Chapter 2 of Elusive Isabel is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Elusive Isabel is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Still silence. With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall. He met a maid-servant at the door, coming in. Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement. "A lady, sir--a lady--" she began babblingly.
Chapter 2 of Elusive Isabel is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading “Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement.”
the younger of the two Grimm brothers remembered best for their fairy stories (1786-1859)
From this reading “With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.”
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading “With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.”
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.”
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading “He met a maid-servant at the door, coming in.”
complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement.”
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading “Still silence.”
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.”
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 met a maid-servant at the door, coming in.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He met a maid-servant at the door, coming in.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "A lady, sir--a lady--" she began babblingly.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "A lady, sir--a lady--" she began babblingly.
anemic looking from illness or emotion
From this reading Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading He met a maid-servant at the door, coming in.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading He met a maid-servant at the door, coming in.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement.
the younger of the two Grimm brothers remembered best for their fairy stories (1786-1859)
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He met a maid-servant at the door, coming in.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He met a maid-servant at the door, coming in.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading "A lady, sir--a lady--" she began babblingly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He met a maid-servant at the door, coming in.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading He met a maid-servant at the door, coming in.
a form of address for a man
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement.
complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
From this reading Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Still silence.
term of address for a man
From this reading "A lady, sir--a lady--" she began babblingly.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
not in physical motion
From this reading Still silence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Her face was blanched, and she stuttered through sheer excitement.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With some new idea Mr. Grimm turned away suddenly and started out into the hall.
Chapter 2 of Elusive Isabel by Jacques Futrelle holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 412 sentences of Elusive Isabel, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Elusive Isabel by Jacques Futrelle exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Elusive Isabel by Jacques Futrelle on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2913 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10943 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10943, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 242 minutes of reading across 583 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Elusive Isabel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Elusive Isabel 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 Elusive Isabel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
