Chapter 23 of Frank Merriwell's Alarm is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Frank Merriwell's Alarm is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A KNOCK ON THE DOOR. The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm. "Quick, Drew!" she whispered. "Is the door fastened?" "Yes!" quavered the old man.
Chapter 23 of Frank Merriwell's Alarm is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.”
firmly closed or secured
From this reading “"Is the door fastened?"”
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “A KNOCK ON THE DOOR.”
past form of “quaver” — give off unsteady sounds, alternating in amplitude or frequency
From this reading “"Yes!" quavered the old man.”
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading “"Quick, Drew!" she whispered.”
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading “The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.”
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “"Quick, Drew!" she whispered.”
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.
a man who is very old
In this reading “The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.”
In this reading “The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.”
(rugby) knocking the ball forward while trying to catch it (a foul)
In this reading “A KNOCK ON THE DOOR.”
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 KNOCK ON THE DOOR.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading A KNOCK ON THE DOOR.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading "Quick, Drew!" she whispered.
firmly closed or secured
From this reading "Is the door fastened?"
a young female
From this reading The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is the door fastened?"
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading A KNOCK ON THE DOOR.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A KNOCK ON THE DOOR.
past form of “quaver” — give off unsteady sounds, alternating in amplitude or frequency
From this reading "Yes!" quavered the old man.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading "Quick, Drew!" she whispered.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Quick, Drew!" she whispered.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading The old man looked startled, and the girl showed signs of alarm.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A KNOCK ON THE DOOR.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "Quick, Drew!" she whispered.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes!" quavered the old man.
Chapter 23 of Frank Merriwell's Alarm by Burt L. Standish holds 172 sentences, grouped into 35 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 23 holds 172 sentences of Frank Merriwell's Alarm, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Frank Merriwell's Alarm by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 172 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 23 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 Frank Merriwell's Alarm by Burt L. Standish on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4186 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38429 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38429, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 348 minutes of reading across 838 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Frank Merriwell's Alarm section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Frank Merriwell's Alarm 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 Frank Merriwell's Alarm, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
