Chapter 8 of Following a Chance Clew is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Following a Chance Clew is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN THE GLOOM. All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick. He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus. He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish. There was a purpose in all this, however.
Chapter 8 of Following a Chance Clew is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
United States artist whose paintings portrayed life in the Midwest and South (1889-1975)
From this reading “He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.”
indicating a lack of maturity
From this reading “He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.”
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading “IN THE GLOOM.”
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading “All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick.”
plural of “password” — a secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group
From this reading “He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.”
plural of “precaution” — a precautionary measure warding off impending danger or damage or injury etc.
From this reading “He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.”
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading “He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.”
confined on all sides
From this reading “He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.”
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 “IN THE GLOOM.”
In this reading “He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.”
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 knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick.
United States artist whose paintings portrayed life in the Midwest and South (1889-1975)
From this reading He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.
indicating a lack of maturity
From this reading He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading IN THE GLOOM.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.
verbal misrepresentation intended to take advantage of you in some way
From this reading He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading There was a purpose in all this, however.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN THE GLOOM.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick.
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick.
plural of “password” — a secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group
From this reading He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.
plural of “precaution” — a precautionary measure warding off impending danger or damage or injury etc.
From this reading He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading There was a purpose in all this, however.
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick.
confined on all sides
From this reading He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IN THE GLOOM.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a purpose in all this, however.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.
Chapter 8 of Following a Chance Clew by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 8 holds 144 sentences of Following a Chance Clew, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Following a Chance Clew by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 8 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 Following a Chance Clew by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Following a Chance Clew section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Following a Chance Clew 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 Following a Chance Clew, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
