Chapter 12 of Under the Andes is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Under the Andes is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AT THE DOOR. Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands. Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious. As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action. I ran to the figure on the floor and bent over him.
Chapter 12 of Under the Andes is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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 natural object that covers or envelops
From this reading “Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.”
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading “Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.”
close in time; about to occur
From this reading “As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.”
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading “Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.”
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading “As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.”
get into a prostrate position, as in submission
From this reading “Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.”
inflected form of “shrink” — wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading “Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.”
aroused to impatience or anger
From this reading “As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.”
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT THE DOOR.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading I ran to the figure on the floor and bent over him.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
a natural object that covers or envelops
From this reading Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading AT THE DOOR.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading I ran to the figure on the floor and bent over him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I ran to the figure on the floor and bent over him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
close in time; about to occur
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
not any; not one
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I ran to the figure on the floor and bent over him.
above and across; more than
From this reading I ran to the figure on the floor and bent over him.
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
influenced or controlled by a powerful force such as a strong emotion
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
get into a prostrate position, as in submission
From this reading Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading I ran to the figure on the floor and bent over him.
inflected form of “shrink” — wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.
aroused to impatience or anger
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AT THE DOOR.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.
Chapter 12 of Under the Andes by Rex Stout holds 273 sentences, grouped into 55 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 12 holds 273 sentences of Under the Andes, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Under the Andes by Rex Stout exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 273 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 12 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 Under the Andes by Rex Stout on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6135 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #546 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #546, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 511 minutes of reading across 1227 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Under the Andes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Under the Andes 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 Under the Andes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
