Chapter VIII of The Vanishing Comrade, “Kate Meets a Detective,” is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter VIII of The Vanishing Comrade, “Kate Meets a Detective,” is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place. So soon? Why, she had not been here a day yet! “It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously. “No, it’s from the boys.
Chapter VIII of The Vanishing Comrade, “Kate Meets a Detective,” is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/65 · 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.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading ““It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.”
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading ““No, it’s from the boys.”
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading ““It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.”
something written by hand
From this reading ““It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.”
a midday meal
From this reading “When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.”
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading “When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.”
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading “When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.”
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.
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 When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading “It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Why, she had not been here a day yet!
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading “No, it’s from the boys.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading “It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “No, it’s from the boys.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Why, she had not been here a day yet!
something written by hand
From this reading “It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Why, she had not been here a day yet!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.
a midday meal
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.
not any; not one
From this reading “No, it’s from the boys.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Why, she had not been here a day yet!
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So soon?
in the near future
From this reading So soon?
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “No, it’s from the boys.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
at the time that
From this reading When Kate came to luncheon that day she was surprised to see a letter lying at her place.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, she had not been here a day yet!
but in spite of that
From this reading Why, she had not been here a day yet!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “It’s not your mother’s handwriting,” Aunt Katherine said, a little curiously.
Chapter 8 of The Vanishing Comrade by Ethel Cook Eliot holds 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 8 holds 326 sentences of The Vanishing Comrade, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Vanishing Comrade by Ethel Cook Eliot exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 8 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 Vanishing Comrade by Ethel Cook Eliot on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5441 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63455 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63455, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 453 minutes of reading across 1089 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Vanishing Comrade section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Vanishing Comrade 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 Vanishing Comrade, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
