Chapter 23 of The Four Faces: A Mystery is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Four Faces: A Mystery is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me. The light before my eyes vanished. Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet. There was an instant's stillness. Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.
Chapter 23 of The Four Faces: A Mystery is here in full — 226 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 “collapse” — break down, literally or metaphorically
From this reading “Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.”
the residue that remains after animal fat has been rendered
From this reading “Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.”
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading “Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.”
the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing)
From this reading “Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.”
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading “IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.”
past form of “lurch” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading “Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.”
(poetic) tranquil silence
From this reading “There was an instant's stillness.”
the brush (small trees and bushes and ferns etc.) growing beneath taller trees in a wood or forest
From this reading “Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.”
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 IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading There was an instant's stillness.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The light before my eyes vanished.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
past form of “collapse” — break down, literally or metaphorically
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.
the residue that remains after animal fat has been rendered
From this reading Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The light before my eyes vanished.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was an instant's stillness.
and nothing more
From this reading IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.
the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing)
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading The light before my eyes vanished.
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.
past form of “lurch” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading The light before my eyes vanished.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
(poetic) tranquil silence
From this reading There was an instant's stillness.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading IN STRANGE COMPANY A load report rang out just behind me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The light before my eyes vanished.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was an instant's stillness.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
the brush (small trees and bushes and ferns etc.) growing beneath taller trees in a wood or forest
From this reading Now footsteps could be heard crackling forward through the undergrowth.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Something lurched up against my chest, knocking the breath out of me, then collapsed in a heap on to the ground at my feet.
having passed out of existence
From this reading The light before my eyes vanished.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was an instant's stillness.
Chapter 23 of The Four Faces: A Mystery by William Le Queux holds 226 sentences, grouped into 46 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 23 holds 226 sentences of The Four Faces: A Mystery, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Four Faces: A Mystery by William Le Queux exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 226 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 23 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 Four Faces: A Mystery by William Le Queux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5194 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9795 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9795, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 432 minutes of reading across 1039 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Four Faces: A Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Four Faces: A Mystery 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 Four Faces: A Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
