As one man expressed it, it was the impossible that
happened when, with a shock unbelievably mild, the ship's
side was torn for a length which made the bulkhead system
ineffective."
After telling of the shock and the lowering of the boats
the account continues:
"Some of the boats, crowded too full to give rowers a
chance, drifted for a time. Few had provisions or water,
there was lack of covering from the icy air, and the only
lights were the still undimmed arcs and incandescents of the
settling ship, save for one of the first boats. There a steward,
who explained to the passengers that he had been shipwrecked
twice before, appeared carrying three oranges and
a green light.
"That green light, many of the survivors say, was to the
shipwrecked hundreds as the pillar of fire by night. Long
after the ship had disappeared, and while confusing false
lights danced about the boats, the green lantern kept them
together on the course which led them to the Carpathia.
"As the end of the Titanic became manifestly but a matter
of moments, the oarsmen pulled their boats away, and the
chilling waters began to echo splash after splash as passengers
and sailors in life-preservers leaped over and started
swimming away to escape the expected suction.
Pages:
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206