Chapter XXIII of The Turnpike House, “Still in Doubt,” is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter XXIII of The Turnpike House, “Still in Doubt,” is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command. "I see you don't believe me. Perhaps there is no reason why you should. But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner. If I had known I should have got that bill out of him."
Chapter XXIII of The Turnpike House, “Still in Doubt,” is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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 statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading “If I had known I should have got that bill out of him."”
English physician who pioneered vaccination; Jenner inoculated people with small amounts of cowpox to prevent them from getting smallpox (1749-1823)
From this reading “But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner.”
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner.”
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading “Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.”
get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading “Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.”
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading “Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.”
marked by absence of sound
From this reading “Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.”
utter obscenities or profanities
From this reading “But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner.”
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 “Perhaps there is no reason why you should.”
In this reading “Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.”
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.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading "I see you don't believe me.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading If I had known I should have got that bill out of him."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I see you don't believe me.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading If I had known I should have got that bill out of him."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading If I had known I should have got that bill out of him."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading If I had known I should have got that bill out of him."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If I had known I should have got that bill out of him."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I see you don't believe me.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If I had known I should have got that bill out of him."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Perhaps there is no reason why you should.
English physician who pioneered vaccination; Jenner inoculated people with small amounts of cowpox to prevent them from getting smallpox (1749-1823)
From this reading But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner.
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading If I had known I should have got that bill out of him."
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I see you don't believe me.
the force of workers available
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
not any; not one
From this reading Perhaps there is no reason why you should.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading If I had known I should have got that bill out of him."
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading If I had known I should have got that bill out of him."
by chance
From this reading Perhaps there is no reason why you should.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading Perhaps there is no reason why you should.
get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I see you don't believe me.
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
the trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Perhaps there is no reason why you should.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
utter obscenities or profanities
From this reading But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Perhaps there is no reason why you should.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Marshall, seeing that the two men were silent, began to recover his self-command.
which person or people
From this reading But I swear I do not know who killed Jenner.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Perhaps there is no reason why you should.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I see you don't believe me.
Chapter 23 of The Turnpike House by Fergus Hume holds 207 sentences, grouped into 42 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 23 holds 207 sentences of The Turnpike House, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Turnpike House by Fergus Hume exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 207 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 23 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 Turnpike House by Fergus Hume on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6014 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55782 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55782, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 501 minutes of reading across 1203 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Turnpike House section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Turnpike House 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 Turnpike House, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
