Chapter 8 of Room 13 is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Room 13 is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault. The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels. One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.… He was alive. The train had passed.
Chapter 8 of Room 13 is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
any heavy material used to stabilize a ship or airship
From this reading “One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…”
separated at the joint
From this reading “The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.”
a hard kind of stone; a form of silica more opaque than chalcedony
From this reading “One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…”
single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance
From this reading “He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.”
past form of “rebound” — spring back; spring away from an impact
From this reading “The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.”
plural of “ribbon” — any long object resembling a thin line
From this reading “One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…”
resembling a sound of violent tearing as of something ripped apart or lightning splitting a tree
From this reading “One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…”
an acrobatic feat in which the feet roll over the head (either forward or backward) and return
From this reading “He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.”
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 “One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…”
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 He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
possessing life
From this reading He was alive.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
any heavy material used to stabilize a ship or airship
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.
a natural object that covers or envelops
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
separated at the joint
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
a hard kind of stone; a form of silica more opaque than chalcedony
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The train had passed.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance
From this reading He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading The train had passed.
past form of “rebound” — spring back; spring away from an impact
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
plural of “ribbon” — any long object resembling a thin line
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
resembling a sound of violent tearing as of something ripped apart or lightning splitting a tree
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral
From this reading He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.
plural of “sleeve” — the part of a garment that is attached at the armhole and that provides a cloth covering for the arm
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
inflected form of “slide” — move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
an acrobatic feat in which the feet roll over the head (either forward or backward) and return
From this reading He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
in the direction of
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
create by training and teaching
From this reading The train had passed.
move through by or as by digging
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He struck a layer of thick sand and turned a complete somersault.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was alive.
change directions as if revolving on a pivot
From this reading One wheel flicked him back against the wall, and he slid, his arms covering his face, the flint ballast of the road ripping his sleeves to ribbons.…
plural of “wheel” — a simple machine consisting of a circular frame with spokes (or a solid disc) that can rotate on a shaft or axle (as in vehicles or other machines)
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
the act of rotating in a circle or spiral
From this reading The wall of the tunnel caught and almost dislocated his arm, and he rebounded toward the whirling wheels.
Chapter 8 of Room 13 by Edgar Wallace holds 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 8 holds 77 sentences of Room 13, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Room 13 by Edgar Wallace exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 8 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 Room 13 by Edgar Wallace on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Room 13 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Room 13 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 Room 13, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
