Chapter 3 of The Sinister Invasion is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Sinister Invasion is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They came at ten minutes before midnight. Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours. The cell was deep in a jail in downtown Manhattan. It was a solitary cell, for a solitary and important prisoner. He had a different face now, a dead man's face.
Chapter 3 of The Sinister Invasion is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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 small stone room in a prison where an inmate is locked behind iron bars.
From this reading “Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.”
the central area or commercial center of a town or city
From this reading “The cell was deep in a jail in downtown Manhattan.”
of great significance or value
From this reading “It was a solitary cell, for a solitary and important prisoner.”
a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence)
From this reading “The cell was deep in a jail in downtown Manhattan.”
one of the five boroughs of New York City
From this reading “The cell was deep in a jail in downtown Manhattan.”
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading “They came at ten minutes before midnight.”
a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading “It was a solitary cell, for a solitary and important prisoner.”
characterized by or preferring solitude
From this reading “It was a solitary cell, for a solitary and important prisoner.”
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 came at ten minutes before midnight.”
In this reading “Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.”
In this reading “They came at ten minutes before midnight.”
In this reading “He had a different face now, a dead man's face.”
In this reading “Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.”
In this reading “They came at ten minutes before midnight.”
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 The cell was deep in a jail in downtown Manhattan.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was a solitary cell, for a solitary and important prisoner.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading They came at ten minutes before midnight.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading They came at ten minutes before midnight.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading They came at ten minutes before midnight.
A small stone room in a prison where an inmate is locked behind iron bars.
From this reading Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading He had a different face now, a dead man's face.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading The cell was deep in a jail in downtown Manhattan.
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading He had a different face now, a dead man's face.
the central area or commercial center of a town or city
From this reading The cell was deep in a jail in downtown Manhattan.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He had a different face now, a dead man's face.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had a different face now, a dead man's face.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.
of great significance or value
From this reading It was a solitary cell, for a solitary and important prisoner.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a solitary cell, for a solitary and important prisoner.
a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence)
From this reading The cell was deep in a jail in downtown Manhattan.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He had a different face now, a dead man's face.
one of the five boroughs of New York City
From this reading The cell was deep in a jail in downtown Manhattan.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading They came at ten minutes before midnight.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading They came at ten minutes before midnight.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He had a different face now, a dead man's face.
a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading It was a solitary cell, for a solitary and important prisoner.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.
characterized by or preferring solitude
From this reading It was a solitary cell, for a solitary and important prisoner.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading They came at ten minutes before midnight.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The cell was deep in a jail in downtown Manhattan.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They came at ten minutes before midnight.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading Birrel had been sitting in this cell for some twenty hours.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The cell was deep in a jail in downtown Manhattan.
Chapter 3 of The Sinister Invasion by Edmond Hamilton holds 214 sentences, grouped into 43 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 3 holds 214 sentences of The Sinister Invasion, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Sinister Invasion by Edmond Hamilton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 214 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 3 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 Sinister Invasion by Edmond Hamilton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1919 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65483 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65483, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 159 minutes of reading across 384 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sinister Invasion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Sinister Invasion 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 Sinister Invasion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
