Chapter 16 of The Riddle of the Spinning Wheel is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Riddle of the Spinning Wheel is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"TENS!" "Did you see that, Mr. Narkom? Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place. "Recognize the cut of _that_ lady--eh? And notice anything else about her?"
Chapter 16 of The Riddle of the Spinning Wheel is here in full — 169 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.
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading “Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.”
plural of “bush” — a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading “Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.”
-ing form of “detain” — deprive of freedom; take into confinement
From this reading “Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.”
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading “Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.”
inflected form of “rap” — strike sharply
From this reading “Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.”
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading “"Recognize the cut of _that_ lady--eh?”
a person who directs and manages an organization
From this reading “Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.”
plural of “ten” — the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading “"TENS!"”
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 “Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.”
In this reading “Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.”
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 Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading And notice anything else about her?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
any thing at all
From this reading And notice anything else about her?"
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
plural of “bush” — a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading "Recognize the cut of _that_ lady--eh?
-ing form of “detain” — deprive of freedom; take into confinement
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Did you see that, Mr. Narkom?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Recognize the cut of _that_ lady--eh?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And notice anything else about her?"
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading And notice anything else about her?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading "Recognize the cut of _that_ lady--eh?
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Did you see that, Mr. Narkom?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Did you see that, Mr. Narkom?
an announcement containing information about an event
From this reading And notice anything else about her?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Recognize the cut of _that_ lady--eh?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
inflected form of “rap” — strike sharply
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading "Recognize the cut of _that_ lady--eh?
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "Did you see that, Mr. Narkom?
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
a person who directs and manages an organization
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
plural of “ten” — the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading "TENS!"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Did you see that, Mr. Narkom?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
at the time that
From this reading Did you see that?" rapped out Cleek excitedly, when--a few minutes later--he stepped free from the detaining bushes and beckoned the Superintendent from his hiding-place.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Did you see that, Mr. Narkom?
Chapter 16 of The Riddle of the Spinning Wheel by Mary E. Hanshew holds 169 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 16 holds 169 sentences of The Riddle of the Spinning Wheel, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Riddle of the Spinning Wheel by Mary E. Hanshew exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 169 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 16 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 Riddle of the Spinning Wheel by Mary E. Hanshew on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4296 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33279 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33279, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 358 minutes of reading across 860 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Riddle of the Spinning Wheel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Riddle of the Spinning Wheel 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 Riddle of the Spinning Wheel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
