Chapter 17 of The Plot That Failed is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Plot That Failed is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WHOSE THE BRAIN? It was destined to be rudely awakened. One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him. Opening it, Nick read this message: “Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.
Chapter 17 of The Plot That Failed is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
plural of “assistant” — a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading “One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.”
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading “One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.”
headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”
From this reading “It was destined to be rudely awakened.”
-ing form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading “One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.”
possessive form of “field” — a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
-ing form of “kidnap” — take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom
From this reading “One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.”
the bank of a river
From this reading ““Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.”
in an impolite manner
From this reading “It was destined to be rudely awakened.”
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 “It was destined to be rudely awakened.”
In this reading “One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading ““Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.”
In this reading “One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.”
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 One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
later than; following
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
plural of “assistant” — a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.
aroused or activated
From this reading It was destined to be rudely awakened.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It was destined to be rudely awakened.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading WHOSE THE BRAIN?
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.
headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”
From this reading It was destined to be rudely awakened.
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading “Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.
-ing form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
possessive form of “field” — a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading “Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.
of great significance or value
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was destined to be rudely awakened.
-ing form of “kidnap” — take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading Opening it, Nick read this message:
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.
on one occasion
From this reading “Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading Opening it, Nick read this message:
writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading Opening it, Nick read this message:
the bank of a river
From this reading “Come at once to Mr. Hilton Field’s house on Riverside Drive.
in an impolite manner
From this reading It was destined to be rudely awakened.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WHOSE THE BRAIN?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Opening it, Nick read this message:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was destined to be rudely awakened.
being four more than twenty
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was destined to be rudely awakened.
at the time that
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
belonging to which person
From this reading WHOSE THE BRAIN?
a late time of life
From this reading One morning, twenty-four years after the kidnaping of Hilton Field, Nick Carter was sitting in his office examining some important papers when one of his assistants placed a telegram before him.
Chapter 17 of The Plot That Failed by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 284 sentences, grouped into 57 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 17 holds 284 sentences of The Plot That Failed, unabridged, divided into 57 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Plot That Failed by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 284 sentences, grouped into 57 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 57 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 57 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 17 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 Plot That Failed by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4240 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66863 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66863, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 353 minutes of reading across 848 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Plot That Failed section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Plot That Failed 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 Plot That Failed, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
