Chapter 20 of The secret of the old mill is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 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 old mill is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note. No one saw the man who left it at the door. The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen. She heard the front doorbell ring and went to answer it. But when she opened the door there was no one in sight.
Chapter 20 of The secret of the old mill is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.”
a push button at an outer door that gives a ringing or buzzing signal when pushed
From this reading “She heard the front doorbell ring and went to answer it.”
having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships
From this reading “A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.”
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading “The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.”
a brief written record
From this reading “A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.”
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “She heard the front doorbell ring and went to answer it.”
an educational institution
From this reading “The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.”
a message informing of danger
From this reading “A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.”
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 “A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.”
In this reading “No one saw the man who left it at the door.”
In this reading “The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.”
In this reading “The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.”
at or within a reasonable distance for seeing
In this reading “But when she opened the door there was no one in sight.”
In this reading “A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.”
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 NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.
react verbally
From this reading She heard the front doorbell ring and went to answer it.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading No one saw the man who left it at the door.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But when she opened the door there was no one in sight.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading No one saw the man who left it at the door.
a push button at an outer door that gives a ringing or buzzing signal when pushed
From this reading She heard the front doorbell ring and went to answer it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading She heard the front doorbell ring and went to answer it.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading She heard the front doorbell ring and went to answer it.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading No one saw the man who left it at the door.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading No one saw the man who left it at the door.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading No one saw the man who left it at the door.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.
not any; not one
From this reading No one saw the man who left it at the door.
a brief written record
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one saw the man who left it at the door.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading But when she opened the door there was no one in sight.
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading She heard the front doorbell ring and went to answer it.
cut with a saw
From this reading No one saw the man who left it at the door.
an educational institution
From this reading The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She heard the front doorbell ring and went to answer it.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading But when she opened the door there was no one in sight.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading No one saw the man who left it at the door.
in or at that place or location
From this reading But when she opened the door there was no one in sight.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She heard the front doorbell ring and went to answer it.
a message informing of danger
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She heard the front doorbell ring and went to answer it.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Hardy boys were at school and Mrs. Hardy was busy in the kitchen.
at the time that
From this reading But when she opened the door there was no one in sight.
which person or people
From this reading A NOTE OF WARNING Three days later, Fenton Hardy, who had been away from home on business, received a note.
Chapter 20 of The secret of the old mill by Franklin W. Dixon holds 147 sentences, grouped into 30 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 20 holds 147 sentences of The secret of the old mill, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The secret of the old mill by Franklin W. Dixon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 147 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 old mill by Franklin W. Dixon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The secret of the old mill section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The secret of the old mill 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 old mill, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
