Chapter 19 of The mystery at lovers' cave is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of The mystery at lovers' cave is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence. Then: “_Dead?_” Roger echoed incredulously. “You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion. “Only just (he’s still warm), but dead right enough.” “Well, I’ll be damned!” said Roger blankly.
Chapter 19 of The mystery at lovers' cave is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
confidently declared to be so
From this reading ““You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.”
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading ““Well, I’ll be damned!” said Roger blankly.”
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading ““Well, I’ll be damned!” said Roger blankly.”
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading “Then: “_Dead?_” Roger echoed incredulously.”
any strong feeling
From this reading ““You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.”
a high ranking police officer
From this reading ““You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.”
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading “End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence.”
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading ““Only just (he’s still warm), but dead right enough.””
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.
temporarily
In this reading “End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence.”
In this reading ““You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.”
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 End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.
confidently declared to be so
From this reading “You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Well, I’ll be damned!” said Roger blankly.
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading “Well, I’ll be damned!” said Roger blankly.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “Only just (he’s still warm), but dead right enough.”
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “Well, I’ll be damned!” said Roger blankly.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Then: “_Dead?_” Roger echoed incredulously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading Then: “_Dead?_” Roger echoed incredulously.
any strong feeling
From this reading “You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading “Only just (he’s still warm), but dead right enough.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, I’ll be damned!” said Roger blankly.
in an incredulous manner
From this reading Then: “_Dead?_” Roger echoed incredulously.
a high ranking police officer
From this reading “You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.
and nothing more
From this reading “Only just (he’s still warm), but dead right enough.”
a particular point in time
From this reading End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence.
and nothing more
From this reading “Only just (he’s still warm), but dead right enough.”
precisely, exactly
From this reading “Only just (he’s still warm), but dead right enough.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then: “_Dead?_” Roger echoed incredulously.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Well, I’ll be damned!” said Roger blankly.
express in words
From this reading “You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence.
not in physical motion
From this reading “Only just (he’s still warm), but dead right enough.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then: “_Dead?_” Roger echoed incredulously.
in or at that place or location
From this reading End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading “Only just (he’s still warm), but dead right enough.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading End of a Scoundrel For a moment there was silence.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well, I’ll be damned!” said Roger blankly.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading “You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You say he’s _dead?_” “As a door-nail,” asserted the inspector without emotion.
Chapter 19 of The mystery at lovers' cave by Anthony Berkeley holds 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 19 holds 154 sentences of The mystery at lovers' cave, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of The mystery at lovers' cave by Anthony Berkeley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 19 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 mystery at lovers' cave by Anthony Berkeley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5292 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70877 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #70877, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 441 minutes of reading across 1059 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The mystery at lovers' cave section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The mystery at lovers' cave 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 mystery at lovers' cave, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
