Chapter 16 of The Tracer of Lost Persons is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Tracer of Lost Persons is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend: "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me? I don't want to call in the police. "J.T. BURKE." To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."
Chapter 16 of The Tracer of Lost Persons is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
British statesman famous for his oratory; pleaded the cause of the American colonists in British Parliament and defended the parliamentary system (1729-1797)
From this reading “"J.T. BURKE."”
a telegram sent abroad
From this reading “On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:”
plural of “criminal” — someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
From this reading “"Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?”
plural of “kern” — United States composer of musical comedies (1885-1945)
From this reading “On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:”
with little or no delay
From this reading “To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."”
Constituting number thirteen in a sequence.
From this reading “On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:”
an investigator who is employed to find missing persons or missing goods
From this reading “To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."”
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
any person at all
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
British statesman famous for his oratory; pleaded the cause of the American colonists in British Parliament and defended the parliamentary system (1729-1797)
From this reading "J.T. BURKE."
a telegram sent abroad
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading I don't want to call in the police.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
plural of “criminal” — someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don't want to call in the police.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I don't want to call in the police.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
From this reading "J.T. BURKE."
having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
From this reading To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."
plural of “kern” — United States composer of musical comedies (1885-1945)
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."
march in a procession
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
plural of “person” — a human being
From this reading To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading I don't want to call in the police.
with little or no delay
From this reading To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."
a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading "J.T. BURKE."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
Constituting number thirteen in a sequence.
From this reading On the thirteenth day of March, 1906, Kerns received the following cable from an old friend:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I don't want to call in the police.
an investigator who is employed to find missing persons or missing goods
From this reading To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading I don't want to call in the police.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."
which person or people
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."
a silvery metallic element that is common in rare-earth minerals; used in magnesium and aluminum alloys
From this reading To which Kerns replied promptly: "Wire Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, N.Y."
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading "Is there anybody in New York who can find two criminals for me?
Chapter 16 of The Tracer of Lost Persons by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers holds 150 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 16 holds 150 sentences of The Tracer of Lost Persons, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Tracer of Lost Persons by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 150 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 16 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 Tracer of Lost Persons by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4027 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13180 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13180, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 335 minutes of reading across 806 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Tracer of Lost Persons section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Tracer of Lost Persons 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 Tracer of Lost Persons, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
