darrel the Railroad Detective is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ELLISTON'S REBUFF. A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped. The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife. "Oh! Ah!
Chapter 4 of Dyke Darrel the Railroad Detective is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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 flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading “The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.”
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading “The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.”
edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle
From this reading “The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.”
roused to anger
From this reading “A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.”
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading “A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.”
reject outright and bluntly
From this reading “ELLISTON'S REBUFF.”
past form of “scalp” — sell illegally, as on the black market
From this reading “A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.”
in an unceremonious manner
From this reading “A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.”
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 mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah!
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ELLISTON'S REBUFF.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.
edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle
From this reading The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
roused to anger
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh!
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
reject outright and bluntly
From this reading ELLISTON'S REBUFF.
precisely, exactly
From this reading The next instant his right hand drew forth a gleaming knife.
past form of “scalp” — sell illegally, as on the black market
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
in an unceremonious manner
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
at the time that
From this reading A mad cry fell from the lips of the Professor when he felt himself unceremoniously scalped.
Chapter 4 of Dyke Darrel the Railroad Detective by A. Frank Pinkerton holds 123 sentences, grouped into 25 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 123 sentences of Dyke Darrel the Railroad Detective, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Dyke Darrel the Railroad Detective by A. Frank Pinkerton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 4 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 Dyke Darrel the Railroad Detective by A. Frank Pinkerton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4163 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5901 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5901, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 346 minutes of reading across 833 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dyke Darrel the Railroad Detective section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Dyke Darrel the Railroad Detective 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 Dyke Darrel the Railroad Detective, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
