Chapter 26 of The Crime of the French Café and Other is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of The Crime of the French Café and Other is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE LAST LINK IN THE CHAIN. Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart. Chick was bound and gagged. This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way. Cautiously Chick lifted an eyelid.
Chapter 26 of The Crime of the French Café and Other is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading “Cautiously Chick lifted an eyelid.”
a series of things depending on each other as if linked together
From this reading “THE LAST LINK IN THE CHAIN.”
young bird especially of domestic fowl
From this reading “Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.”
either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading “Cautiously Chick lifted an eyelid.”
inflected form of “gag” — prevent from speaking out
From this reading “Chick was bound and gagged.”
make a logical or causal connection
From this reading “THE LAST LINK IN THE CHAIN.”
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading “Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.”
possessive form of “nick” — an impression in a surface (as made by a blow)
From this reading “Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.”
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 Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Cautiously Chick lifted an eyelid.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Chick was bound and gagged.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
(sometimes followed by “of”) having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
confined by bonds
From this reading Chick was bound and gagged.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading Cautiously Chick lifted an eyelid.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
a series of things depending on each other as if linked together
From this reading THE LAST LINK IN THE CHAIN.
young bird especially of domestic fowl
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading Cautiously Chick lifted an eyelid.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
inflected form of “gag” — prevent from speaking out
From this reading Chick was bound and gagged.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE LAST LINK IN THE CHAIN.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
immediately past
From this reading THE LAST LINK IN THE CHAIN.
take somebody somewhere
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
held up in the air
From this reading Cautiously Chick lifted an eyelid.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
make a logical or causal connection
From this reading THE LAST LINK IN THE CHAIN.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
engage in
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
possessive form of “nick” — an impression in a surface (as made by a blow)
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
not any; not one
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE LAST LINK IN THE CHAIN.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Chick was bound and gagged.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way.
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart.
Chapter 26 of The Crime of the French Café and Other by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 26 holds 131 sentences of The Crime of the French Café and Other, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of The Crime of the French Café and Other by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 26 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 of the French Café and Other by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4158 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11989 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11989, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 346 minutes of reading across 832 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crime of the French Café and Other section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Crime of the French Café and Other 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 of the French Café and Other, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
