Chapter XV of The Black Star: A Detective Story, “The Challenge,” is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter XV of The Black Star: A Detective Story, “The Challenge,” is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then: “What’s that?” Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief. “They let him escape, I’m telling you! How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
Chapter XV of The Black Star: A Detective Story, “The Challenge,” is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief.”
fill with distaste
From this reading “Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:”
the act of escaping physically
From this reading ““They let him escape, I’m telling you!”
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading “Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief.”
flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise
From this reading “Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:”
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
From this reading “Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:”
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief.”
disclosing unintentionally something concealed
From this reading ““They let him escape, I’m telling you!”
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.
temporarily
In this reading “Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:”
In this reading “How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!”
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 Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
(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 How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
a person who is in charge
From this reading Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief.
fill with distaste
From this reading Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
the act of escaping physically
From this reading “They let him escape, I’m telling you!
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise
From this reading Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “They let him escape, I’m telling you!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
characteristic of humanity
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “They let him escape, I’m telling you!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “They let him escape, I’m telling you!
a particular point in time
From this reading Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief.
except for; apart from
From this reading Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
From this reading Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief.
disclosing unintentionally something concealed
From this reading “They let him escape, I’m telling you!
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “What’s that?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How, in the name of all that’s human, they could do it is more than I can guess!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Silence for a moment, save for Muggs’ single gurgle of disgust, and then:
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “They let him escape, I’m telling you!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Roger Verbeck demanded, stepping forward and facing the chief.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What’s that?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “They let him escape, I’m telling you!
Chapter 15 of The Black Star: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley holds 160 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 15 holds 160 sentences of The Black Star: A Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Black Star: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 160 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 15 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.
