Chapter 7 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I let a whistle of astonishment out of me. "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?" He nodded shamefacedly. "I didn't know she had been robbed." "How long had you had them?"
Chapter 7 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading “"Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"”
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “I let a whistle of astonishment out of me.”
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading “"Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"”
several things grouped together or considered as a whole
From this reading “"Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"”
plural of “pearl” — a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel
From this reading “"Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"”
-ing form of “present” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “"Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"”
inflected form of “rob” — take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading “"I didn't know she had been robbed."”
make whistling sounds
From this reading “I let a whistle of astonishment out of me.”
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 I let a whistle of astonishment out of me.
make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading I let a whistle of astonishment out of me.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "I didn't know she had been robbed."
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
several things grouped together or considered as a whole
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I didn't know she had been robbed."
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "I didn't know she had been robbed."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He nodded shamefacedly.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How long had you had them?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I let a whistle of astonishment out of me.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I didn't know she had been robbed."
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading I let a whistle of astonishment out of me.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "How long had you had them?"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I let a whistle of astonishment out of me.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading He nodded shamefacedly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I let a whistle of astonishment out of me.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I let a whistle of astonishment out of me.
plural of “pearl” — a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
-ing form of “present” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
inflected form of “rob” — take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading "I didn't know she had been robbed."
express in words
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
in a shamefaced manner
From this reading He nodded shamefacedly.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I didn't know she had been robbed."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
make whistling sounds
From this reading I let a whistle of astonishment out of me.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
Chapter 7 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story by Hulbert Footner holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 7 holds 403 sentences of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story by Hulbert Footner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 7 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 Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story by Hulbert Footner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6984 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57236 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57236, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 582 minutes of reading across 1397 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story 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 Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
