Chapter 4 of Signal in the Dark is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Signal in the Dark is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher. "A deep sea diver!" he exclaimed. "Well, that's different!" Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck. He bent down to read what was engraved on it.
Chapter 4 of Signal in the Dark is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
with dexterity; in a dexterous manner
From this reading “Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.”
sound recording consisting of a disk with a continuous groove; used to reproduce music by rotating while a phonograph needle tracks in the groove
From this reading “Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.”
someone who works underwater
From this reading “"A deep sea diver!" he exclaimed.”
past form of “encounter” — come together
From this reading “Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.”
cut or impressed into a surface
From this reading “He bent down to read what was engraved on it.”
straightened out
From this reading “Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.”
a member of a police force
From this reading “The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.”
a wooden framework on which canvas is stretched and fixed for oil painting
From this reading “The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.”
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 “The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.”
In this reading “The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.”
In this reading “"A deep sea diver!" he exclaimed.”
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 "A deep sea diver!" he exclaimed.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading He bent down to read what was engraved on it.
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading "A deep sea diver!" he exclaimed.
with dexterity; in a dexterous manner
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading "Well, that's different!"
sound recording consisting of a disk with a continuous groove; used to reproduce music by rotating while a phonograph needle tracks in the groove
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
someone who works underwater
From this reading "A deep sea diver!" he exclaimed.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
past form of “encounter” — come together
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
cut or impressed into a surface
From this reading He bent down to read what was engraved on it.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "A deep sea diver!" he exclaimed.
firmly closed or secured
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "A deep sea diver!" he exclaimed.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He bent down to read what was engraved on it.
straightened out
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
on one occasion
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
a member of a police force
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading He bent down to read what was engraved on it.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading "A deep sea diver!" he exclaimed.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
a wooden framework on which canvas is stretched and fixed for oil painting
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
a lightweight cord
From this reading Deftly he loosened the man's collar, and at once his hand encountered a small disc of metal fastened on a string about his neck.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, that's different!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He bent down to read what was engraved on it.
not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead
From this reading The policeman stared at Penny and then down at the unconscious man on the stretcher.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He bent down to read what was engraved on it.
(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's different!"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He bent down to read what was engraved on it.
Chapter 4 of Signal in the Dark by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 4 holds 424 sentences of Signal in the Dark, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Signal in the Dark by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 4 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 Signal in the Dark by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3785 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34850 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34850, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 315 minutes of reading across 757 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Signal in the Dark section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Signal in the Dark 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 Signal in the Dark, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
