Chapter 16 of The S. P. Mystery is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The S. P. Mystery is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning. She had not slept well, for the attic was hot. Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple. “We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta. The air was oppressive and clouds were gathering.
Chapter 16 of The S. P. Mystery is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
From this reading “She had not slept well, for the attic was hot.”
a group of persons together in one place
From this reading “The air was oppressive and clouds were gathering.”
plural of “keep” — the financial means whereby one lives
From this reading ““We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta.”
past form of “loose” — grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading “Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.”
plural of “mooring” — a place where a craft can be made fast
From this reading “Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.”
weighing heavily on the senses or spirit
From this reading “The air was oppressive and clouds were gathering.”
a small wave on the surface of a liquid
From this reading “Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.”
agitating a liquid with an implement
From this reading “Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.”
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 “SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.”
maintain a required pace or level
In this reading ““We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta.”
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 Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading The air was oppressive and clouds were gathering.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta.
floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
From this reading She had not slept well, for the attic was hot.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
a slight wind (usually refreshing)
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading The air was oppressive and clouds were gathering.
owed and payable immediately or on demand
From this reading “We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She had not slept well, for the attic was hot.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
a group of persons together in one place
From this reading The air was oppressive and clouds were gathering.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had not slept well, for the attic was hot.
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading She had not slept well, for the attic was hot.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
plural of “keep” — the financial means whereby one lives
From this reading “We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
past form of “loose” — grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
plural of “mooring” — a place where a craft can be made fast
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She had not slept well, for the attic was hot.
weighing heavily on the senses or spirit
From this reading The air was oppressive and clouds were gathering.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
a small wave on the surface of a liquid
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.
only a very short time before
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had not slept well, for the attic was hot.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading She had not slept well, for the attic was hot.
agitating a liquid with an implement
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading “We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading SANS PEUR Almost before the birds Greta was up the next morning.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “We are due for a big storm if this keeps up,” thought Greta.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading She had not slept well, for the attic was hot.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The air was oppressive and clouds were gathering.
at the time that
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading Not a breeze was stirring when she loosed the boat from its moorings and pushed out upon a lake that wore scarcely a ripple.
Chapter 16 of The S. P. Mystery by Harriet Pyne Grove holds 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 391 sentences of The S. P. Mystery, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The S. P. Mystery by Harriet Pyne Grove exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 S. P. Mystery by Harriet Pyne Grove on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3359 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54971 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54971, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 279 minutes of reading across 672 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The S. P. Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The S. P. Mystery 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 S. P. Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
