Chapter 21 of The Secret Play is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Secret Play is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night. Gordon, who had dropped around to call, was included. Lanny, Chester Cottrell and Cotner were the other members. None save Dick knew of Morris’s injury until Dick made it known. Then consternation indeed did reign.
Chapter 21 of The Secret Play is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
a city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading “Lanny, Chester Cottrell and Cotner were the other members.”
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “Then consternation indeed did reign.”
possessive form of “dick” — someone who is a detective
any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal
From this reading “THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.”
enclosed in the same envelope or package
From this reading “Gordon, who had dropped around to call, was included.”
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading “None save Dick knew of Morris’s injury until Dick made it known.”
possessive form of “morris” — United States suffragist in Wyoming (1814-1902)
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading “THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.”
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 “Lanny, Chester Cottrell and Cotner were the other members.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Lanny, Chester Cottrell and Cotner were the other members.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Gordon, who had dropped around to call, was included.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
a city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading Lanny, Chester Cottrell and Cotner were the other members.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading Then consternation indeed did reign.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lanny, Chester Cottrell and Cotner were the other members.
a body serving in an administrative capacity
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
someone who is a detective
From this reading None save Dick knew of Morris’s injury until Dick made it known.
possessive form of “dick” — someone who is a detective
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Then consternation indeed did reign.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading Gordon, who had dropped around to call, was included.
any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gordon, who had dropped around to call, was included.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Gordon, who had dropped around to call, was included.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
enclosed in the same envelope or package
From this reading Gordon, who had dropped around to call, was included.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading Then consternation indeed did reign.
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading None save Dick knew of Morris’s injury until Dick made it known.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading None save Dick knew of Morris’s injury until Dick made it known.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading None save Dick knew of Morris’s injury until Dick made it known.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lanny, Chester Cottrell and Cotner were the other members.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading None save Dick knew of Morris’s injury until Dick made it known.
plural of “member” — one of the persons who compose a social group (especially individuals who have joined and participate in a group organization)
From this reading Lanny, Chester Cottrell and Cotner were the other members.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
possessive form of “morris” — United States suffragist in Wyoming (1814-1902)
From this reading None save Dick knew of Morris’s injury until Dick made it known.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
not one, and not any
From this reading None save Dick knew of Morris’s injury until Dick made it known.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Lanny, Chester Cottrell and Cotner were the other members.
plural of “play” — a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
have sovereign power
From this reading Then consternation indeed did reign.
except for; apart from
From this reading None save Dick knew of Morris’s injury until Dick made it known.
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then consternation indeed did reign.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading THE NEW PLAYS ARE TRIED The football council, or board of strategy, as George Cotner liked to call it, met at Dick’s house Sunday night.
up to a particular time
From this reading None save Dick knew of Morris’s injury until Dick made it known.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Gordon, who had dropped around to call, was included.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Lanny, Chester Cottrell and Cotner were the other members.
which person or people
From this reading Gordon, who had dropped around to call, was included.
Chapter 21 of The Secret Play by Ralph Henry Barbour holds 177 sentences, grouped into 36 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 21 holds 177 sentences of The Secret Play, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Secret Play by Ralph Henry Barbour exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 177 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 21 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 Play by Ralph Henry Barbour on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4550 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65237 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65237, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 379 minutes of reading across 910 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret Play section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Secret Play 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 Play, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
