Chapter 2 of Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty. He looked quickly up and down the village street. Walter Crocker was nowhere to be seen. "Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented. "We weren't inside the real estate office five minutes."
Chapter 2 of Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
Christian martyr and patron saint of travellers (3rd century)
From this reading “Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.”
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading “"Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “"Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.”
the act of leaving secretly or without explanation
From this reading “"Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.”
an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal
From this reading “Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.”
an insignificant place
From this reading “Walter Crocker was nowhere to be seen.”
make a low noise
From this reading “Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.”
characterized by speed; moving with or capable of moving with high speed
From this reading “"Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.”
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 “"We weren't inside the real estate office five minutes."”
property consisting of houses and land
In this reading “"We weren't inside the real estate office five minutes."”
In this reading “He looked quickly up and down the village street.”
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 Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading "Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He looked quickly up and down the village street.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Walter Crocker was nowhere to be seen.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.
Christian martyr and patron saint of travellers (3rd century)
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading "Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Walter Crocker was nowhere to be seen.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading "Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.
the act of leaving secretly or without explanation
From this reading "Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He looked quickly up and down the village street.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
everything you own; all of your assets (whether real property or personal property) and liabilities
From this reading "We weren't inside the real estate office five minutes."
a boy or man
From this reading "Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading "We weren't inside the real estate office five minutes."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked quickly up and down the village street.
an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading "We weren't inside the real estate office five minutes."
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked quickly up and down the village street.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading "We weren't inside the real estate office five minutes."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
an insignificant place
From this reading Walter Crocker was nowhere to be seen.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading "We weren't inside the real estate office five minutes."
with speed
From this reading He looked quickly up and down the village street.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading "We weren't inside the real estate office five minutes."
make a low noise
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
cut with a saw
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Walter Crocker was nowhere to be seen.
characterized by speed; moving with or capable of moving with high speed
From this reading "Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading He looked quickly up and down the village street.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Walter Crocker was nowhere to be seen.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He looked quickly up and down the village street.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading He looked quickly up and down the village street.
German conductor (1876-1962)
From this reading Walter Crocker was nowhere to be seen.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Helping a Stranger Christopher Nichols saw for himself that the rumble seat was empty.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We weren't inside the real estate office five minutes."
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, that fellow certainly did a speedy disappearing act," the detective commented.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We weren't inside the real estate office five minutes."
Chapter 2 of Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery by Joan Clark holds 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 2 holds 199 sentences of Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery by Joan Clark exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 2 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 Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery by Joan Clark on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3381 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33383 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33383, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 281 minutes of reading across 677 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery 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 Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
