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CHAPTER XIV
THRILLING ACCOUNT BY L. BEASLEY
COLLISION ONLY A SLIGHT JAR—PASSENGERS COULD NOT
BELIEVE THE VESSEL DOOMED—NARROW ESCAPE OF LIFE-BOATS—PICKED
UP BY THE CARPATHIA
Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters |  |
JUST ESCAPED ANOTHER BOAT
"`One,' I heard him say, `two,' as his knife cut through the pulley ropes, and the next moment the exhaust stream had carried us clear, while boat 14 dropped into the water, into the space we had the moment before occupied, our gunwales almost touching.
"We drifted away easily, as the oars were got out, and headed directly away from the ship. The crew seemed to me to be mostly stewards or cooks in white jackets, two to an oar, with a stoker at the tiller. There was a certain amount of shouting from one end of the boat to the other, and discussion as to which way we should go, but finally it was decided to elect the stoker, who was steering, as captain, and for all to obey his orders. He set to work at once to get into touch with the other boats, calling to them and getting as close as seemed wise, so that when the search boats came
"It was now about 1 A. M.; a beautiful starlight night, with no moon, and so not very light. The sea was as calm as a pond, just a gentle heave as the boat dipped up and down in the swell; an ideal night, except for the bitter cold, for anyone who had to be out in the middle of the Atlantic ocean in an open boat. And if ever there was a time when such a night was needed, surely it was now, with hundreds of people, mostly women and children, afloat hundreds of miles from land.
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CHAPTER XIV
THRILLING ACCOUNT BY L. BEASLEY
COLLISION ONLY A SLIGHT JAR—PASSENGERS COULD NOT
BELIEVE THE VESSEL DOOMED—NARROW ESCAPE OF LIFE-BOATS—PICKED
UP BY THE CARPATHIA
Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters | |