Chapter 21 of The Plot That Failed is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Plot That Failed is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AT THE CHEMIST’S. Nick Carter went downtown. He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house. In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired: “Is the professor in?”
Chapter 21 of The Plot That Failed is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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 “car” — a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading “He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.”
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading “Nick Carter went downtown.”
the central area or commercial center of a town or city
From this reading “Nick Carter went downtown.”
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading “He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.”
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading “In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:”
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading “Nick Carter went downtown.”
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading ““Is the professor in?””
a result
From this reading “In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:”
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 “He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.”
the side that is on the east
In this reading “He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.”
In this reading “Nick Carter went downtown.”
In this reading “He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.”
pile up (debts or scores)
In this reading “He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.”
In this reading “In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:”
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 turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
later than; following
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT THE CHEMIST’S.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:
plural of “car” — a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading Nick Carter went downtown.
a retail shop where medicine and other articles are sold
From this reading AT THE CHEMIST’S.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:
the central area or commercial center of a town or city
From this reading Nick Carter went downtown.
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is the professor in?”
the act of departing
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading Nick Carter went downtown.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading “Is the professor in?”
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
a result
From this reading In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AT THE CHEMIST’S.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:
in the direction of
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He turned his steps toward the East Side after leaving the cars, and finally ran up the steps of a house.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Nick Carter went downtown.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading In response to his ring a servant came to the door, of whom he inquired:
Chapter 21 of The Plot That Failed by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 21 holds 173 sentences of The Plot That Failed, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Plot That Failed by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 21 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.
