Chapter 19 of Following a Chance Clew is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Following a Chance Clew is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A LONG JUMP. “The electric drill ought to be working by this time.” Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse. It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours. “It beats anything I ever heard of,” said the banker.
Chapter 19 of Following a Chance Clew 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.
a financier who owns or is an executive in a bank
From this reading “Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.”
a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)
From this reading ““It beats anything I ever heard of,” said the banker.”
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading “Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.”
a city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading “Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.”
young bird especially of domestic fowl
From this reading “Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.”
plural of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.”
make a hole, especially with a pointed power or hand tool
From this reading ““The electric drill ought to be working by this time.””
having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value
From this reading “Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.”
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 “It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours.”
In this reading ““It beats anything I ever heard of,” said the banker.”
In this reading “Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.”
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 LONG JUMP.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
any thing at all
From this reading “It beats anything I ever heard of,” said the banker.
a financier who owns or is an executive in a bank
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “The electric drill ought to be working by this time.”
a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)
From this reading “It beats anything I ever heard of,” said the banker.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “The electric drill ought to be working by this time.”
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
a city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
young bird especially of domestic fowl
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
a restaurant that specializes in steaks
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
plural of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
make a hole, especially with a pointed power or hand tool
From this reading “The electric drill ought to be working by this time.”
using or providing or producing or transmitting or operated by electricity
From this reading “The electric drill ought to be working by this time.”
at any time
From this reading “It beats anything I ever heard of,” said the banker.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading “It beats anything I ever heard of,” said the banker.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “It beats anything I ever heard of,” said the banker.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours.
move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading A LONG JUMP.
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 A LONG JUMP.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours.
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “It beats anything I ever heard of,” said the banker.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading “The electric drill ought to be working by this time.”
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It beats anything I ever heard of,” said the banker.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “The electric drill ought to be working by this time.”
in or at that place or location
From this reading It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “The electric drill ought to be working by this time.”
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading “The electric drill ought to be working by this time.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “The electric drill ought to be working by this time.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours.
having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value
From this reading Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse.
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading “The electric drill ought to be working by this time.”
Chapter 19 of Following a Chance Clew by Nicholas (House name) Carter 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 19 holds 110 sentences of Following a Chance Clew, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Following a Chance Clew by Nicholas (House name) Carter 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 19 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.
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