Chapter 12 of The Secret of the Night is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Secret of the Night is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A hand touched her carefully. She turned. Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes. He appeared furious as he surprised her in his disarray. She let him lead her as though she were a child.
Chapter 12 of The Secret of the Night is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
taking care or paying attention
From this reading “A hand touched her carefully.”
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading “Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.”
a mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behavior
From this reading “He appeared furious as he surprised her in his disarray.”
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading “He appeared furious as he surprised her in his disarray.”
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading “Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.”
past form of “resume” — take up or begin anew
From this reading “Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.”
deeply affected or marked by mental or physical pain or injury
From this reading “Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.”
plural of “scratch” — an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off
From this reading “Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.”
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 hand touched her carefully.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading He appeared furious as he surprised her in his disarray.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He appeared furious as he surprised her in his disarray.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
taking care or paying attention
From this reading A hand touched her carefully.
a young person of either sex
From this reading She let him lead her as though she were a child.
clothing in general
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
a mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behavior
From this reading He appeared furious as he surprised her in his disarray.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading He appeared furious as he surprised her in his disarray.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading A hand touched her carefully.
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He appeared furious as he surprised her in his disarray.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A hand touched her carefully.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She let him lead her as though she were a child.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He appeared furious as he surprised her in his disarray.
take somebody somewhere
From this reading She let him lead her as though she were a child.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading She let him lead her as though she were a child.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
past form of “resume” — take up or begin anew
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
deeply affected or marked by mental or physical pain or injury
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
plural of “scratch” — an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She turned.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading He appeared furious as he surprised her in his disarray.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading She let him lead her as though she were a child.
having come into contact
From this reading A hand touched her carefully.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She turned.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading She let him lead her as though she were a child.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Rouletabille was there, his face all scarred by red scratches, without collar or neck-tie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
Chapter 12 of The Secret of the Night by Gaston Leroux holds 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 12 holds 208 sentences of The Secret of the Night, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Secret of the Night by Gaston Leroux exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 12 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 of the Night by Gaston Leroux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7078 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1686 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1686, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 589 minutes of reading across 1416 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret of the Night section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Secret of the Night 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 of the Night, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
