JOHN AND MIRIAM
Chapter Seventeen
People were crowding around the boats, trying
desperately to find places within them. As Miriam pushed her way through the
crowd, she noticed that Kiran and Nadia were in one of the boats. Happy that
her friend would survive, Miriam worked her way closer to that boat.
As she drew closer, she suddenly heard a
plaintive wail coming from behind a pile of ropes, barrels, and life
preservers. Stopping, she listened more closely. The little voice was wailing,
"Mommy! Mommy!"
Pushing her way out of the crowd, Miriam
hurried closer. When she saw the child, her heart overflowed with joy and
relief. Mary stood, nearly hidden by the piled objects, crying. Miriam moved
closer, trying to climb over the mess. Before she could reach the child,
however, a man picked her up and carried her toward the boat. Miriam gaped in
shock for a moment, realizing that the man was Caledon Hockley.
What was he doing with her? she wondered. The
answer soon became apparent. Holding the little girl, he pushed his way through
the crowd, shouting, "I have a child! Please, I have a child!" When
he reached the boat, he looked at the officer loading it pathetically. "Please,
I'm all she has in the world." The officer nodded, and Hockley put Mary
into the boat, then climbed in himself.
Miriam was furious. How dare he use an
innocent child to save himself? Her anger faded quickly, however, as she
realized that at least the little girl was alive and safely within the boat.
She pushed her way forward again, trying to get into one of the remaining
seats. The water was rising, almost floating the small boat. Miriam hesitated,
her fear of the bitterly cold water momentarily overshadowing her need to get
into the boat.
At that moment, a wave washed over the deck,
sweeping the half-launched boat up and turning it on its side, spilling out
most of the passengers, before righting itself again.
Miriam froze. At that moment, a snapping
sound issued from the cables supporting one of the huge smokestacks. Unable to
support its own weight, the smokestack tilted, then came loose, crashing down
on the people in the water--including Kiran. Miriam waited, hoping her friend
would reappear, but she did not.
Several people had managed to scramble back
into the boat, while a few others had remained inside it. Ignoring the cold
water, Miriam hurried forward, trying to get a place in the boat before it was
full. Half way there, she stopped, frozen in place, realizing that Mary was no
longer in the boat.