Chapter 3 of The black spaniel, and other stories is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The black spaniel, and other stories is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Vernon,” I said, “is it you?” No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within. Then the door was opened and Vernon stood before me. He looked greatly surprised. “You?” he said.
Chapter 3 of The black spaniel, and other stories is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
without deviation
From this reading “No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.”
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading “No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.”
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading “No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.”
to an extraordinary extent or degree
From this reading “He looked greatly surprised.”
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading “No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.”
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading “No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.”
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.”
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading “He looked greatly surprised.”
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 “He looked greatly surprised.”
In this reading “Then the door was opened and Vernon stood before me.”
get going or set in motion
In this reading “No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.”
cease to operate or cause to cease operating
In this reading “No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.”
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 No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Then the door was opened and Vernon stood before me.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
without deviation
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Then the door was opened and Vernon stood before me.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
to an extraordinary extent or degree
From this reading He looked greatly surprised.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked greatly surprised.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Vernon,” I said, “is it you?”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Vernon,” I said, “is it you?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Vernon,” I said, “is it you?”
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked greatly surprised.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then the door was opened and Vernon stood before me.
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
not any; not one
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Then the door was opened and Vernon stood before me.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Vernon,” I said, “is it you?”
cut with a saw
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Then the door was opened and Vernon stood before me.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading He looked greatly surprised.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then the door was opened and Vernon stood before me.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Vernon,” I said, “is it you?”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading No voice replied, but the window was shut down, and almost directly, through some glass above the hall-door, I saw a bright light start up, and I heard a faint movement within.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Vernon,” I said, “is it you?”
Chapter 3 of The black spaniel, and other stories by Robert Hichens holds 425 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 3 holds 425 sentences of The black spaniel, and other stories, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The black spaniel, and other stories by Robert Hichens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 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 3 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 The black spaniel, and other stories by Robert Hichens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6333 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76971 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76971, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 527 minutes of reading across 1267 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The black spaniel, and other stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The black spaniel, and other stories 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 The black spaniel, and other stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
