JOHN AND MIRIAM
Chapter Fifteen
The group finally reached another gate, but
it too was locked, with a steward guarding it. There was much argument, but
still the steward refused to open the gate, insisting that they go back to the
main stairwell, where everything would be sorted out. Finally, three of the
young men tore a bench from its bolts and broke down the gate. The third class
passengers ran out, while the steward still told them that they couldn't come
through. One of the young men hit the steward in the jaw, and he dropped.
Miriam stopped for a moment to make sure the
steward was all right, but he was already sitting up and holding his jaw. John
grabbed Miriam's hand, and they ran for the deck together. When they finally
reached the deck, there were no boats in sight. Miriam looked around,
horrified. John had been right. There weren't enough boats. Miriam ran to the
railing. A few boats floated out on the ocean, too far away to get into. Most
were only half full, or less.
John set Mary down. "I'm going to look
on the other side," he told her. "There might be some boats over
there." He hurried off.
Miriam strained to see beyond the crowd to
the other end of the ship, hoping that a few boats might be left. She started
walking toward the stern.
John returned a few moments later.
"You're headed in the right direction," he told her. "Most of
the remaining boats are up that way."
They turned and ran toward the stern. When
they reached the boat, Miriam pushed closer to the railing, hoping she could
get into the boat before it was full. "John!" she shouted over the
uproar.
"What is it?"
"Give me Mary. She'll be okay in the
boat, even without a lifebelt."
John looked shocked. "I thought you had
her."
"No, I...oh, no! Mary!" Miriam
suddenly realized that the child had been lost in the commotion. Pushing her
way out of the crowd waiting to board the boat, Miriam called frantically for
the little girl.
"Where did you last see her?" she
asked John.
"Near where we came out on deck. I put
her down next to you."
"I didn't even notice. Oh, God, John,
I'm so sorry."
"I should have put her in your arms.
Let's go back to where we left her and hope she's still there."
They ran back to where they had left her, but
there was no sign of the child, and no one had seen her. Trying to control her
shaking hands, Miriam took a deep breath. Trying not to imagine what might have
happened to the child, she told John, "I'll look around down here, and
inside, too. You look for her toward the stern, and inside there."
"All right. If one of us finds her, we
need to let the other know, and then try to get the two of you into a
lifeboat."
Giving Miriam a quick kiss, John turned and
ran toward the stern, while Miriam hurried down, toward the bow and the deep,
icy water.