Chapter 16 of Within these walls is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Within these walls is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
RoBards was afraid to leave the house. How could he trust it to keep the secret? There would be nobody to guard the cellar from intrusion. Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls. Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.
Chapter 16 of Within these walls is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
any person at all
From this reading “Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.”
the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading “There would be nobody to guard the cellar from intrusion.”
having or showing interest; especially curiosity or fascination or concern
From this reading “Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.”
someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another without permission
From this reading “Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.”
any entry into an area not previously occupied
From this reading “There would be nobody to guard the cellar from intrusion.”
an adornment (as a bracelet or ring or necklace) made of precious metals and set with gems (or imitation gems)
From this reading “Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.”
try to get or reach
From this reading “Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.”
reading carefully with intent to remember
From this reading “Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.”
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.
a fence built of rough stones; used to separate fields
In this reading “Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.”
In this reading “How could he trust it to keep the secret?”
In this reading “Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.”
In this reading “RoBards was afraid to leave the house.”
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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading RoBards was afraid to leave the house.
any person at all
From this reading Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There would be nobody to guard the cellar from intrusion.
the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading There would be nobody to guard the cellar from intrusion.
clothing in general
From this reading Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading How could he trust it to keep the secret?
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading There would be nobody to guard the cellar from intrusion.
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading There would be nobody to guard the cellar from intrusion.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading How could he trust it to keep the secret?
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading RoBards was afraid to leave the house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How could he trust it to keep the secret?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.
having or showing interest; especially curiosity or fascination or concern
From this reading Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.
someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another without permission
From this reading Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.
any entry into an area not previously occupied
From this reading There would be nobody to guard the cellar from intrusion.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading How could he trust it to keep the secret?
an adornment (as a bracelet or ring or necklace) made of precious metals and set with gems (or imitation gems)
From this reading Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading How could he trust it to keep the secret?
go away from a place
From this reading RoBards was afraid to leave the house.
not any; not one
From this reading Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.
no person; not anyone
From this reading There would be nobody to guard the cellar from intrusion.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading RoBards was afraid to leave the house.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading How could he trust it to keep the secret?
try to get or reach
From this reading Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.
a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
From this reading Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.
reading carefully with intent to remember
From this reading Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading RoBards was afraid to leave the house.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There would be nobody to guard the cellar from intrusion.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading RoBards was afraid to leave the house.
something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
From this reading How could he trust it to keep the secret?
plural of “wall” — 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 Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading RoBards was afraid to leave the house.
which person or people
From this reading Anyone who entered the house would seek jewelry or silver or clothes.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading There would be nobody to guard the cellar from intrusion.
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet no intruder would be interested in studying the stone walls.
Chapter 16 of Within these walls by Rupert Hughes holds 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 79 sentences of Within these walls, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Within these walls by Rupert Hughes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 Within these walls by Rupert Hughes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6795 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72904 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72904, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 566 minutes of reading across 1359 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Within these walls section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Within these walls 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 Within these walls, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
