Chapter 18 of The Crime Club is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Crime Club is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver. This little piece of play-acting cost him dear. As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket. But Westerham was first, and covered him in an instant. “Put up your hands!” he ordered.
Chapter 18 of The Crime Club is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading “AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.”
the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
From this reading “This little piece of play-acting cost him dear.”
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading “But Westerham was first, and covered him in an instant.”
the domain ruled by an emperor or empress; the region over which imperial dominion is exercised
From this reading “AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.”
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading ““Put up your hands!” he ordered.”
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading “AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.”
inflected form of “rob” — take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading “AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket.”
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.
place so as to be noticed
In this reading ““Put up your hands!” he ordered.”
place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape
In this reading “AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.”
In this reading “This little piece of play-acting cost him dear.”
In this reading “But Westerham was first, and covered him in an instant.”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading But Westerham was first, and covered him in an instant.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But Westerham was first, and covered him in an instant.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But Westerham was first, and covered him in an instant.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket.
lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
From this reading This little piece of play-acting cost him dear.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading But Westerham was first, and covered him in an instant.
dearly loved
From this reading This little piece of play-acting cost him dear.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket.
the domain ruled by an emperor or empress; the region over which imperial dominion is exercised
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading But Westerham was first, and covered him in an instant.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading “Put up your hands!” he ordered.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading This little piece of play-acting cost him dear.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But Westerham was first, and covered him in an instant.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading But Westerham was first, and covered him in an instant.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading This little piece of play-acting cost him dear.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This little piece of play-acting cost him dear.
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading “Put up your hands!” he ordered.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
a separate part of a whole
From this reading This little piece of play-acting cost him dear.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This little piece of play-acting cost him dear.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
inflected form of “rob” — take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
cut with a saw
From this reading As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This little piece of play-acting cost him dear.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “Put up your hands!” he ordered.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading AT THE EMPIRE The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Put up your hands!” he ordered.
Chapter 18 of The Crime Club by W. (William) Holt-White holds 273 sentences, grouped into 55 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 18 holds 273 sentences of The Crime Club, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Crime Club by W. (William) Holt-White exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 273 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 18 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 Crime Club by W. (William) Holt-White on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4978 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46566 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46566, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 414 minutes of reading across 996 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crime Club section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Crime Club 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 Crime Club, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
