Chapter 20 of The Secret of the Night is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Secret of the Night is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“But who--who--who?” questioned Matrena breathlessly. Koupriane went over to Feodor and grasped his hands. “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies. We have just killed that man.” “Do I know him?” demanded Feodor.
Chapter 20 of The Secret of the Night is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 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.
in a breathless manner
From this reading ““But who--who--who?” questioned Matrena breathlessly.”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading ““Do I know him?” demanded Feodor.”
plural of “enemy” — an opposing military force
From this reading ““General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.”
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading “Koupriane went over to Feodor and grasped his hands.”
a device that requires skill for proper use
From this reading ““General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.”
past form of “question” — challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading ““But who--who--who?” questioned Matrena breathlessly.”
an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading ““General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.”
bound by or as if by an oath
From this reading ““General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.”
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 “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Koupriane went over to Feodor and grasped his hands.
in a breathless manner
From this reading “But who--who--who?” questioned Matrena breathlessly.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But who--who--who?” questioned Matrena breathlessly.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “Do I know him?” demanded Feodor.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Do I know him?” demanded Feodor.
plural of “enemy” — an opposing military force
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Koupriane went over to Feodor and grasped his hands.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading Koupriane went over to Feodor and grasped his hands.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Koupriane went over to Feodor and grasped his hands.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading We have just killed that man.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Do I know him?” demanded Feodor.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Koupriane went over to Feodor and grasped his hands.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Do I know him?” demanded Feodor.
a device that requires skill for proper use
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
and nothing more
From this reading We have just killed that man.”
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading We have just killed that man.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Do I know him?” demanded Feodor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Koupriane went over to Feodor and grasped his hands.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But who--who--who?” questioned Matrena breathlessly.
above and across; more than
From this reading Koupriane went over to Feodor and grasped his hands.
past form of “question” — challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading “But who--who--who?” questioned Matrena breathlessly.
an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
bound by or as if by an oath
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading We have just killed that man.”
in or at that place or location
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Koupriane went over to Feodor and grasped his hands.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We have just killed that man.”
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Koupriane went over to Feodor and grasped his hands.
which person or people
From this reading “But who--who--who?” questioned Matrena breathlessly.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “General,” he said, “there was a man who had sworn your ruin and who was made an instrument by your enemies.
Chapter 20 of The Secret of the Night by Gaston Leroux holds 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 20 holds 205 sentences of The Secret of the Night, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Secret of the Night by Gaston Leroux exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 20 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.
