Chapter 1 of The Million Dollar Mystery is here in full — 22 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Million Dollar Mystery is here in full — 22 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC. _Published by arrangement with The Bobbs-Merrill Company_. The paper she had purloined was indeed blank .
Chapter 1 of The Million Dollar Mystery is here in full — 22 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/4 · 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.
the thing arranged or agreed to
From this reading “_Published by arrangement with The Bobbs-Merrill Company_.”
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.”
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading “The paper she had purloined was indeed blank .”
web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks
From this reading “AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.”
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading “AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.”
plural of “mask” — a covering to disguise or conceal the face
From this reading “AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.”
prepared and printed for distribution and sale
past form of “purloin” — make off with belongings of others
From this reading “The paper she had purloined was indeed blank .”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
the thing arranged or agreed to
From this reading _Published by arrangement with The Bobbs-Merrill Company_.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading The paper she had purloined was indeed blank .
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Published by arrangement with The Bobbs-Merrill Company_.
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading _Published by arrangement with The Bobbs-Merrill Company_.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading _Published by arrangement with The Bobbs-Merrill Company_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
a young female
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The paper she had purloined was indeed blank .
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading The paper she had purloined was indeed blank .
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
plural of “mask” — a covering to disguise or conceal the face
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading The paper she had purloined was indeed blank .
prepared and printed for distribution and sale
From this reading _Published by arrangement with The Bobbs-Merrill Company_.
past form of “purloin” — make off with belongings of others
From this reading The paper she had purloined was indeed blank .
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The paper she had purloined was indeed blank .
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE MAN ON THE BOX, THE GOOSE GIRL, HEARTS AND MASKS, ETC.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The paper she had purloined was indeed blank .
in the company of; together with
From this reading _Published by arrangement with The Bobbs-Merrill Company_.
Chapter 1 of The Million Dollar Mystery by Harold MacGrath holds 22 sentences, grouped into 5 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 1 holds 22 sentences of The Million Dollar Mystery, unabridged, divided into 5 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Million Dollar Mystery by Harold MacGrath exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 22 sentences, grouped into 5 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 5 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 5 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 1 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 Million Dollar Mystery by Harold MacGrath on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7364 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39134 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39134, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1473 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Million Dollar Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Million Dollar 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 Million Dollar Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
