Chapter 21 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly. “What's eating you, Wilkins?” he demanded. “Who got away? I couldn't get that tongue-tied bell-hop to tell me. Thought it was a fire.”
Chapter 21 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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 ““What's eating you, Wilkins?” he demanded.”
someone who is a detective
From this reading “With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.”
the act of consuming food
From this reading ““What's eating you, Wilkins?” he demanded.”
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.”
beyond belief or understanding
From this reading “With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading “With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.”
past form of “react” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading “With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.”
United States civil rights leader (1901-1981)
From this reading ““What's eating you, Wilkins?” he demanded.”
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 Thought it was a fire.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “Who got away?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I couldn't get that tongue-tied bell-hop to tell me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I couldn't get that tongue-tied bell-hop to tell me.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “What's eating you, Wilkins?” he demanded.
someone who is a detective
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
the act of consuming food
From this reading “What's eating you, Wilkins?” he demanded.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
start firing a weapon
From this reading Thought it was a fire.”
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I couldn't get that tongue-tied bell-hop to tell me.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Who got away?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “What's eating you, Wilkins?” he demanded.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I couldn't get that tongue-tied bell-hop to tell me.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
beyond belief or understanding
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Thought it was a fire.”
the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I couldn't get that tongue-tied bell-hop to tell me.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
past form of “react” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
express in words
From this reading I couldn't get that tongue-tied bell-hop to tell me.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Thought it was a fire.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I couldn't get that tongue-tied bell-hop to tell me.
unable to express yourself clearly or fluently
From this reading I couldn't get that tongue-tied bell-hop to tell me.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Thought it was a fire.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What's eating you, Wilkins?” he demanded.
which person or people
From this reading “Who got away?
United States civil rights leader (1901-1981)
From this reading “What's eating you, Wilkins?” he demanded.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
the words that are spoken
From this reading With the words, and the knowledge that in some incredible fashion Dick had made his escape, Bassett's mind reacted instantly.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What's eating you, Wilkins?” he demanded.
Chapter 21 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart holds 229 sentences, grouped into 46 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 229 sentences of The Breaking Point, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 229 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9105 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1601 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1601, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1821 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Breaking Point section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Breaking Point 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 Breaking Point, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
