Chapter 14 of Shadow, the Mysterious Detective is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Shadow, the Mysterious Detective is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN A BAD BOX. Shadow was in a fix. And it was a fix as bad as it was strange. The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up. Retreat was now an impossibility.
Chapter 14 of Shadow, the Mysterious Detective is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
the act of closing something
From this reading “The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.”
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading “Shadow was in a fix.”
incapability of existing or occurring
From this reading “Retreat was now an impossibility.”
the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up
From this reading “The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.”
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading “The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.”
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading “The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.”
(military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat
From this reading “Retreat was now an impossibility.”
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading “The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.”
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 IN A BAD BOX.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Retreat was now an impossibility.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And it was a fix as bad as it was strange.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading And it was a fix as bad as it was strange.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading IN A BAD BOX.
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading IN A BAD BOX.
the act of closing something
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading Shadow was in a fix.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
incapability of existing or occurring
From this reading Retreat was now an impossibility.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN A BAD BOX.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading And it was a fix as bad as it was strange.
the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Retreat was now an impossibility.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
(military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat
From this reading Retreat was now an impossibility.
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading Shadow was in a fix.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading And it was a fix as bad as it was strange.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Shadow was in a fix.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The pile of old junk through which the passage ran had settled down, closing it up.
Chapter 14 of Shadow, the Mysterious Detective by Police Captain Howard holds 65 sentences, grouped into 13 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 14 holds 65 sentences of Shadow, the Mysterious Detective, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Shadow, the Mysterious Detective by Police Captain Howard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 65 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 14 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 Shadow, the Mysterious Detective by Police Captain Howard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2482 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45455 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45455, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 206 minutes of reading across 497 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shadow, the Mysterious Detective section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Shadow, the Mysterious Detective 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 Shadow, the Mysterious Detective, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
