Chapter 23 of The Mystery of The Barranca is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Mystery of The Barranca is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control. To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out." He nodded approval. "Then no one is left?" "No one."
Chapter 23 of The Mystery of The Barranca is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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 formal act of approving
From this reading “He nodded approval.”
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading “To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."”
power to direct or determine
From this reading “In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.”
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading “To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."”
remain present although waning or gradually dying
From this reading “To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."”
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “He nodded approval.”
past form of “regain” — get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading “In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.”
your consciousness of your own identity
From this reading “In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.”
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 “In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.”
In this reading “He nodded approval.”
make a point of doing something; act purposefully and intentionally
In this reading “To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."”
In this reading “In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.”
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.
(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 To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
the formal act of approving
From this reading He nodded approval.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
power to direct or determine
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He nodded approval.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Then no one is left?"
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading "Then no one is left?"
remain present although waning or gradually dying
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
engage in
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
not any; not one
From this reading "Then no one is left?"
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading He nodded approval.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Then no one is left?"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
past form of “regain” — get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
an act or expression of criticism and censure
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
your consciousness of your own identity
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the few minutes that passed before she met Sebastien Francesca had regained self control.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then no one is left?"
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading To his reproof, "This was foolish; why did you linger?" she calmly replied, "I wished to make sure that all the people were out."
Chapter 23 of The Mystery of The Barranca by Herman Whitaker holds 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 23 holds 79 sentences of The Mystery of The Barranca, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Mystery of The Barranca by Herman Whitaker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 23 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.
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Yes. All 4042 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36198 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36198, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 336 minutes of reading across 809 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mystery of The Barranca section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Mystery of The Barranca 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 of The Barranca, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
