Chapter 16 of Secret Service is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Secret Service is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless. By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established. All that Arrelsford had seen Edith had seen. All that he knew, she knew. She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
Chapter 16 of Secret Service is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.”
in a clever manner
From this reading “She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.”
past form of “construct” — make by combining materials and parts
From this reading “She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.”
brought about or set up or accepted; especially long established
From this reading “By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.”
without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success
From this reading “LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.”
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading “She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.”
a solemn statement made under oath
From this reading “By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.”
plural of “witness” — someone who sees an event and reports what happened
From this reading “By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.”
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.
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 By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
(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 that Arrelsford had seen Edith had seen.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading All that Arrelsford had seen Edith had seen.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.
an occurrence of something
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
in a clever manner
From this reading She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
past form of “construct” — make by combining materials and parts
From this reading She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading All that Arrelsford had seen Edith had seen.
brought about or set up or accepted; especially long established
From this reading By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading All that Arrelsford had seen Edith had seen.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading All that he knew, she knew.
without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading All that he knew, she knew.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.
and nothing more
From this reading She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
plural of “piece” — a separate part of a whole
From this reading She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
have the will and intention to carry out some action
From this reading She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading All that Arrelsford had seen Edith had seen.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading All that he knew, she knew.
express in speech
From this reading She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
a solemn statement made under oath
From this reading By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading All that Arrelsford had seen Edith had seen.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
a special situation
From this reading By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading LOVE AND DUTY AT THE TOUCH Thorne’s case was now absolutely hopeless.
plural of “witness” — someone who sees an event and reports what happened
From this reading By the testimony of two witnesses a thing is established.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She had only to speak and the plan had failed; the cleverly constructed scheme would fall to pieces.
Chapter 16 of Secret Service by Cyrus Townsend Brady holds 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 16 holds 158 sentences of Secret Service, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Secret Service by Cyrus Townsend Brady exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 16 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 Secret Service by Cyrus Townsend Brady on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4406 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44659 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44659, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 367 minutes of reading across 882 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Secret Service section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Secret Service 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 Secret Service, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
