Chapter 6 of The Mystery of the Iron Box is here in full — 374 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Mystery of the Iron Box is here in full — 374 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance. He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be. Then he put it slowly down again. “How could it not be the same box?” he demanded. “When could a substitution have been made?”
Chapter 6 of The Mystery of the Iron Box is here in full — 374 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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 social or business visitor
From this reading “UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.”
range of what one can know or understand
From this reading “UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.”
of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown
From this reading “UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.”
plural of “scale” — an ordered reference standard
From this reading “He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.”
an event in which one thing is substituted for another
From this reading ““When could a substitution have been made?””
not expected or anticipated
From this reading “UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.”
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading “He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.”
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 “Then he put it slowly down again.”
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 He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
anew
From this reading Then he put it slowly down again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “When could a substitution have been made?”
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
a social or business visitor
From this reading UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “How could it not be the same box?” he demanded.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Then he put it slowly down again.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “When could a substitution have been made?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How could it not be the same box?” he demanded.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
range of what one can know or understand
From this reading UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading “When could a substitution have been made?”
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “How could it not be the same box?” he demanded.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Then he put it slowly down again.
Identical; not different.
From this reading “How could it not be the same box?” he demanded.
of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown
From this reading UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.
plural of “scale” — an ordered reference standard
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Then he put it slowly down again.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.
an event in which one thing is substituted for another
From this reading “When could a substitution have been made?”
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he put it slowly down again.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading UNEXPECTED CALLER Sandy shot Ken one startled glance.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading He picked the box up and hefted it in his hands, as if he might be a better judge of its weight than the scales could be.
at the time that
From this reading “When could a substitution have been made?”
Chapter 6 of The Mystery of the Iron Box by Bruce Campbell holds 374 sentences, grouped into 75 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 6 holds 374 sentences of The Mystery of the Iron Box, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Mystery of the Iron Box by Bruce Campbell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 374 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 6 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 of the Iron Box by Bruce Campbell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4866 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48144 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48144, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 405 minutes of reading across 974 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mystery of the Iron Box section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Mystery of the Iron Box 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 Iron Box, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
