Chapter 11 of The Dalehouse murder is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Dalehouse murder is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs. Not a sound had I made. Not a board had creaked. No movement or noise was anywhere in all the quiet house. Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.
Chapter 11 of The Dalehouse murder is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/71 · 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.
achieved or reached
From this reading “On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.”
floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
From this reading “On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.”
past form of “creak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading “Not a board had creaked.”
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading “Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.”
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading “On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.”
become much greater in intensity or size or amount
From this reading “Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.”
marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed
From this reading “On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.”
put down or press the foot, place the foot
From this reading “On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.”
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 “On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.”
place or press the foot on
In this reading “On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.”
In this reading “On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.”
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 On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading No movement or noise was anywhere in all the quiet house.
at or in or to any place
From this reading No movement or noise was anywhere in all the quiet house.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
achieved or reached
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading Not a board had creaked.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.
floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.
past form of “creak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading Not a board had creaked.
plural of “fear” — an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Not a sound had I made.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading No movement or noise was anywhere in all the quiet house.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading No movement or noise was anywhere in all the quiet house.
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Not a sound had I made.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
not in physical motion
From this reading Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading No movement or noise was anywhere in all the quiet house.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.
not any; not one
From this reading No movement or noise was anywhere in all the quiet house.
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading No movement or noise was anywhere in all the quiet house.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not a sound had I made.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading No movement or noise was anywhere in all the quiet house.
the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
become much greater in intensity or size or amount
From this reading Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Not a sound had I made.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then with a quick catch in my breath I halted, suddenly motionless, my fears redoubled.
put down or press the foot, place the foot
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading No movement or noise was anywhere in all the quiet house.
in the company of; together with
From this reading On the Landing at Midnight With quiet stealthy tread on the heavy carpet I attained a position half-way up the flight of stairs.
Chapter 11 of The Dalehouse murder by Francis Everton holds 355 sentences, grouped into 71 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 11 holds 355 sentences of The Dalehouse murder, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Dalehouse murder by Francis Everton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 355 sentences, grouped into 71 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 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 71 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 11 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 Dalehouse murder by Francis Everton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4525 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71374 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71374, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 377 minutes of reading across 905 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dalehouse murder section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of The Dalehouse murder 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 Dalehouse murder, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
