Chapter V of The Red-Headed Man, “"De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum",” is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter V of The Red-Headed Man, “"De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum",” is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"A man and a woman!" repeated Darrel thoughtfully. "Who told you that, Mr. Torry?" "The third, cabman," replied the detective. "Main is his name. I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
Chapter V of The Red-Headed Man, “"De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum",” is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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 motor vehicle with two wheels and a strong frame
From this reading “I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “"The third, cabman," replied the detective.”
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading “I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."”
most important element
From this reading “"Main is his name.”
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading “I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."”
recurring again and again
From this reading “"A man and a woman!" repeated Darrel thoughtfully.”
one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
From this reading “"The third, cabman," replied the detective.”
in a thoughtful manner
From this reading “"A man and a woman!" repeated Darrel thoughtfully.”
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.
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 "A man and a woman!" repeated Darrel thoughtfully.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "A man and a woman!" repeated Darrel thoughtfully.
a motor vehicle with two wheels and a strong frame
From this reading I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
someone who drives a taxi for a living
From this reading "The third, cabman," replied the detective.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "A man and a woman!" repeated Darrel thoughtfully.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading "The third, cabman," replied the detective.
set up or found
From this reading I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Main is his name.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Main is his name.
most important element
From this reading "Main is his name.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "A man and a woman!" repeated Darrel thoughtfully.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Who told you that, Mr. Torry?"
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Main is his name.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
recurring again and again
From this reading "A man and a woman!" repeated Darrel thoughtfully.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "The third, cabman," replied the detective.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Who told you that, Mr. Torry?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The third, cabman," replied the detective.
one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
From this reading "The third, cabman," replied the detective.
in a thoughtful manner
From this reading "A man and a woman!" repeated Darrel thoughtfully.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading "Who told you that, Mr. Torry?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Who told you that, Mr. Torry?"
which person or people
From this reading "Who told you that, Mr. Torry?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading I found him along with Henry and Bike on the cab-stand near Mortality-lane."
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading "A man and a woman!" repeated Darrel thoughtfully.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Who told you that, Mr. Torry?"
Chapter 5 of The Red-Headed Man by Fergus Hume holds 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 5 holds 166 sentences of The Red-Headed Man, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Red-Headed Man by Fergus Hume exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 5 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 Red-Headed Man by Fergus Hume on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3666 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55348 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55348, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 305 minutes of reading across 734 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Red-Headed Man section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Red-Headed Man 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 Red-Headed Man, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
