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Chapter 01

Introduction to Medical Language

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Medical language is necessary and useful because

A. Medical professionals can communicate clearly with each other no matter what their first
language is.
B. Patients can be comforted and assured that health care professionals understand their
symptoms and are in control of the diagnosis and treatment process.
C. Medical professionals can communicate quickly with each other.
D. All of the following statements are correct.

1-1
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McGraw-Hill Education.
2. Medical language is made up primarily (but not exclusively) of words taken from which two
ancient languages?

A. Greek and Latin

B. Greek and Old English
C. Hebrew and Greek
D. German and French
E. Old English and Hebrew

3. A (n)______ is a word formed by including the name of the person who discovered or invented
what is being described.

A. acronym
B. antonym
C. eponym
D. synonym
E. none of these

4. The diagnostic imaging process called magnetic resonance imaging is frequently called MRI.
This is an example of a (n)

A. acronym.
B. antonym.
C. eponym.
D. synonym.
E. none of the above.

1-2
Copyright © 2017 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
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5. Which of the following is NOT a reason why Greek and Latin form the backbone and
foundation of medical language?

A. Foundations of Western medicine were in ancient Greece and Rome.

B. Latin was the global language of the scientific revolution.
C. Medical research of the scientific revolution was in Greek.
D. Because neither language is no longer spoken, their meanings do not change over time.
E. Because neither language is no longer spoken, they can serve as a common language for
medical professionals who may speak different modern languages.

6. Thinking of medical language as sentences to be translated instead of words to be

memorized allows one to

A. break down and understand new words.

B. describe all aspects of health care.
C. prescribe medication to patients.
D. translate a few stock medical phrases.
E. understand only the most commonly used medical phrases.

7. When it comes to emphasizing the right syllable, the basic rule is that

A. in most words, the emphasis usually falls on the first syllable.

B. in most words, the emphasis usually falls on the last syllable.
C. in most words, the emphasis usually falls on the second-to-last syllable.
D. in most words, the emphasis usually falls on the third-to-last syllable.
E. there is no basic rule for pronunciation.

8. Identify the correct pronunciation for the underlined syllable in the term cardiovascular.

A. kar
B. sar

1-3
Copyright © 2017 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
9. Identify the correct pronunciation for the underlined syllable in the term cyanosis.

A. kai
B. sai

10. Identify the correct pronunciation for the underlined syllable in the term gamophobia.

A. gam
B. jam

11. Identify the correct pronunciation for the underlined syllable in the term glycogen.

A. gen
B. jen

12. Identify the correct pronunciation for the underlined syllable in the term pharynx.

A. fair
B. pair

13. Identify the correct pronunciation for the underlined syllable in the term pneumothorax.

A. noo
B. puh-noo

14. Identify the correct pronunciation for the underlined syllable in the term pterygium.

A. puh-te
B. tuh

1-4
Copyright © 2017 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
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15. Identify the correct pronunciation for the underlined syllables in the term steatorrhea.

A. ree-uh
B. ruh-hee-ai
C. r-hee-ay
D. r-hay

16. Identify the correct pronunciation for the underlined syllables in the term xiphoid process.

A. eks-foid
B. eks-poid
C. zih-foid
D. zih-poid

17. Which of the following is the proper syllabic breakdown for the word cardiac arrest?

A. card/iac a/rrest
B. card/iac arr/est
C. car/di/ac a/rrest
D. car/di/ac arr/est

18. Which of the following is the proper syllabic breakdown for the word catheter?

A. ca/th/e/ter
B. ca/thet/er
C. cat/het/er
D. cath/e/ter

1-5
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19. Which syllable is emphasized when pronouncing the word hypotonia?

A. HAI-poh-toh-nee-yah (first syllable)

B. hai-POH-toh-nee-yah (second syllable)
C. hai-poh-TOH-nee-yah (third syllable)
D. hai-poh-toh-NEE-yah (fourth syllable)
E. hai-poh-toh-nee-YAH (fifth syllable)

20. Which syllable is emphasized when pronouncing the word myodynia?

A. MIE-oh-dih-nee-ah (first syllable)

B. mie-OH-dih-nee-ah (second syllable)
C. mie-oh-DIH-nee-ah (third syllable)
D. mie-oh-dih-NEE-ah (fourth syllable)
E. mie-oh-dih-nee-AH (fifth syllable)

21. Which syllable is emphasized when pronouncing the word arthroscope?

A. AR-throh-skohp (first syllable)

B. ar-THROH-skohp (second syllable)
C. ar-throh-SKOHP (last syllable)

22. In medical terminology, what is the definition of a root?

A. A beginning that gives essential meaning to the term

B. An ending that gives essential meaning to the term
C. The foundation or subject of the term
D. The part of the word added to the beginning of a term when needed to further modify the
foundation of the term

1-6
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23. Which of the following statements regarding prefixes and suffixes is NOT correct?

A. A prefix is located at the beginning of the term and a suffix is located at the end of the
term.
B. A suffix is located at the beginning of the term and a prefix is located at the end of a term.
C. A prefix is used to further modify the root.
D. A suffix often gives essential meaning to the term.
E. A medical word can have more than one prefix and suffix.

24. All of the following are roots meaning skin EXCEPT

A. cutane/o
B. dermat/o
C. derm/o
D. my/o

25. The root enter/o means

A. joint.
B. liver.
C. nerve.
D. small intestine.
E. stomach.

26. Which root would be used in medical terms that pertain to blood?

A. arthr/o
B. hemat/o
C. hepat/o
D. pulmon/o
E. xen/o

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27. Which root would be used in medical terms that pertain to suffering or disease?

A. gen/o
B. morph/o
C. path/o
D. troph/o
E. xer/o

28. All of the following suffixes mean pertaining to EXCEPT

A. -ac.
B. -al.
C. -algia.
D. -ar.
E. -ary.

29. All of the following suffixes mean small EXCEPT

A. -ic.
B. -icle.
C. -ole.
D. -ule.
E. -ula.

30. Which of the following roots mean the same thing?

A. arthr/o and angi/o

B. cardi/o and vascul/o
C. enter/o and gastr/o
D. hem/o and vas/o
E. my/o and muscul/o

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31. Which of the following pairs of prefixes have opposite meanings?

A. anti-, contra-
B. brady-, tachy-
C. circum-, peri-
D. mono-, uni-
E. poly-, multi-

32. Which of the following pair of prefixes have opposite meanings?

A. ab-, de-
B. exo-, extra-
C. hyper-, hypo-
D. pre-, pro-
E. sym-, syn-

33. Identify the root in the term tachycardia.

A. a
B. cardi
C. card
D. ta
E. tachy

34. Identify the root in the term polyneuropathy.

A. neuro
B. path
C. pathy
D. poly
E. y

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35. The root hepat/o means

A. fungus
B. liver
C. lung
D. narrowing
E. blood

36. The root pneumon/o means

A. fungus
B. liver
C. lung
D. muscle
E. air

37. The root myc/o means

A. fungus
B. liver
C. lung
D. muscle
E. pus

38. The root pneum/o means

A. fungus
B. liver
C. lung
D. muscle
E. air

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39. The root morph/o means

A. cause
B. change
C. eat
D. straight
E. suffering, disease

40. What is the meaning of the root hydr/o?

A. Air
B. Blood
C. Formation
D. Generation, cause
E. Water

41. What is the meaning of the root troph/o?

A. Change
B. Eat
C. Foreign
D. Generation, cause
E. Nourishment, development

42. What is the meaning of the root xen/o?

A. Dry
B. Foreign
C. Hard
D. Soft
E. Water

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43. Identify and define the root in the term arthoscope.

A. arthr/o- joint
B. arthr/o- vessel
C. scope - instrument used to look
D. scope- process of looking
E. thosc/o - chest

44. Identify and define the root in the term subcutaneous.

A. cutane/o– stomach
B. cutan– skin
C. cutane– skin
D. ous– pertaining to
E. sub– beneath

45. Identify and define the root in the term necrosis.

A. is– small
B. necr– death
C. necr/o– kidney
D. crosis– condition
E. osis– presence of

46. Identify and define the root in the term pyemia.

A. emia– blood condition

B. pyem– pus
C. ia– condition
D. py/e– eat
E. py– pus

1-12
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47. The prefix ante- means

A. after.
B. again.
C. before.
D. against.
E. slow.

48. The prefix oligo- means

A. all.
B. few.
C. large.
D. many.
E. small.

49. The prefixes a- and an- both mean

A. away.
B. in, inside.
C. not.
D. out, outside.
E. without.

50. The prefixes e-, ec-, and ex- all mean

A. outside.
B. beneath.
C. in, inside.
D. out.
E. through.

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51. Which of the following pairs of prefixes are synonyms that mean in, inside?

A. a-, an-
B. con-, syn-
C. en-, endo-
D. ex-, exo-
E. inter-, intra-

52. Which of the following pairs of prefixes are synonyms that mean around?

A. circum-, trans-
B. circum-, peri-
C. circum-, dia-
D. contra-, peri-
E. dia-, peri-

53. What is the meaning of the prefix contra-?

A. Against
B. Bad
C. Down
D. Around
E. With

54. What is the meaning of the prefix poly-?

A. Few
B. Half
C. Many
D. No, none
E. One

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55. What is the meaning of the prefix syn-?

A. Against
B. Before, on behalf of
C. Between
D. Through
E. With, together

56. Identify and define the prefix in the term antigen.

A. an - across
B. anti- against
C. anti- before
D. gen- creation, cause
E. gen- suffering, disease

57. Identify and define the root in the term eugenic.

A. eu– bad
B. gen– generation, cause
C. eu– good
D. eugen– cause
E. ic– pertaining to

58. Identify and define the prefix in the term transdermal.

A. al - across
B. al - pertaining to
C. derm- skin
D. trans- across
E. trans - pertaining to

1-15
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59. Identify and define the prefix in the term heminephrectomy.

A. hemi- half
B. hemi- out
C. nephr- kidney
D. tomy - incision
E. ectomy - removal

60. Identify and define the prefix in the term hypertrophic.

A. hyper– over
B. hyper– under
C. ic- condition
D. ic - pertaining to
E. troph - nourishment, development

61. The suffixes -algia and -dynia both mean

A. abnormal softening.
B. inflammation.
C. pain.
D. presence of.
E. resembling.

62. The suffix –logy means

A. medical science.
B. specialist in medicine of.
C. specialist.
D. specialist in the study of.
E. study of.

1-16
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63. The suffix –graph means

A. instrument used to look.

B. instrument used to produce a record.
C. process of recording.
D. process of looking.
E. written record.

64. The suffix —emia means

A. blood condition.
B. flow.
C. process of measuring.
D. rupture.
E. tissue, structure.

65. What is the meaning of the suffix -oid?

A. Involuntary contraction
B. Resembling
C. Rupture
D. Suture
E. Tumor

66. What is the meaning of the suffix -oma?

A. Involuntary contraction
B. Resembling
C. Rupture
D. Suture
E. Tumor

1-17
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67. What is the meaning of the suffix -rrhaphy?

A. Excessive flow
B. Resembling
C. Rupture
D. Suture
E. Tumor

68. What is the meaning of the suffix -rrhexis?

A. Involuntary contraction
B. Resembling
C. Rupture
D. Suture
E. Excessive flow

69. What is the meaning of the suffix -spasm?

A. Involuntary contraction
B. Drooping
C. Rupture
D. Suture
E. Narrowing

70. Identify and define the suffix in the term craniostomy.

A. cranios- bone
B. cranio- skull
C. ostomy- bone
D. stomy- creation of an opening
E. tomy- incision

1-18
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71. Identify and define the suffix in the term cardiomalacia.

A. cardio– heart
B. acia– condition
C. malacia– hernia
D. mal– bad
E. malacia– abnormal softening

72. Identify and define the suffix in the term costochondritis.

A. chondr– cartilage
B. chondrit– cartilage
C. itis– deficiency
D. itis– inflammation
E. is– condition

73. Identify and define the suffix in the term dysmenorrhea.

A. dys– bad
B. dys– not
C. meno– menstruation
D. rrhea– flow
E. rrhea– rupture

74. Select the correct plural form of the word diagnosis.

A. Diagnosa
B. Diagnosae
C. Diagnoses
D. Diagnosi
E. Diagnosies

1-19
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75. Select the correct plural form of the word nucleus.

A. Nucleae
B. Nuclei
C. Nuclemata
D. Nucles
E. Nuclices

76. When combining word parts, a combining vowel is used

A. to join a root to any suffix beginning with a consonant.

B. to join two roots together.
C. to join two roots together even when the second root begins with a vowel.
D. All of these statements are correct.
E. None of these statements is correct.

77. When combining word parts, a combining vowel is NOT used

A. to join a root to a suffix that begins with a vowel.

B. to join a root to a suffix beginning with a consonant.
C. to join two roots together.
D. to join two roots together even when a second root begins with a vowel.
E. All of these statements are correct.

78. Which of the following terms includes a combining vowel?

A. Bradycardia
B. Endocardium
C. Gastric
D. Gastritis
E. Neuropathy

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Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
"My mind is made up," said the girl, in a voice which silenced his
remonstrances; "but I agree with you that somebody ought to start
off for the shed. I think that you should, Mr. Engelhardt, if you feel
equal to it."
"Equal to it! It's so likely I would ride off and leave two women to
the mercy of those brutes! If it really must be so, then I think the
sooner we all three get into the store——"
It was Mrs. Potter who here put in her amazing word. While the
young people stood and argued, her eyes had travelled over every
point of the saddled horse. And now she proposed that she should
be the one to ride to the shed for help.
"You!" the two cried in one breath, as they gazed at her ample
figure.
"And why not?" said the hardy woman. "Wasn't I born and bred in
the bush? Couldn't I ride—bareback, too—before either of you was
born? I'm not so light as I used to be, and I haven't the nerve
either; but what I have is all there in the hour of need, Miss Naomi.
Let me go now. I'm ready this minute."
Naomi had seemed lost in thought.
"Very well!" cried she, whipping her eyes from the ground. "But you
don't know the way to the shed, and I must make your directions
pretty plain. Run to the back of the kitchen, Mr. Engelhardt, you'll
see a lot of clothes-props. Bring as many as you can to the store
veranda."
Engelhardt darted off upon his errand. Already they had wasted too
many minutes in words. His brain was ablaze with lurid visions of the
loathsome crew in Top Scrubby; of the murderous irruption
imminent at any moment; of the unspeakable treatment to be
suffered at those blood-stained hands—not only by himself—that
mattered little—but by a woman—by Naomi of all women in the
world. God help them both if the gang arrived before they were safe
inside the store! But until the worst happened she need not know,
nor should she guess, how bad that worst might be. Poor Rowntree's
fate, and even his own ill-usage by those masterless men, were
things which Engelhardt was not the man to tell to women in the
hour of alarm. He was clear enough as to that; and having done up
to this point all that a man could do, he jumped at the simple task
imposed by Naomi, and threw himself into it with immense vigor and
a lightened heart. As he dropped his first clothes-prop in the store
veranda, Naomi and the housekeeper were still talking, though the
latter was already huddled up in the saddle. When he got back with
a second, both women were gone; with a third, Naomi was
unlocking the store door; with the fourth and last, she had lit a
candle inside, and was sawing one of the other props in two.
"That'll do," she said, as her saw ran through the wood. "Now hold
this one up for me."
She pointed to another of the stout poles. She made him hold it with
one end inside, and the other protruding through the opening. Then
she made a mark on the prop at the level of the door, sawed it
through at her mark, and cut down the other two in the same
fashion. In less than five minutes the four poles had become eight,
which cumbered the floor within. Then Naomi rose from her knees,
flung the saw back into the tool-box, and made a final survey with
the candle. A few flakes of sawdust lay about the shallow veranda.
She fetched a broom from a corner of the store and whisked them
away. Then she removed the key to the inside, and was about to
lock the door upon herself and Engelhardt when he suddenly
stopped her.
"Hold on!" he cried. "I want your boots."
"My boots?"
"Yes, those you've got on—with the dust on 'em, just as they are.
They must be left outside your door, and your door must be locked;
you must keep the key."
Naomi gave him a grateful, an admiring smile.
"That is a happy thought. I'll get it myself. While I'm gone you might
fetch in the axe from the wood-heap; I'd almost forgotten it."
They ran off in different directions. Next minute they were both back
in the store, Engelhardt with the axe. Naomi took it from him, and
set it aside without a word. Her face was blanched.
"I heard something," she whispered. "I heard a cry. Oh, if they've
seen me!"
"We'll lock the door as quietly as possible."
This was done.
"Now the props," said Naomi.
Engelhardt had guessed what they were for. He helped her to fix
them, with one wedged between floor and counter, and the other
pressing the heavy woodwork of the door. It now appeared how
craftily Naomi had cut her timbers. They met the door, two at the
top, two at the bottom, and four about the centre. Still the brave
engineer was distressed.
"I meant to hammer them down," she murmured. "Now I daren't."
"We'll put all our weight on them instead," said Engelhardt. They did
so with a will, until each prop had creaked in turn. Then they
listened.
"Out with the light," said Naomi. "There are no windows to give us
away—but still!"
He blew it out. As yet his own ears had heard nothing, and he was
beginning to wonder whether Naomi had been deceived. They
listened a little longer. Then she said:
"We're provisioned for a siege. Did you see the flask and things on
the counter?"
"I did. How in the world did you find time to get them ready?"
"I had them ready before you came. They were for you."
The two were crouching close together between the props. It was a
natural though not a necessary attitude. The moon was shining
through the skylight upon one of the walls; the multifarious tins and
bottles on the shelves made the most of the white light; and faint
reflections reached the faces of Naomi and the piano-tuner—so close
to each other, so pale, so determined, and withal so wistful as their
eyes met. Engelhardt first looked his thanks, and then stammered
them out in a broken whisper. Even as he did so the girl raised a
finger to her lips.
"Hark! There they are."
"Yes, I hear them. They won't hear us yet a bit."
"They mustn't hear us at all; but off with your boots—we may have
to move about."
She had already kicked off her shoes, and now, because he had only
one of his own, she pulled off his boots with her two hands.
"You should not have done that!"
"Why not?"
"It's dreadful! Just as though you were my servant."
"Mr. Engelhardt, we must be everything to each other——"
She shot up her hand and ceased. The voices without were now
distinguishable.
"To-night!" he muttered, bitterly, before heeding them.
Naomi, on the other hand, was at the last pitch of attention; but not
to him. She inclined her head as she knelt to hear the better. The
voices were approaching from one side.
"Ay, that's where he dropped—just there!" said one. It was
Tigerskin's mate, Bill.
"Take the key from the door!" Engelhardt whispered to Naomi, who
was the nearer it. They had forgotten to do this. For one wild
moment the girl hesitated, then she cautiously reached out her hand
and withdrew the key without a scratch.
"So this is the crib!" they heard Bo's'n say.
"The same old crib," said Bill. "Same as it was ten years ago, only
plastered up a bit. I suppose it is locked, mate?"
The handle was tried. The door shook ever so little. The two inside
gazed at the props and held their breath. If one of them should be
shaken down!
"Ay, it's locked all right; and I reckon it's true enough about the girl
sleeping with the key under her pillow, and all."
"Blast your reckonings!" said Bill. "Make sure the key ain't in the
door on t'other side."
The thimbleful of starlit sky which Naomi had been watching for the
last minute and a half was suddenly wiped away. She heard Bo's'n
breathing hard as he stooped and peered. The key grew colder in
her hand.
"No, there ain't no key, Bill."
"That's all right. They're both in their beds then, and that little suck-
o'-my-thumb hasn't got here yet. When he does, God 'elp him!"
The voices were those of Bill and Bo's'n. For the moment these two
seemed to be alone together.
"Ay, ay, we'd string the beggar up fast enough another time!"
"String him up? Yes, by his heels, and shoot holes through him while
he dangled."
"Beginning where you don't kill. Holy smoke! but I wish he'd turn up
now."
"So do I—the swine! But here comes the ringer. What cheer, matey?"
"It's right," said Simons. "The little devil's locked her door; but there
are her boots outside, same as if she was stoppin' at a blessed 'otel.
A fat lot she cared whether her precious pal was bushed or whether
he wasn't! We thought you was telling us lies, mother, but, by cripes,
you wasn't!"
"I should think not!" said a fourth voice. "She wouldn't believe he
was lost, but I knew he was; so I just saddled the night-horse after
she was in bed and asleep, and was going straight to the shed to
raise a search-party!"
The pair within were staring at each other in dumb horror. That
fourth voice was but too well known to them both. It was Mrs.
Potter's.
 CHAPTER XV
THE NIGHT ATTACK

"See here, mother!" said Bill. "There's one or two things we want to
know. Spit out the truth, and that'll be all right. Tell us one lie, and
there'll be an end of you. Understand?"
"I ought to."
"Right you are, then; now you know. What about this key?"
"She keeps it in her room."
"Under her pillow, eh?"
"That I can't say; but she will tell you."
"So we reckon. Now look here. Will you take your oath there's not
another soul on the premises but you and her?"
The pair within again held their breath. They must be discovered;
but the longer they could postpone it the shorter would be their
danger. Mrs. Potter's heart was stout, however, and her tongue
ready.
"I swear it," she cried, heartily.
"What makes you so cussed sure?"
"Why, it stands to reason. By rights there ought to be four of us.
That's with Sam Rowntree and Mr. Engelhardt. Sam's gone off on his
own hook somewhere"—Bill chuckled—"but nobody knows where.
Mr. Engelhardt's lost, as I told you. So there's nobody left but
mistress and me. How could there be?"
"I don't know or care a curse how there could be. I only know that if
there is, you'll have a pill to take without opening your mouth for it.
About this chap that's lost; you'll take your oath he didn't turn up
before you left the station just now?"
"I told you he hadn't, as soon as ever you overtook me."
"You've got to swear it!" said Bill, savagely.
"I swore it then."
"So she did," said Simons, who had been grumbling openly during
this cross-examination. "What's the good of going over the same
track twice, mate? Let her give us the feed she promised, and then
let's get to work."
"And so say I!" cried the Bo's'n.
"You shall have your supper in five minutes," said Mrs. Potter, "if
you'll let me get it."
"All right, missus," said Bill, after a pause. "Only mind, if we catch
you in any hanky-panky, by God I'll screw your neck till I put your
face where your back-hair ought to be. Don't you dare get on the
cross with us, or there'll be trouble! Come on, chaps. You show the
way to the dining-room, mother, and light up; then we'll...."
The rest sounded indistinct in the store. The low crunching of the
foot-falls in the sandy yard changed to a crisp clatter upon the
homestead veranda. Naomi waited for that sign; then with a white
face and eager hands she began to tear down, prop by prop, the
barricade on which their very lives depended.
"She shall not suffer for this, whoever else does," she muttered. "At
least she sha'n't suffer alone."
"You mean to open the door?"
"Yes, and catch her as she passes. To get to the kitchen she must
pass close to the store. We'll open the door, and if she's wise she'll
pass three or four times without turning her head; she'll wait till
they're well at work; then she'll come back for something else—and
slip in."
As she spoke Naomi went round to the gun-rack, took down the
Winchester repeating-rifle, loaded it and came back to the front of
the store. Then she directed Engelhardt to unlock the door, she
helping him to be gentle with the key. The lock was let back by
degrees. A moment later the door was wide open, with Naomi
standing as in a frame, the Winchester in her hands.
The station-yard lay bathed and purified in the sweet moonlight. The
well-palings opposite, and the barracks beyond, were as though
newly painted white. The main building Naomi could not see without
putting out her head, for it ran at right angles with the store, and
she was standing well inside. But the night wind that blew freshly in
her face bore upon it the noise of oaths and laughter from the
dining-room, and presently that of footsteps, too. At this Naomi laid
a finger on the trigger and stood like a rock, with the piano-tuner,
like its shadow, at her side. But it was only Mrs. Potter who stepped
into the moonlight. So far all was as Naomi had hoped and
calculated.
But no further. When the poor soul saw the open door she stopped
dead, hesitated half a second, and then ran like a heavy doe for it
and Naomi. The latter had made adverse signals in vain. She drew
aside to let the woman in, and was also in time to prevent
Engelhardt from slamming the door. She shut it gently, turned the
key with as much care as before, and with a sternly whispered
"hush!" kept still to listen. The other two stood as silent, though Mrs.
Potter, in the moment of safety and of reaction, was heaving and
quivering all over, shedding tears like rain, and swaying perilously
where she stood. But she kept her feet bravely during that critical
minute; it was but one; the next, a shout of laughter from the
distance made it clear that by a miracle the incident had passed
unobserved and unsuspected.
"We may think ourselves lucky," said Naomi, severely. Next moment
she had thrown her arms round the old woman's neck, and was
covering her honest wrinkled face with her tears and kisses.
The practical Engelhardt was busily engaged in replacing the props
against the door. His one hand made him slow at the work. Naomi
was herself again in time to help him, and now there was sturdy
Mrs. Potter to lend her weight. The supports were soon firmer than
ever, with gimlets and bradawls driven into the door above those at
the greatest slant, which were thus in most danger of being forced
out of place. Then came a minute's breathing-space.
"I had just got through the first gate," Mrs. Potter was saying, "when
I heard a galloping, and they were on me. Nay, Miss Naomi, it isn't
anything to be proud of. I just said the first things that came into my
head about you both; there was no time to think. It's only a mercy
it's turned out so well."
"It was presence of mind," said Naomi. "We have scored an hour
through it, and may another if they are long in missing you. If we
can hold out till morning, someone may ride in from the shed. Don't
you hear them talking still?"
"Yes; they're more patient than I thought they'd be."
"They think you're busy in the kitchen. When they find you're not,
they'll waste their time looking all over the place for you—
everywhere but here."
"Ay, but they'll come here in the end, and then may the Lord have
mercy on our souls!"
"Come, come. They're not going to get in as easily as all that. And if
they do, what with the Winchester——"
"Hush!" said Engelhardt. He was kneeling among the props, with his
ear close to the bottom of the door.
All three listened. The voices were louder and more distinct. The
men had come outside.
"I don't believe she's there at all," said one. "I see no light."
"Go you and have a look, Bo's'n. Prick the old squaw up with the
p'int o' your knife. But if you find her trying to hide, or up to any o'
them games, I'd slit her throat and save the barney."
"By cripes, so would I!"
"Ay, ay, messmates, but we'll see—we'll see."
All the voices were nearer now. Naomi had taken Mrs. Potter's hand,
and was squeezing it white. For some moments they could make out
nothing more. Bo's'n had evidently gone over to the kitchen. The
other two were talking in low tones somewhere near the well-
palings. Suddenly a muffled shout from the kitchen reached every
ear.
"She's not here at all."
"Not there!"
"Come and look for yourselves."
"By gock," cried Bill, "let me just get my grip on her fat neck!"
A moment later the three could be heard ransacking the kitchen, and
calling upon the fugitive to come out, with threats and imprecations
most horrible to hear even in the distance; but as they drew nearer,
working swiftly from out-building to out-building, like ferrets in a
rabbit-warren, the ferocity of their language rose to such a pitch that
the hunted woman within fell back faint and trembling upon the
counter. Naomi was quick as thought with the flask; but her own
cool hand and steady eyes were as useful as the brandy, and the fit
passed as swiftly as it had come. While it lasted, however, the only
one to follow every move outside was the assiduous Engelhardt. He
had not yet risen from his knees; but he raised himself a little as
Mrs. Potter stood upright again, supported by Naomi.
"It's all right," he whispered. "They've no idea where you are.
Simons has had a look in the barracks, and Bo's'n in the pines. But
they've given you up now. They're holding a council of war within
five yards of us!"
"Let's listen," said Naomi. "Their language won't kill us."
They had quite given up Mrs. Potter. This was evident from the tail-
end of a speech in which Bill bitterly repented not having "stiffened"
both her and Engelhardt at sight.
"As for getting to the shed," said Simons, who was the obvious
authority on this point, "that'll take her a good hour and a half on
foot. It'd be a waste of time and trouble to ride after her, though I'd
like to see Bill at work on her—I should so! If she had her horse, it'd
be another thing."
"Ay, ay," cried the Bo's'n. "Let the old gal rip."
Bill had been of the same opinion a moment before; but this
indecent readiness to be beaten by an old woman was more than he
could share or bear. He told his mate so in highly abusive terms.
They retorted that he was beaten by that same old woman himself.
Bill was not so sure of that; what about the bedroom with the boots
outside? Nobody had looked in there.
A brisk debate ensued, in which the voice of Simons rose loudest.
Bill, on the other hand, spoke in a much lower tone than usual; his
words did not penetrate into the store; it was as though they were
meant not to. And yet it was Bill who presently cried aloud:
"Then that's agreed. We all three go together to rouse her up
anyhow, whether the old gal's there or whether she isn't. Come on!"
Apparently they went then and there.
"Nice for me!" whispered Naomi. "Nice for us both, Mrs. Potter, if we
weren't safe——"
A bovine roar seemed to burst from their very midst. It was Bill
outside the door.
"Tricked 'em, by God!" he yelled. "Here they are. Never mind that
room. I tell you they're here—both of 'em; I heard 'em whispering."
"Bill, you're a treat," said the Bo's'n, running up. "I never saw such a
man——"
"Where's Simons?"
"He was bound to have a look for hisself. Here he comes. Well,
messmate, where is she?"
"Not there," cried Simons, with an oath. "The room's as empty as we
are. There's been no one in it all night."
Bill laughed.
"I knew that, matey. You might have saved yourself the trouble
when I sang out. She's—in—here." And he kicked the store door
three times with all his might.
"Who is?" said Simons.
"Both on 'em. What did I tell you? They started whisperin' the
moment they thought we'd sheered off."
"They're not whisperin' now," said Simons, at the keyhole. "By
cripes, let's burst the door in!"
"Hold on," said Bill. "If they're not born fools they'll listen to reason.
Out o' the light, matey. See here, ladies, if you walk out now you
may live to spin the yarn, but if you don't—" He broke away into
nameless blasphemies.
The cruel voice came hoarse and hot through the keyhole.
Engelhardt opened his mouth to reply, but Naomi clapped a warm
palm upon it, and with the other hand signalled silence to Mrs.
Potter.
"We've given 'em their chance," said Bill, after a pause. "Come on,
chaps. One, two, all together—now!"
There was a stampede of feet in the shallow veranda, and then a
thud and a crash, as the three men hurled themselves against the
door. But for their oaths outside, in the store it was as though
nothing had happened. Not a timber had given, not a prop was out
of place. Naomi's white face wore a smile, which, however, was
instantly struck out by a loud report and a flash through the keyhole.
Engelhardt crouched lower, picked something from the floor, and
passed it up to Naomi in his open hand.
She carried it into the moonlight. It was a wisp of the musician's
long hair, snipped out by the bullet.
They stood aside from the keyhole. More bullets came through, but
all at the same angle. The women caught up a sack of flour, rolled it
over the counter, and with Engelhardt's help jammed it between the
props, so that the top just covered the keyhole. Next moment there
was a rush against the door, and for the second time all the harm
was done to the besiegers, not the besieged.
"We'll be black and blue before we've anything to show for it!" they
heard the Bo's'n groaning.
"There's more than women in this," said Bill. "There's that spawn
that I should have strung up if it hadn't been for you two white-
feathers. It's yourselves you've got to thank for this. I might have
known it the moment I caught sight o' that lump o' lard on
horseback. The swine's been in here all the time!"
"He has!" shouted Engelhardt at the top of his excited voice; "and
it's where you'll never get, not a man of you! You take that from
me!"
For a short space there was a hush outside. Then arose such a
storm of curses and foul threats that the women within put their
fingers in their ears. When they withdrew them, all was silence once
more, and this time it lasted.
"They must have gone for something!" exclaimed Naomi.
"They have," said the piano-tuner, coolly. "A battering-ram!"
"Then now's our time," cried the girl. "It's absurd to think of our
being cooped up here with any quantity of fire-arms, and no chance
of using one of them! First we must light up. Chop that candle in
two, Mrs. Potter. It'll see us through to daybreak, and there's nothing
to keep dark any longer, so the more light now the better. Ah, here's
the tool-box, and yes! here's the brace and bits. Now this is my little
plan."
She took the brace, fitted it with the largest bit, and was making for
the door.
"What are you going to do?" said Engelhardt.
"Make a loop-hole to fire through."
"And for them to fire through, too!"
"Well, that can't be helped."
"Excuse me, I think it can. I've been puzzling the thing out for the
last hour. I've a better plan than that!"
"Let me hear it."
"A tomahawk!"
She gave him one from the tool-box.
"May I hack the roofing a bit?"
"As much as ever you like."
"Now a pile of boxes—here—just at the left of the door—and four
feet high."
The women had it ready in a twinkling. They then helped him to
clamber to the top—no easy matter with an arm that was not only
useless, but an impediment at every turn. When he stood at his full
height his head touched the corrugated iron some twenty inches
from the obtuse angle between roof and wall.
He reached out his hand for the tomahawk, and at the height of his
eyes he hacked a slit in the iron, prising the lower lip downward until
he could see well out into the yard. Then, a handbreadth above the
angle, he made a round hole with the sipke of the tomahawk, and
called for a revolver. Naomi produced a pair. He took one, and
worked the barrel in the round hole until it fitted loosely enough to
permit of training. Then he looked down. There was no sign of the
thieves.
"Have you plenty of cartridges, Miss Pryse?"
"Any amount."
"Well, I don't expect to spill much blood with them; but, on the
other hand, I'm not likely to lose any myself." The work and the
danger had combined to draw his somewhat melancholy spirit out of
itself. Or perhaps it was not the danger itself, but the fact that he
shared it with Naomi Pryse. Whatever the cause, the young man was
more light-hearted than was his wont. "They'll fire at the spot I fire
from," he explained, with a touch of pride; "they'll never think of my
eyes being two feet higher up, and their bullets must strike the roof
at such an angle that no charge on earth would send them through.
Mind, it'll be the greatest fluke if I hit them; but they aren't to know
that; and at any rate I may keep them out of worse mischief for a
time."
"You may and you will," said Naomi, enthusiastically. "But still we
shall want my loop-hole!"
"Why so?"
"The veranda!"
For some moments Engelhardt said nothing. When at last he found
his voice it was to abuse himself and his works with such
unnecessary violence that again that soft warm palm lay for an
instant across his lips. His pride in his own ingenuity had been
cruelly humbled, for he had to confess that he had entirely forgotten
to reckon with the store-veranda, a perfect shelter against even the
deadliest fusillade from his position.
"Very well," he cried at last. "We'll drill a hole through the door, but
we must drill it near the top, and at an angle, so that they can't put
a bullet through it at a distance."
"Then let me do it," said Naomi. She sprang upon the flour-bag, and
the hole was quickly made. Still the men did not return. "Lucky thing
I remembered the axe in time!" she continued, remaining where she
was. "They would have hacked in the door in no time with that. I
say, Mr. Engelhardt, this is my post. I mean to stick here."
"Never!" he cried.
"But you can't work both revolvers."
"Well, then, let us change places. You'll probably shoot straighter
than I should. I'll stand on the flour-bag with the barrel of the other
revolver through the hole you've made. If any one of them gets in a
line with it——well, there'll be a villain less!"
"And Mrs. Potter shall load for us," cried Naomi. "Do you know
how?"
"Can't say I do, miss."
"Then I'll show you."
This was the work of a moment. The old bush-woman was handy
enough, and cool enough too, now that she was getting used to the
situation. It was her own idea to bring round the storekeeper's tall
stool, to plant it among the props, within reach of Naomi on the
boxes and of Engelhardt on the flour-bag, and to perch herself on its
leather top with the box of cartridges in her lap. Thus prepared and
equipped, this strange garrison waited for the next assault.
"Here they come," cried Naomi at last, with a sudden catch in her
voice. "They're carrying a great log they must have fished out from
the very bottom of the wood-heap. All the top part of the heap was
small wood, and I guess they've wasted some more time in hunting
for the axe. But here they are!" She pushed her revolver through the
slit in the roof, and the sharp report rang through the store.
"Hit anybody?" said Engelhardt next moment.
"No. They're stopping to fire back. Ah, you were right."
As she spoke there was a single report, followed by three smart raps
on the sloping roof. The bullet had ricochetted like a flat stone flung
upon a pond. Another and another did the same, and Naomi
answered every shot.
"For God's sake take care!" cried the piano-tuner.
"I am doing so."
"Hit any one yet?"
"Not yet; it's impossible to aim; and they've never come nearer than
the well-palings. Ah!"
"What now?"
"They're charging with the log."
Engelhardt slipped his revolver into his pocket, and grasped the shelf
that jutted out over the lintel. He felt that the shock would be
severe, and so it was. It came with a rush of feet and a volley of
loud oaths—a crash that smashed the lock and brought three of the
clothes-props clattering to the ground. But those secured by gimlet
and bradawl still held; and though the lower part of the door had
given an inch the upper fitted as close as before, and the hinges
were as yet uninjured.
"One more does it!" cried Bill. "One more little rush like the last, and
then, by God, if we don't make the three of you wish you was well
dead, send me to quod again for ten year! Aha, you devil with the
pistol! Very nice you'd got it arranged, but it don't cover us here. No,
no, we've got the bulge on you now, you swine you! And you can't
hit us, neither! We're going to give you one chance more when
we've got our breath—just one, and then——"
By holding on to the shelf when the crash came Engelhardt had
managed to stand firm on the flour-bag. Seeing that the door still
held, though badly battered, he had put his eye to the loop-hole
bored by Naomi, and it had fallen full on Bill. A more bestial sight he
had never seen, not even in the earlier hours of that night. The
bloated face was swimming with sweat, and yet afire with rage and
the lust for blood. The cross-eyes were turned toward the holes in
the roof, hidden from them by the veranda, and the hairy fist with
the four fingers was being savagely shaken in the same direction.
The man was standing but a foot from the door, and when
Engelhardt removed his eye and slipped his pistol-barrel in the place,
he knew that it covered his midriff, though all that he could see
through the half-filled hole was a fragment of the obscene,
perspiring face. It was enough to show him the ludicrous change of
expression which followed upon a sudden lowering of the eyes and a
first glimpse of the protruding barrel. Without a moment's hesitation
Engelhardt pressed the trigger while Bill was stupidly repeating:
"And then—and then——"
A flash cut him short, and as the smoke and the noise died away,
Engelhardt, removing the pistol once more and applying his eye, saw
the wounded brute go reeling and squealing into the moonshine
with his hand to his middle and the blood running over it. To the
well-palings he reeled, dropping on his knees when he got there, but
struggling to his feet and running up and down and round and round
like a mad bull, still screaming and blaspheming at the top of his
voice, and with the blood bubbling over both his hands, which never
ceased to hug his wound. His mates rushed up to him, but he beat
them off, cursing them, spitting at them, and covering them with
blood as he struck at them with his soaking fists. It was their fault.
They should have let him have his way. He would have done for that
hell-begotten swine who had now done for him. It was they who had
killed him—his own mates—and he told them so with shrieks and
curses, varied with sobs and tears, and yet again with wild shots
from a revolver which he plucked from his belt. But he dropped the
pistol after madly discharging it twice, and clapping his hand to his
middle, as though he could only live by pressing the wound with all
his force, he rushed after them, foaming at the mouth and squirting
blood at every stride. At last he seemed to trip, and he fell forward
in a heap, but turned on one side, his knees coming up with a jerk,
his feet treading the air as though running still. And for some
seconds they so continued, like the screws of a foundering steamer;
then he rolled over heavily; his two companions came up at a walk;
one of them touched him with his foot; and Engelhardt stepped
down from the flour-bag with a mouth that had never relaxed, and a
frown that had never gone.
Naomi was no longer standing on the boxes; but she was sitting on
them, with her face in her hands; and in the light of the two candle-
ends, Mrs. Potter was watching her with a white dazed face.
"Cheer up!" said Engelhardt. "The worst is over now."
"Is he dead?" said Naomi, uncovering her face.
"As dead as a man can be."
"And you shot him?"
She knew that he had; but the thing seemed incredible as she sat
and looked at him; and by the time it came fully home to her, the
little musician was inches taller in her eyes.
"Yes, I shot the brute; and I'll shoot that shearer, too, if I get half a
chance."
Naomi felt nervous about it, and sufficiently shocked. She was
dubiously remarking that they had not committed murder, when she
was roughly interrupted.
"Haven't they!"
"Whom have they murdered?"
"You'll see."
"I know!" cried Mrs. Potter, with sudden inspiration; but even as they
looked at her, a voice was heard shouting from a respectful distance
outside.
"We're going," it cried. "We've had enough of this, me and Simons
have. Only when they find that chap in the paddock, recollect it was
Bill that hung him. But for us he'd have hung you, too!"
They listened very closely, but they heard no more. Then Naomi
stood up to look through the slit in the roof.
"The yard is empty," she cried. "Their horses are gone! Oh, Mr.
Engelhardt—Mr. Engelhardt—we are saved!"
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