Chapter 3 of Hellflower is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Hellflower is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Aye-firm, Lancaster. Wait five." A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name. He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced man named Lawson. Farradyne came to the point.
Chapter 3 of Hellflower is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
called to public attention
From this reading “A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.”
an administrative unit of government
From this reading “A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.”
a town in southwestern Vermont
From this reading “A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.”
a city in northwestern England
From this reading “"Aye-firm, Lancaster.”
any cohesive unit such as a military company
From this reading “A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.”
a secretary whose main duty is to answer the telephone and receive visitors
From this reading “He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced man named Lawson.”
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.”
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.
an agency that makes inquiries for its clients
In this reading “A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.”
In this reading “A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.”
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 few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
called to public attention
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
an administrative unit of government
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Aye-firm, Lancaster.
a town in southwestern Vermont
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Farradyne came to the point.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Farradyne came to the point.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced man named Lawson.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading Wait five."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced man named Lawson.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
a city in northwestern England
From this reading "Aye-firm, Lancaster.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced man named Lawson.
engage in
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced man named Lawson.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
past form of “name” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced man named Lawson.
any cohesive unit such as a military company
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading Farradyne came to the point.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced man named Lawson.
a secretary whose main duty is to answer the telephone and receive visitors
From this reading He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced man named Lawson.
To recall to mind.
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced man named Lawson.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Wait five."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him remember the name.
Chapter 3 of Hellflower by George O. (George Oliver) Smith holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 3 holds 402 sentences of Hellflower, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Hellflower by George O. (George Oliver) Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 3 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 Hellflower by George O. (George Oliver) Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4825 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #69762 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #69762, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 402 minutes of reading across 965 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hellflower section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Hellflower 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 Hellflower, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
