Chapter XXXVII of The Midnight Guest: A Detective Story, “The Whole Truth,” is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVII
Chapter XXXVII of The Midnight Guest: A Detective Story, “The Whole Truth,” is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Stevens stared helplessly at the speaker. He tried to speak, but his jaw dropped. He mumbled something that was quite impossible to understand. But, at the same time, he recognised the peril of his position. There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.
Chapter XXXVII of The Midnight Guest: A Detective Story, “The Whole Truth,” is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
From this reading “There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.”
in a helpless manner
From this reading “Stevens stared helplessly at the speaker.”
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading “He tried to speak, but his jaw dropped.”
past form of “mumble” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “He mumbled something that was quite impossible to understand.”
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading “But, at the same time, he recognised the peril of his position.”
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading “Stevens stared helplessly at the speaker.”
United States psychologist and psychophysicist who proposed Stevens' power law to replace Fechner's law (1906-1973)
From this reading “Stevens stared helplessly at the speaker.”
a slight but appreciable amount
From this reading “There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.”
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 “But, at the same time, he recognised the peril of his position.”
In this reading “He mumbled something that was quite impossible to understand.”
In this reading “Stevens stared helplessly at the speaker.”
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 There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Stevens stared helplessly at the speaker.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He tried to speak, but his jaw dropped.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading He tried to speak, but his jaw dropped.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
From this reading There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He tried to speak, but his jaw dropped.
in a helpless manner
From this reading Stevens stared helplessly at the speaker.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He tried to speak, but his jaw dropped.
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading He mumbled something that was quite impossible to understand.
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading He tried to speak, but his jaw dropped.
past form of “mumble” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading He mumbled something that was quite impossible to understand.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But, at the same time, he recognised the peril of his position.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading But, at the same time, he recognised the peril of his position.
the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading But, at the same time, he recognised the peril of his position.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading He mumbled something that was quite impossible to understand.
provided with a secure reputation
From this reading But, at the same time, he recognised the peril of his position.
Identical; not different.
From this reading But, at the same time, he recognised the peril of his position.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading He mumbled something that was quite impossible to understand.
express in speech
From this reading He tried to speak, but his jaw dropped.
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading Stevens stared helplessly at the speaker.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Stevens stared helplessly at the speaker.
United States psychologist and psychophysicist who proposed Stevens' power law to replace Fechner's law (1906-1973)
From this reading Stevens stared helplessly at the speaker.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He mumbled something that was quite impossible to understand.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Stevens stared helplessly at the speaker.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading But, at the same time, he recognised the peril of his position.
a slight but appreciable amount
From this reading There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He tried to speak, but his jaw dropped.
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading There was a ghastly green tinge on his face, his hand trembled.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading He tried to speak, but his jaw dropped.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading He mumbled something that was quite impossible to understand.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He mumbled something that was quite impossible to understand.
Chapter 37 of The Midnight Guest: A Detective Story by Fred M. (Fred Merrick) White holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 37 holds 148 sentences of The Midnight Guest: A Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 37 of The Midnight Guest: A Detective Story by Fred M. (Fred Merrick) White exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 37 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 Midnight Guest: A Detective Story by Fred M. (Fred Merrick) White on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6016 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56960 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56960, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 501 minutes of reading across 1204 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Midnight Guest: A Detective Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Midnight Guest: A Detective Story 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 Midnight Guest: A Detective Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
