Chapter 13 of The Secret Adversary is here in full — 278 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Secret Adversary is here in full — 278 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life. When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples. He was vaguely aware of unfamiliar surroundings. Where was he? What had happened?
Chapter 13 of The Secret Adversary is here in full — 278 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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.
extremely painful
From this reading “When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.”
past form of “punctuate” — insert punctuation marks into
From this reading “FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.”
plural of “stab” — a sudden sharp feeling
From this reading “FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.”
the environmental condition
From this reading “He was vaguely aware of unfamiliar surroundings.”
plural of “temple” — place of worship consisting of an edifice for the worship of a deity
From this reading “When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.”
an instance of rapid strong pulsation (of the heart)
From this reading “FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.”
not known or well known
From this reading “He was vaguely aware of unfamiliar surroundings.”
in a vague way
From this reading “He was vaguely aware of unfamiliar surroundings.”
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 FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
(sometimes followed by “of”) having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
From this reading He was vaguely aware of unfamiliar surroundings.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
intentionally conceived
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
inflected form of “drag” — pull, as against a resistance
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
extremely painful
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
opinion or judgment
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
start firing a weapon
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading What had happened?
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading What had happened?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
immediately past
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
past form of “punctuate” — insert punctuation marks into
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
plural of “stab” — a sudden sharp feeling
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
the environmental condition
From this reading He was vaguely aware of unfamiliar surroundings.
plural of “temple” — place of worship consisting of an edifice for the worship of a deity
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
an instance of rapid strong pulsation (of the heart)
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
not known or well known
From this reading He was vaguely aware of unfamiliar surroundings.
in a vague way
From this reading He was vaguely aware of unfamiliar surroundings.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What had happened?
at the time that
From this reading When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples.
in or at the place that
From this reading Where was he?
in the company of; together with
From this reading FROM a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly back to life.
Chapter 13 of The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie holds 278 sentences, grouped into 56 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 13 holds 278 sentences of The Secret Adversary, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 278 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 13 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 Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5839 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1155 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1155, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 486 minutes of reading across 1168 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret Adversary section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Secret Adversary 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 Secret Adversary, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
