Chapter XII of The Black Star: A Detective Story, “At the Charity Ball,” is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter XII of The Black Star: A Detective Story, “At the Charity Ball,” is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall. “Boss! Boss!” he hissed. Verbeck was just recoiling from the outer door. He closed it as noiselessly as he could and hurried back.
Chapter XII of The Black Star: A Detective Story, “At the Charity Ball,” is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading ““Boss!”
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading “He closed it as noiselessly as he could and hurried back.”
provided with whatever is necessary for a purpose (as furniture or equipment or authority)
From this reading “Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.”
past form of “hiss” — make a sharp hissing sound, as if to show disapproval
From this reading “Boss!” he hissed.”
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading “He closed it as noiselessly as he could and hurried back.”
past form of “jerk” — pull, or move with a sudden movement
From this reading “Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.”
being on the outside or further from a center
From this reading “Verbeck was just recoiling from the outer door.”
done under pressure
From this reading “Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.”
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 “Verbeck was just recoiling from the outer door.”
In this reading “Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.”
In this reading “Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.”
In this reading “Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He closed it as noiselessly as he could and hurried back.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He closed it as noiselessly as he could and hurried back.
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading “Boss!
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading He closed it as noiselessly as he could and hurried back.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He closed it as noiselessly as he could and hurried back.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Verbeck was just recoiling from the outer door.
provided with whatever is necessary for a purpose (as furniture or equipment or authority)
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Boss!” he hissed.
past form of “hiss” — make a sharp hissing sound, as if to show disapproval
From this reading Boss!” he hissed.
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading He closed it as noiselessly as he could and hurried back.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He closed it as noiselessly as he could and hurried back.
past form of “jerk” — pull, or move with a sudden movement
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
and nothing more
From this reading Verbeck was just recoiling from the outer door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
without a sound
From this reading He closed it as noiselessly as he could and hurried back.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
being on the outside or further from a center
From this reading Verbeck was just recoiling from the outer door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Verbeck was just recoiling from the outer door.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
done under pressure
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Muggs jerked open the door, rushed through the furnished room, and entered the hall.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Verbeck was just recoiling from the outer door.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Verbeck was just recoiling from the outer door.
Chapter 12 of The Black Star: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley holds 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 12 holds 165 sentences of The Black Star: A Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Black Star: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 12 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 Star: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4892 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35833 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35833, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 407 minutes of reading across 979 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Star: A Detective Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Black Star: A Detective Story 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 Star: A Detective Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
