Chapter 12 of The Great Diamond Syndicate is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Great Diamond Syndicate is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A STARTLING DISCOVERY. The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air. He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case. The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked: “You have been on duty all night?”
Chapter 12 of The Great Diamond Syndicate is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.”
lifting device consisting of a platform or cage that is raised and lowered mechanically in a vertical shaft in order to move people from one floor to another in a building
From this reading “The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked:”
-ing form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading “He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.”
unwillingness to do something contrary to your custom
From this reading “He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.”
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading “The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked:”
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
From this reading “He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.”
emotionally hurt or upset or annoyed
From this reading “The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.”
so remarkably different or sudden as to cause momentary shock or alarm
From this reading “A STARTLING DISCOVERY.”
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 “A STARTLING DISCOVERY.”
a man employed to operate an elevator
In this reading “The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked:”
In this reading “He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.”
In this reading ““You have been on duty all night?””
pass out from weakness, physical or emotional distress due to a loss of blood supply to the brain
In this reading “The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.”
In this reading ““You have been on duty all night?””
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 A STARTLING DISCOVERY.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.
(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 “You have been on duty all night?”
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked:
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked:
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked:
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “You have been on duty all night?”
a youthful male person
From this reading The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked:
an occurrence of something
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
the act of discovering something
From this reading A STARTLING DISCOVERY.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading “You have been on duty all night?”
lifting device consisting of a platform or cage that is raised and lowered mechanically in a vertical shaft in order to move people from one floor to another in a building
From this reading The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked:
-ing form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “You have been on duty all night?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
go away from a place
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
unwillingness to do something contrary to your custom
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked:
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked:
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “You have been on duty all night?”
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.
emotionally hurt or upset or annoyed
From this reading The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “You have been on duty all night?”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
in the near future
From this reading The elevator boy soon made his appearance, and Nick asked:
so remarkably different or sudden as to cause momentary shock or alarm
From this reading A STARTLING DISCOVERY.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The clerk passed out of the room with an offended air.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading He was loath to leave the presence of the great detective without gaining some notion as to his course of action in the murder case.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You have been on duty all night?”
Chapter 12 of The Great Diamond Syndicate by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 118 sentences, grouped into 24 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 12 holds 118 sentences of The Great Diamond Syndicate, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Great Diamond Syndicate by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 118 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 12 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 Great Diamond Syndicate by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4246 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63340 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63340, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 353 minutes of reading across 850 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Great Diamond Syndicate section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Great Diamond Syndicate 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 Great Diamond Syndicate, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
