The Detective's Assistant: Chapters 13–18

by Kate Hannigan
Recently orphaned, eleven-year-old Nell Warne is reluctantly taken in by her Aunt Kate, who is the first-ever female detective employed by the legendary Pinkerton Detective Agency. Nell becomes her aunt's assistant, joining her in several clandestine detective missions, risking her life, and even saving the life of Abraham Lincoln.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–12, Chapters 13–18, Chapters 19–30, Chapters 31–Epilogue
15 words 13 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. tolerance
    the act of putting up with something
    Aunt Kitty had no tolerance for dust and debris to begin with.
  2. miserly
    characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity
    "That miserly Mrs. Wigginbottom will only watch after you while I am gone if I pay her another ten dollars a week, which I refuse to do."
  3. alias
    a name that has been assumed temporarily
    Mrs. Warne will go by the alias Madam Henrietta Imbert, whose scoundrel of a husband is the noted forger Jules Imbert, now residing in a prison cell.
  4. rapscallion
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
    Madam Imbert is devoted to this rapscallion, not only because she loves him but, more importantly, because she loves his money....
  5. confidante
    a woman or girl to whom secrets can be entrusted
    When our suspect’s wife, Mrs. Maroney, arrives in Jenkintown, Mrs. Warne is to befriend her, become her confidante, her bosom buddy.
  6. tantrum
    a display of bad temper
    I led little Flora down a stone path toward an open area to play, though her stomping made it clear she was still in the throes of a tantrum.
  7. unsightly
    unpleasant to look at
    “Well, your daddy must not have loved you much to stick you with those unsightly things. And that is the ugliest dress I’ve ever seen,” Flora said, her list of grievances against me growing by the minute.
  8. grievance
    a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation
    “Well, your daddy must not have loved you much to stick you with those unsightly things. And that is the ugliest dress I’ve ever seen,” Flora said, her list of grievances against me growing by the minute.
  9. dumbfounded
    as if rendered speechless with astonishment and surprise
    I was so dumbfounded by Flora’s words, I didn’t have enough sense to stop that child from taking my whole sack of lemon drops right out of my pocket.
  10. festoon
    decorate or adorn
    Aunt Kitty was doing her proud walking, like she was balancing the crown of Queen Victoria herself on her head instead of that black hat festooned with crab apples.
  11. feral
    wild and menacing
    “Madam Imbert, can’t I do something more important to the case than watch that feral child?”
  12. forgery
    criminal falsification by making or altering an instrument
    “What if this correspondence is a fake?” began Aunt Kitty. “Can you judge if it is written in your husband’s hand? It could be a forgery.”
  13. sheepishly
    in a manner showing embarrassment or shame
    “It is real,” came Mrs. Maroney’s agonized reply. Then sheepishly she added, “It is signed with the pet name I call Nathan when we are alone.”
  14. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    I wore a threadbare coat that bore grease stains on the arms, and my cheeks were smudged brown with dirt and grime.
  15. elation
    a feeling of joy and pride
    Before long, however, my elation gave way to hard, cold fear.
Created on Wed Nov 19 20:48:18 EST 2025 (updated Tue Dec 30 17:08:09 EST 2025)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.