Chapter 14 of The Layton Court mystery is here in full — 263 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Layton Court mystery is here in full — 263 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mr. Sheringham Investigates a Footprint “Show me _what_?” Alec exclaimed, bounding out of his chair. “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice. “It’s extraordinarily simple, really. That’s why we never spotted it.
Chapter 14 of The Layton Court mystery is here in full — 263 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/52 · 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 person who helps another commit a daring crime or secret scheme.
From this reading ““How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.”
-ing form of “bound” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Alec exclaimed, bounding out of his chair.”
extremely
From this reading ““It’s extraordinarily simple, really.”
a mark of a foot or shoe on a surface
From this reading “Mr. Sheringham Investigates a Footprint “Show me _what_?””
in a joyous manner
From this reading ““How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.”
third-person singular of “investigate” — investigate scientifically
From this reading “Mr. Sheringham Investigates a Footprint “Show me _what_?””
a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
From this reading ““How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.”
having spots or patches (small areas of contrasting color or texture)
From this reading “That’s why we never spotted it.”
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.
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 Mr. Sheringham Investigates a Footprint “Show me _what_?”
A person who helps another commit a daring crime or secret scheme.
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alec exclaimed, bounding out of his chair.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
-ing form of “bound” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Alec exclaimed, bounding out of his chair.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading Alec exclaimed, bounding out of his chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading Alec exclaimed, bounding out of his chair.
extremely
From this reading “It’s extraordinarily simple, really.
a mark of a foot or shoe on a surface
From this reading Mr. Sheringham Investigates a Footprint “Show me _what_?”
in a joyous manner
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Alec exclaimed, bounding out of his chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
third-person singular of “investigate” — investigate scientifically
From this reading Mr. Sheringham Investigates a Footprint “Show me _what_?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading That’s why we never spotted it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It’s extraordinarily simple, really.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mr. Sheringham Investigates a Footprint “Show me _what_?”
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Sheringham Investigates a Footprint “Show me _what_?”
a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading That’s why we never spotted it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Alec exclaimed, bounding out of his chair.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Alec exclaimed, bounding out of his chair.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “It’s extraordinarily simple, really.
recurring again and again
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Sheringham Investigates a Footprint “Show me _what_?”
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Mr. Sheringham Investigates a Footprint “Show me _what_?”
having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved
From this reading “It’s extraordinarily simple, really.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
having spots or patches (small areas of contrasting color or texture)
From this reading That’s why we never spotted it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That’s why we never spotted it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading “How the murderer escaped,” Roger repeated, turning and smiling happily at his dumb-founded accomplice.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading That’s why we never spotted it.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Mr. Sheringham Investigates a Footprint “Show me _what_?”
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading That’s why we never spotted it.
Chapter 14 of The Layton Court mystery by Anthony Berkeley holds 263 sentences, grouped into 53 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 14 holds 263 sentences of The Layton Court mystery, unabridged, divided into 53 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Layton Court mystery by Anthony Berkeley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 263 sentences, grouped into 53 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 53 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 53 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 14 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 Layton Court mystery by Anthony Berkeley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6394 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72883 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72883, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 532 minutes of reading across 1279 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Layton Court mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Layton Court 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 Layton Court mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
