The Detective's Assistant: Chapters 31–Epilogue

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. dither
    an excited state of agitation
    Now that “Honest Abe” Lincoln had won the presidency, the South was in a dither.
  2. confederacy
    a union of political organizations
    Mr. Lincoln hadn’t even sat down in his big presidential chair, and already seven states were breaking away, forming their own confederacy.
  3. dander
    a feeling of anger and animosity
    She marched off in such a dander, I imagined smoke trailing behind her.
  4. blustery
    tending to talk or act in a domineering and boastful way
    I batted my eyes and tried to make sense of their blustery, boastful talk.
  5. cohort
    a company of companions or supporters
    Not to be outdone, the third and fourth cohorts raised their voices and their fists, vowing, “The abolitionist traitor will never take the oath of office, not if there’s a Son of the South alive to stop him!”
  6. abolitionist
    a reformer who favors putting an end to slavery
    I’d read enough newspapers by now to know about abolitionists, and I did not think the term deserved to go hand in hand with the word traitor.
  7. mutineer
    someone who rebels against an authority
    And before I could say Yankee Doodle, I was swept onto the marble dance floor and forced to divide my time among four of the South’s clumsiest, rock-footed mutineers.
  8. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    When she spied me behind her, I made a point to unfurl my newspaper with a noisy flip of my wrists and head for the fireplace to read.
  9. pram
    a baby carriage with four wheels
    A few ladies pushing baby prams passed us, and Mr. Tuthill tipped his hat to each of them in a friendly manner.
  10. daguerreotype
    an early type of photograph produced on a silver plate
    It was a daguerreotype of a man and a woman.
  11. thunderstruck
    as if struck dumb with astonishment and surprise
    Aunt Kate’s sharp eyes darted to the picture, but her hands lay useless in her lap. She seemed thunderstruck by what she saw, drawn to the image yet unable to touch it.
  12. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    Rowdy crowds were pushing this way and that, and a fire engine pulled by six straining horses went careening down the center of the street.
  13. pandemonium
    a state of extreme confusion and disorder
    “What’s this, Nell? Maybe it’s the pandemonium that comes and goes around us affecting my hearing. But from what I can tell by the sound of it, your boots aren’t making their usual heavy thumping.”
  14. gumption
    fortitude and determination
    I gave him your message, and do you know what he said? “That child’s got gumption.”
  15. inauguration
    the ceremonial induction into a position
    In a few hours, I’m going to telegraph my report on the spectacle of the inauguration—did you know Mr. Lincoln has grown a beard along his chin for this occasion, but no mustache?
Created on Wed Nov 19 21:08:21 EST 2025 (updated Tue Dec 30 17:21:04 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.