Chapter 23 of The Brand of Silence: A Detective Story is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Brand of Silence: A Detective Story is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk. "Some pair of chickens!" Murk said. "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense. I'm strong for her!"
Chapter 23 of The Brand of Silence: A Detective Story is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
plural of “chicken” — the flesh of a chicken used for food
From this reading “"Some pair of chickens!"”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.”
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading “"That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.”
plural of “method” — a way of doing something, especially a systematic way; implies an orderly logical arrangement (usually in steps)
From this reading “HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.”
an atmosphere in which visibility is reduced because of a cloud of some substance
From this reading “HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.”
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading “"Some pair of chickens!"”
English poet (1554-1586)
From this reading “HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.”
the physical magnitude of something (how big it is)
From this reading “"That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.”
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 HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
have
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
plural of “chicken” — the flesh of a chicken used for food
From this reading "Some pair of chickens!"
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
a young female
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I'm strong for her!"
given to haughty disregard of others
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm strong for her!"
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
plural of “method” — a way of doing something, especially a systematic way; implies an orderly logical arrangement (usually in steps)
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
an atmosphere in which visibility is reduced because of a cloud of some substance
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Some pair of chickens!"
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading "Some pair of chickens!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Murk said.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
English poet (1554-1586)
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
the physical magnitude of something (how big it is)
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "Some pair of chickens!"
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading I'm strong for her!"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That Marie girl may be a bear for size and strength, but she's got a lot of good common sense.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading HIGH-HANDED METHODS Sidney Prale closed the door and turned around to face a grinning Murk.
Chapter 23 of The Brand of Silence: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley holds 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 23 holds 150 sentences of The Brand of Silence: A Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Brand of Silence: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 23 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 Brand of Silence: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4566 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21891 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21891, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 380 minutes of reading across 914 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Brand of Silence: A Detective Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Brand of Silence: 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 Brand of Silence: A Detective Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
