Chapter 9 of The Cry at Midnight is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Cry at Midnight is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Jay Highland pounded hard after her. As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards. Penny fought like a tiger to free herself. Together they stumbled and rolled down the wide stones to the floor of the crypt. There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
Chapter 9 of The Cry at Midnight is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading “As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.”
having the shape or form of a circle
From this reading “As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.”
An underground room or vault beneath an ancient building, often used for storage or burials.
From this reading “Together they stumbled and rolled down the wide stones to the floor of the crypt.”
elevated (e.g., mountainous) land
From this reading “Jay Highland pounded hard after her.”
United States diplomat and jurist who negotiated peace treaties with Britain and served as the first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1745-1829)
From this reading “Jay Highland pounded hard after her.”
past form of “near” — move towards
From this reading “As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.”
past form of “pound” — hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument
From this reading “Jay Highland pounded hard after her.”
plural of “rib” — support resembling the rib of an animal
From this reading “There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.”
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 “Penny fought like a tiger to free herself.”
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 Penny fought like a tiger to free herself.
later than; following
From this reading Jay Highland pounded hard after her.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
having the shape or form of a circle
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
An underground room or vault beneath an ancient building, often used for storage or burials.
From this reading Together they stumbled and rolled down the wide stones to the floor of the crypt.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Together they stumbled and rolled down the wide stones to the floor of the crypt.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading Together they stumbled and rolled down the wide stones to the floor of the crypt.
inflected form of “fight” — be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading Penny fought like a tiger to free herself.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading Penny fought like a tiger to free herself.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Jay Highland pounded hard after her.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Jay Highland pounded hard after her.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Penny fought like a tiger to free herself.
elevated (e.g., mountainous) land
From this reading Jay Highland pounded hard after her.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
United States diplomat and jurist who negotiated peace treaties with Britain and served as the first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1745-1829)
From this reading Jay Highland pounded hard after her.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Penny fought like a tiger to free herself.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
past form of “near” — move towards
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading Penny fought like a tiger to free herself.
past form of “pound” — hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument
From this reading Jay Highland pounded hard after her.
compacted by ironing
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
plural of “rib” — support resembling the rib of an animal
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward
From this reading Together they stumbled and rolled down the wide stones to the floor of the crypt.
past form of “seize” — take hold of; grab
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
plural of “stone” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading Together they stumbled and rolled down the wide stones to the floor of the crypt.
past form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading Together they stumbled and rolled down the wide stones to the floor of the crypt.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Together they stumbled and rolled down the wide stones to the floor of the crypt.
a fierce or audacious person
From this reading Penny fought like a tiger to free herself.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Penny fought like a tiger to free herself.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Together they stumbled and rolled down the wide stones to the floor of the crypt.
the upper part of anything
From this reading As she neared the top of the circular steps, he seized her arm and pulled her backwards.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There the man pressed his revolver hard into the girl's ribs, and she knew the game was up.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading Together they stumbled and rolled down the wide stones to the floor of the crypt.
Chapter 9 of The Cry at Midnight by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 9 holds 427 sentences of The Cry at Midnight, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Cry at Midnight by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 9 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 Cry at Midnight by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3881 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34441 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34441, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 323 minutes of reading across 777 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Cry at Midnight section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Cry at Midnight 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 Cry at Midnight, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
