Chapter 31 of Out of a Labyrinth is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Out of a Labyrinth is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
JOHNNY LA PORTE IS BROUGHT TO BOOK. That is how Miss Amy Holmes was brought to judgment. I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses. The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed. My pretended knowledge of her past history had served my purpose.
Chapter 31 of Out of a Labyrinth is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
past form of “brandish” — move or swing back and forth
From this reading “The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.”
past form of “extract” — remove, usually with some force or effort; also used in an abstract sense
From this reading “I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.”
the Ottoman court in Constantinople
From this reading “JOHNNY LA PORTE IS BROUGHT TO BOOK.”
plural of “pretense” — the act of giving a false appearance
From this reading “I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.”
tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites
From this reading “The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.”
a maneuver in a game or conversation
From this reading “I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.”
plural of “straw” — plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
From this reading “The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.”
past form of “suffice” — be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity
From this reading “The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.”
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 “My pretended knowledge of her past history had served my purpose.”
In this reading “I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.”
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 The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That is how Miss Amy Holmes was brought to judgment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading JOHNNY LA PORTE IS BROUGHT TO BOOK.
past form of “brandish” — move or swing back and forth
From this reading The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading JOHNNY LA PORTE IS BROUGHT TO BOOK.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
past form of “extract” — remove, usually with some force or effort; also used in an abstract sense
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
not in accordance with the fact or reality or actuality
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
the aggregate of past events
From this reading My pretended knowledge of her past history had served my purpose.
a fictitious detective in stories by A. Conan Doyle
From this reading That is how Miss Amy Holmes was brought to judgment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That is how Miss Amy Holmes was brought to judgment.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading JOHNNY LA PORTE IS BROUGHT TO BOOK.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading JOHNNY LA PORTE IS BROUGHT TO BOOK.
an opinion formed by judging something
From this reading That is how Miss Amy Holmes was brought to judgment.
the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
From this reading My pretended knowledge of her past history had served my purpose.
a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading JOHNNY LA PORTE IS BROUGHT TO BOOK.
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading That is how Miss Amy Holmes was brought to judgment.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My pretended knowledge of her past history had served my purpose.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading My pretended knowledge of her past history had served my purpose.
the Ottoman court in Constantinople
From this reading JOHNNY LA PORTE IS BROUGHT TO BOOK.
adopted in order to deceive
From this reading My pretended knowledge of her past history had served my purpose.
plural of “pretense” — the act of giving a false appearance
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading My pretended knowledge of her past history had served my purpose.
tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites
From this reading The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.
past form of “serve” — serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading My pretended knowledge of her past history had served my purpose.
a maneuver in a game or conversation
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
plural of “straw” — plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
From this reading The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.
past form of “suffice” — be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity
From this reading The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That is how Miss Amy Holmes was brought to judgment.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading JOHNNY LA PORTE IS BROUGHT TO BOOK.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading I had managed her by stratagem, and extracted the truth from her under false pretenses.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That is how Miss Amy Holmes was brought to judgment.
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
From this reading The weapon that I brandished above her head was a reed of straws, but it sufficed.
Chapter 31 of Out of a Labyrinth by Lawrence L. Lynch holds 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 31 holds 96 sentences of Out of a Labyrinth, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Out of a Labyrinth by Lawrence L. Lynch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 31 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 Out of a Labyrinth by Lawrence L. Lynch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5044 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38888 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38888, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 420 minutes of reading across 1009 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Out of a Labyrinth section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Out of a Labyrinth 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 Out of a Labyrinth, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
