Chapter 21 of The Black Star: A Detective Story is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Black Star: A Detective Story is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Follow the wire!” The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head. “We must decide instantly,” he said. “Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?” “Follow the wire!”
Chapter 21 of The Black Star: A Detective Story is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading ““Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?””
look forward to the probable occurrence of
From this reading ““Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?””
reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading ““We must decide instantly,” he said.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading ““We must decide instantly,” he said.”
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head.”
not known
From this reading “The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head.”
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading ““Follow the wire!””
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
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 ““Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?””
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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?”
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?”
look forward to the probable occurrence of
From this reading “Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?”
reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading “We must decide instantly,” he said.
to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading “Follow the wire!”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “We must decide instantly,” he said.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading “We must decide instantly,” he said.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “We must decide instantly,” he said.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading “Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?”
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?”
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “We must decide instantly,” he said.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “Shall we follow the wire or remain here and await an alarm?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Follow the wire!”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head.
not known
From this reading The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “We must decide instantly,” he said.
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “Follow the wire!”
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head.
the words that are spoken
From this reading The unknown woman’s words seemed to ring in Verbeck’s head.
Chapter 21 of The Black Star: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley holds 187 sentences, grouped into 38 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 21 holds 187 sentences of The Black Star: A Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Black Star: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 187 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 21 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.
