by Gordon Ryan
“Magnificent country, Norway. I love it,” Mrs. Pearson said. “It reminds me of New Hampshire, up in the Green Mountains. Actually, Mrs. Callahan—may I call you Katrina?—actually, I believe I’ve met your husband. He was in Chicago once, meeting with my father, and dined in our home.”
“Oh, how lovely. You must come to Salt Lake and return the visit,” Katrina offered.
“That would be my pleasure. Did I see you on deck with your daughter?”
“Very likely,” Katrina said. “I have three of my children on this trip. My twins, Tommy and Teresa, the young lady you must have seen, and my youngest, Benjamin. My oldest son, PJ, stayed in Utah with his father.”
“Quite the family. Still, it’s nice the children have their own dining accommodations. Our talk can be so boring to the young ones, can’t it?”
“Oh, yes, I certainly agree with that,” Katrina replied politely.
Abby Pearson leaned slightly over the table and winked at Katrina. “Actually, Kate, it can be pretty boring to me, too.”
“Yes,” Katrina laughed, “I can also agree with that.”
“I think we’re gonna be friends, Kate Callahan,” Abby announced.
“I’d like that, Abby,” Katrina smiled.
By the third day of the voyage, Katrina and Abby Pearson had established a routine of meeting about mid-morning in the Café Parisien, aft on the Promenade Deck. The café was a new idea for a British vessel, attempting to bring a bit of French atmosphere to the voyage. It quickly became very popular.
On Sunday, April 14, Katrina was invited by Mrs. Pearson and several of her friends to dine in the A la Carte restaurant, the most posh of the First Class facilities. Lars and Jenny had taken their meal earlier and had decided to retire to their cabin for a night’s rest. Tommy, Tess, and Benjamin attended a puppet show early in the evening and then Katrina got them settled in their cabins prior to leaving for dinner.
At dinner, Katrina was introduced to Captain Smith, in command of the vessel, who made the rounds of each table politely, and then joined in a small dinner party given in his honor by the Widener family of Philadelphia. After the course of filet mignon Lili, Abby suggested they all attend the Sunday evening band concert, which lasted until around ten-thirty. Finally, after drinks and late-evening refreshments, Mrs. Pearson excused herself for the night, and Katrina quickly followed.
Rather than head straight for her cabin, Katrina wrapped her shawl around her shoulders and took a walk outside. It was immediately evident that she was inadequately dressed for the brisk temperatures, and she quickly returned to the warmth of the dining room. Most passengers had already departed, but a small group of men and one woman sat laughing and chatting. As Katrina descended the stairs toward her cabin, she felt a slight shudder from the ship, and heard a distinct scraping sound that lasted nearly thirty seconds, seeming to emanate from the starboard side of the vessel. The noise progressed along the right side of the ship, finally ceasing altogether.
Although the jolt wasn’t abrupt, she briefly lost her balance and held onto the railing for a moment. Another passenger, coming up the stairs, commented on the noise and the jostling. Katrina turned to look up the stairs and saw the group of men she’d noticed earlier emerge from the dining facility and head for the outside deck. She retraced her steps up toward the door leading outside and joined the small group of passengers, which now included several women.
“Did you feel something, too?” one of the ladies asked.
“A slight shudder with a scraping sound,” Katrina responded.
As the group came out onto the ship’s deck, once again the extreme cold of the night air hit Katrina, and several of the ladies complained of the chill. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the darkness but then one of the men pointed aft on the starboard side.
“My word! Would you look at the size of that iceberg?” he exclaimed.
The people in the group all looked in the direction he pointed and as their eyes continued to adjust they were able to discern the ghostly shape of a monstrous iceberg, fading slowly into the night as the ship continued on course away from the obstacle.
“Do you suppose we brushed it?” one of the ladies asked.
Another gentleman, somewhat forward of the group, returned with chunks of ice in his hands. “I’d say that was likely,” he laughed, as he put a piece of the ice on his companion’s shoulder.
“Albert!” she screamed.
“I’m sorry, dear,” he laughed. “It is cold, isn’t it?” he said, throwing the remainder of the pieces over the side. “But now, my darling, you’ve seen an iceberg and had an authentic piece of North Atlantic ice on your person.”
“A dubious honor, I should think,” she rebutted, irritably.
A uniformed crew member walked quickly toward the bridge, but he was stopped by the group.
“I say, old chap, have we had a mishap of sorts?”
“Nothing to be alarmed about, I assure you. Captain Smith will be in full control of the situation.”
“Ah, yes, of course,” the man replied. “Shall we go in, ladies? It’s frightfully chilly out here this evening.”
“That is an excellent suggestion, sir,” the officer said. “Perhaps if you all returned to your cabins, you would be much more comfortable.”
“Certainly. Ladies, if you please?” he said, holding open the door to the dining salon.
The group of passengers turned in different directions as Katrina resumed her journey down the inside stairs toward her cabin. The clock on her nightstand read a few minutes before midnight as she entered the cabin and checked on the children. Tess woke up as her mother began to undress for bed.
“Did you have a nice evening, Mother?” she asked.
“I did, dear. Thank you. Try to go back to sleep now,” Katrina whispered.
Before Katrina was fully undressed, she heard a growing commotion in the hallway outside her cabin, but remained inside. A knock on the cabin door surprised her, but she threw on a robe and went to see who was there.
“Yes?” she said through the doorway.
“It’s Poppa, Katrina. Are you all right?”
Katrina opened the door to admit Lars Hansen and noticed people milling about in the hallway.
“It’s a bit late for so many people to be up, isn’t it, Poppa?”
“The stewards want us to go to the Boat Deck, Katrina. It’s just a precaution and they say they’re sorry for the inconvenience. Momma is getting dressed, and I came to see if I could help. Are the children asleep?”
“The boys are, Poppa. I hate to wake them unless you feel it’s essential.”
“Well,” Lars said, trying to sound reassuring, “maybe we better do what they say. Just to be safe. I’ll go roust Tommy and Benjamin, and you help Tess. And, Katrina, they’ve asked us to wear our life jackets.”
“All right, Poppa, if you think so.”
“Dress her warmly, Katrina. It’s bitter cold out tonight.”
A mere twenty minutes passed between the HMS Titanic striking the iceberg and Captain Smith, fully apprised of the severity of the damage, giving the order to take to the lifeboats. Refusing to believe there was any real emergency, many passengers ignored the order in the following hour, and, in fact, more than half the early lifeboats left the Titanic filled well below capacity. The most telling statistic was the one possessed by Captain Smith as he gave that fateful order to abandon ship: the Titanic had 2,201 passengers and crew, but lifeboats for only 1,178.
On deck, First Class passengers milled around on the Boat Deck, uncertain which lifeboat was theirs or what the procedure would be should it become necessary to board the small wooden craft. Second Officer Lightoller was in command of the lifeboat stations on the port side and commenced loading boats immediately after Captain Smith gave the order. When the first boat actually took on passengers, and the divots swung out, lowering the smaller craft to the ocean below, passengers began to sense the reality of the situation. Almost
concurrent with the first lifeboat’s departure, passengers began to notice the great ship’s list to starboard, and the forward tilt to the deck as, unknown to most, the bow began to fill with water. Still, no member of the crew had informed the ship’s passengers of the fact now clearly evident to the complement of the ship’s senior officers: the Titanic was sinking!
As they left the cabin, Katrina took Tess firmly in hand and instructed Tommy to take Benjamin’s hand and not to let go. Lars stayed with his family as they ascended the stairs toward the Boat Deck. Now, outside, with the earliest of the lifeboats departing, Lars’ chest began to constrict, and he quickly grew short of breath.
Second Officer Lightoller continued to exude confidence as he calmly directed the loading of additional lifeboats, calling for women and children first and often having to cajole those women who had not yet grasped the idea they were in a life-or-death situation and that it was necessary for them to leave their husbands.
Early lifeboats departing on the starboard side of the Titanic, under the command of First Officer Murdoch, actually did contain some male passengers since the departure of a lifeboat half-empty made little sense to him. Second Officer Lightoller, however, determined that “women and children first,” actually meant “women and children only.” For many on the Titanic, living or dying became a matter of which side of the vessel one was assigned for emergency departure.
The crowd grew larger and a bit more unruly as Officer Lightoller approached the boat closest to where Katrina stood with her small cluster of children. When Lightoller called for her to board, she hesitated, looking to her mother who was clinging to Lars’ arm. Katrina offered her place to another woman with two children and then stepped close to her mother.
“Please, Momma, come into the boat with me and the children. I’m sure the men will come later.”
“You go, Katrina,” the older woman said softly. “I will stay with your father.”
“Please, Momma,” Katrina cried, her anxiety growing.
Lars, now breathing heavily and leaning up against the outside bulkhead, attempted to disengage Jenny’s arm. “You should go with Katrina, Jenny,” he said, laboring to speak.
“Lars, we have been married for over forty years, and I have never disobeyed your voice. But I will stay with you this night.”
“Jenny, please,” he pleaded.
Jenny Hansen raised her hand to the side of Lars’ face and smiled at her husband. “Lars, after all these years, would you refuse me this one request?” she said.
“Oh, my darling, Jenny,” he whispered. Lars turned his face toward Katrina. “Take the children, Katrina,” he said, his arm around Jenny. “We shall be together again soon,” he smiled gently at his daughter. “Do not fear for us.”
“Oh, Poppa,” Katrina cried again, and embraced both of her parents. Tess was crying as she watched the emotional scene develop between her mother and her grandparents. Tommy stood slightly off to one side with Benjamin, as the crowd began to lean against the forward tilt of the ship and gradually accept the inevitable need to enter the lifeboat.
Again Lightoller called for more passengers to board, and Katrina started for the lifeboat. Suddenly Benjamin jerked his hand from Tommy’s, crying something about his airplane and darting away between two male passengers standing behind the group that was waiting to board.
“Benjamin!” Katrina screamed.
“Please, ma’am, come aboard,” Lightoller said firmly.
“My son! My son!” she screamed again.
“I’ll get him, Mom,” Tommy hollered, ducking through the crowd in pursuit of his brother.
“Tommy, wait!” Katrina screamed even louder, as both her sons disappeared into the crowd of passengers.
Lars stepped forward, his voice now commanding. “Katrina, take Tess and board the boat. I’ll find the boys. Please, go now!” he said, motioning for Officer Lightoller to assist. Grabbing Katrina’s arm, the second officer practically lifted Katrina over the railing and inserted her into the lifeboat, now almost full. Tess followed her mother and shortly the lifeboat began to descend. Katrina was panic-stricken as she watched her mother and father disappear above the Boat Deck railing, the lifeboat swaying slightly as it dropped toward the icy waters below.
For several hours the lifeboats drifted on the ocean. At first, occasional cries of swimmers were heard in the distance. But after the great vessel had finally lifted her stern and slid beneath the calm, flat waters, the screams of swimmers diminished and, then, after a while, ceased altogether.
The cessation of human cries was at first comforting to those in lifeboats. But as the realization of the fate of those who had floundered in the freezing waters began to coalesce in their minds, most passengers responded to the horror with silence. Fears for their own safety were overshadowed by the loss of their loved ones who had remained on board the ship.
Before dawn, rocket shells could occasionally be seen in the night sky to the southwest, and the ship’s officer in Katrina’s lifeboat said that was a sign that a rescue vessel was coming to their aid. With the first rays of light breaking to the east, the lights of another vessel could be seen on the horizon, growing larger as the day broke. Finally, the first rescue vessel arrived on the scene and, one by one, began plucking survivors from lifeboats and collapsible life rafts. Eventually the rescuers reached Katrina’s lifeboat.
Numb from the cold, Katrina had clung throughout the night to Tess, wrapping her daughter in her own coat and trying to shield the young girl from the spray of the freezing waters. A light wind and the absence of waves throughout the night had been a blessing the passengers had not taken the time to notice. As the ropes were attached to the lifeboat and the occupants began to be assisted up the ladders, Katrina looked up toward the main deck, lined with passengers from the Carpathia. One face, pushed between two male passengers, jumped out at her and she cried out.
“Tommy! Tommy!”
“Momma?” the young boy cried.
Katrina reached the deck of the Carpathia and Tommy lunged into her arms. Katrina dropped to her knees, hugging her twins, her tears flowing freely.
“Momma, I couldn’t find him. I couldn’t find Benjamin. Momma, Momma, I couldn’t find him,” the boy sobbed.
“How did you get off the ship?” Katrina asked.
Tommy continued to sob, the tears streaming down his face. “Mrs. Pearson, Momma. She saw me on deck looking for Benjamin, and she grabbed me and told the officer to put me in her boat. I didn’t want to go, Momma. I wanted to find Benjamin. Oh, Momma, I couldn’t find him.”
Katrina pulled the boy closer, hugging him tightly, and pulling Teresa into her arms. “I know, Tommy. It’s all right. Maybe he’s here somewhere. We’ll find him, Tommy. We’ll find him.”
The crewmen from the Carpathia wrapped more blankets around the survivors as they continued to rescue additional Titanic passengers from the few remaining lifeboats. About midmorning, another ocean liner appeared on the horizon, and the Californian joined the rescue. As the Carpathia departed the scene, Abby Pearson appeared in the dining room, also wrapped in a blanket and, without words, wrapped her arms around Katrina.
“Abby! Oh, dear God, Abby, thank you for helping Tommy.”
“He was a brave boy, Kate. I had to force him into the boat. He wanted to continue looking for his brother.”
Katrina buried her head in Abby’s shoulder and cried, the emotion of the moment completely draining her body of strength and will. Tommy and Teresa sat silently in the corner of the dining room aboard the Carpathia, sipping hot chocolate as the vessel steamed for New York.
Chapter 16
Tom’s train rumbled through the eastern Pennsylvania countryside. When the porter knocked on his door at six-thirty, as prearranged, Tom acknowledged him and turned over for another five minutes of slumber. The repetitive sound from the wheels crossing each intersection of railing reminded Tom of his location, and his soon-to-be-arrived-at destination, and the five minu
tes’ delay disappeared.
Clean-shaved, dressed, and packed, with the train’s arrival in New York only about one hour hence, Tom headed for the dining car and breakfast. Notwithstanding the early hour, the car was nearly full as the train continued to traverse the rural countryside of Pennsylvania.
“ ... absolutely horrible, Henry. Can you imagine it? Oh, those poor people,” Tom heard someone say as he walked down the aisle. The steward seated him in a forward-facing seat across the small table from an older woman, who was having her breakfast alone.
“I hope you don’t mind company,” Tom said as he took his seat. “We seem to be quite full this morning.”
The well-dressed, silver-haired woman looked up from her newspaper and smiled. “Not at all, young man. I’m glad for the company.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Sir?” the waiter asked.
“Umm,” Tom replied, “just some toast, coffee, and perhaps a small order of bacon, please.”
“Right away, sir.”
“Now your Irish mother didn’t teach you to skip breakfast, did she?” the lady smiled over her newspaper.
Tom shook his head. “No, ma’am.”
“I didn’t think so,” she replied, folding the newspaper and placing it on the empty chair beside her. “And what part of Ireland might you be from?”
“The part in Utah, ma’am,” Tom laughed, “but some twenty years ago, I came from Tipperary.”
“What a beautiful country, Ireland,” the lady commented.