Chapter 12 of Murder in the Gunroom is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Murder in the Gunroom is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Rand found Gladys alone in the library. As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips. "There's a perfect hell of a mess," he whispered. "Somebody murdered Arnold Rivers last night." She looked at him in horror.
Chapter 12 of Murder in the Gunroom is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
English poet and literary critic (1822-1888)
From this reading “"Somebody murdered Arnold Rivers last night."”
-ing form of “gesture” — show, express or direct through movement
From this reading “As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.”
express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading “As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.”
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading “"There's a perfect hell of a mess," he whispered.”
a state of confusion and disorderliness
From this reading “"There's a perfect hell of a mess," he whispered.”
killed unlawfully
From this reading “"Somebody murdered Arnold Rivers last night."”
the basic unit of money in South Africa; equal to 100 cents
From this reading “Rand found Gladys alone in the library.”
plural of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading “"Somebody murdered Arnold Rivers last night."”
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 "There's a perfect hell of a mess," he whispered.
Having no one else present.
From this reading Rand found Gladys alone in the library.
English poet and literary critic (1822-1888)
From this reading "Somebody murdered Arnold Rivers last night."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She looked at him in horror.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
set up or found
From this reading Rand found Gladys alone in the library.
-ing form of “gesture” — show, express or direct through movement
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rand found Gladys alone in the library.
express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading "There's a perfect hell of a mess," he whispered.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
intense and profound fear
From this reading She looked at him in horror.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Rand found Gladys alone in the library.
immediately past
From this reading "Somebody murdered Arnold Rivers last night."
a room where books are kept
From this reading Rand found Gladys alone in the library.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She looked at him in horror.
a state of confusion and disorderliness
From this reading "There's a perfect hell of a mess," he whispered.
killed unlawfully
From this reading "Somebody murdered Arnold Rivers last night."
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading "Somebody murdered Arnold Rivers last night."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "There's a perfect hell of a mess," he whispered.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
From this reading "There's a perfect hell of a mess," he whispered.
the basic unit of money in South Africa; equal to 100 cents
From this reading Rand found Gladys alone in the library.
plural of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading "Somebody murdered Arnold Rivers last night."
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
a person, without saying who
From this reading "Somebody murdered Arnold Rivers last night."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Rand found Gladys alone in the library.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There's a perfect hell of a mess," he whispered.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "There's a perfect hell of a mess," he whispered.
in the company of; together with
From this reading As she rose to greet him, he came close to her, gesturing for silence with finger on lips.
Chapter 12 of Murder in the Gunroom by H. Beam Piper holds 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 12 holds 201 sentences of Murder in the Gunroom, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Murder in the Gunroom by H. Beam Piper exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 12 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 Murder in the Gunroom by H. Beam Piper on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4716 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17866 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17866, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 393 minutes of reading across 944 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Murder in the Gunroom section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Murder in the Gunroom 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 Murder in the Gunroom, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
