Chapter XVII of Mystery of the Chinese Ring, “A Red Hot Lead,” is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVII of Mystery of the Chinese Ring, “A Red Hot Lead,” is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka. All were tired. The going in the dark was rough. But Biff was determined to reach the town before they halted. “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
Chapter XVII of Mystery of the Chinese Ring, “A Red Hot Lead,” is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
(boxing) a blow with the fist
From this reading “Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.”
characterized by great determination
From this reading “But Biff was determined to reach the town before they halted.”
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading ““Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.””
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading “But Biff was determined to reach the town before they halted.”
an opening into or through something
From this reading ““Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.””
plural of “muscle” — one of the contractile organs of the body
From this reading “Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.”
inflected form of “overtake” — catch up with and possibly overtake
From this reading “Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.”
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading “The going in the dark was rough.”
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 “The going in the dark was rough.”
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.
(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 were tired.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.
(boxing) a blow with the fist
From this reading Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But Biff was determined to reach the town before they halted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading The going in the dark was rough.
characterized by great determination
From this reading But Biff was determined to reach the town before they halted.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
the act of departing
From this reading The going in the dark was rough.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading But Biff was determined to reach the town before they halted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
an opening into or through something
From this reading “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The going in the dark was rough.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.
plural of “muscle” — one of the contractile organs of the body
From this reading Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.
inflected form of “overtake” — catch up with and possibly overtake
From this reading Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.
reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading But Biff was determined to reach the town before they halted.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading The going in the dark was rough.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The going in the dark was rough.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Night overtook Biff, Chuba, and Muscles before they reached Jaraminka.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading All were tired.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But Biff was determined to reach the town before they halted.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading But Biff was determined to reach the town before they halted.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The going in the dark was rough.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Another hour,” Biff said, “and if we haven’t gotten there, we’ll hole in for the night.”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading All were tired.
Chapter 17 of Mystery of the Chinese Ring by Andy Adams holds 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 17 holds 222 sentences of Mystery of the Chinese Ring, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Mystery of the Chinese Ring by Andy Adams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 17 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 Mystery of the Chinese Ring by Andy Adams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4215 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51608 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51608, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 351 minutes of reading across 843 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mystery of the Chinese Ring section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Mystery of the Chinese Ring 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 Mystery of the Chinese Ring, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
