Chapter 24 of The secret of the old mill is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of The secret of the old mill is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape. Markel was coming down the stairs. They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps. Frank glanced around the room. There was one window, but it was boarded up.
Chapter 24 of The secret of the old mill is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
past form of “board” — get on board of (trains, buses, ships, aircraft, etc.)
From this reading “There was one window, but it was boarded up.”
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading “They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.”
the act of escaping physically
From this reading “TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.”
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading “Frank glanced around the room.”
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “Frank glanced around the room.”
having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships
From this reading “TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “Markel was coming down the stairs.”
forced to turn and face attackers
From this reading “TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.”
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 “They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.”
In this reading “Frank glanced around the room.”
In this reading “Frank glanced around the room.”
In this reading “They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.”
In this reading “TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.”
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.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Frank glanced around the room.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.
past form of “board” — get on board of (trains, buses, ships, aircraft, etc.)
From this reading There was one window, but it was boarded up.
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There was one window, but it was boarded up.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Markel was coming down the stairs.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Markel was coming down the stairs.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading Frank glanced around the room.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Frank glanced around the room.
having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships
From this reading TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There was one window, but it was boarded up.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Markel was coming down the stairs.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading There was one window, but it was boarded up.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Frank glanced around the room.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Markel was coming down the stairs.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was one window, but it was boarded up.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They could hear his heavy boots as they clattered on the steps.
forced to turn and face attackers
From this reading TRAPPED The Hardy boys could see little chance of escape.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading There was one window, but it was boarded up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Markel was coming down the stairs.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading There was one window, but it was boarded up.
Chapter 24 of The secret of the old mill by Franklin W. Dixon holds 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 24 holds 168 sentences of The secret of the old mill, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of The secret of the old mill by Franklin W. Dixon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 24 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.
