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T, A N D & W A T E R 
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water. Ivowiiif; wa-, st.utcu witii much vigour, it nut iii 
a concerted maiiiur. 1 folt very sorry for the two 
Japanese stewardesses — hitc arrivals— who sat on the 
floor of the boat with their heads bent down to be out of 
the way of the oars ; they must have been most uncom- 
fortable, but never uttered a word of complaint. 
Soon wc were 40 yards or more from the ship, going 
round behind her, and our hearts lightened. She was now 
settling down evenly by the bowi. with no list at all, a 
wonderful thing so far as we could judge, the torpedo 
must have gone clean through her, and the water must 
have entered evenly from both sides. This was one of 
the many things we had to be thankful for, as all the 
boats on the ship had been safely launched. 
Value of Soap 
At Marseilles when watching the cargo coming on board, 
I had noticed a great deal oi soap (destined for Shanghai) 
in the forward part of the hold ; if, as I imagine, it was 
here the torpedo struck her, it would be greased and 
hastened on its way by the soap instead of making a hole 
in only one side. 
The rowing improved after a little while ; as they pulled 
the Japantse kept time by chanting a sort of sing-song, 
just two or three words;" they sounded like, " Oshima 
Toi, Oshima Toi." 
The stern of the ship was now coming up out of the 
water with the screws slowly revolving. The Captain with 
one or two others was still on board, and we felt very nnich 
afraid it might be part of his code to go down with his 
ship, and were greatly relieved and cheered heartily when 
the last boat which had left the port side put back and 
took him off. Before leaving lie had been into every 
cabin on the ship to make sure that not one was left 
behind. Just before leaving one of the sailors ran up the 
Japanese Flag, so that our poor ship should go down 
ll>ing her colours. There seemed something so pathetic 
about this that we were all touched. 
The arrival of the Captain inspired us all with confi- 
dence. Hitherto we had seemed such a forlorn and help- 
less little fleet adrift on the ocean, the over-crowded 
boats progressing slowly, while the emptier ones were 
already stme distance away. Our boat was now about 
one-eighth of a mile away from the ship. The great red 
stern was fast coming up out of the water, and towering 
over us, while black smoke poured from her funnels, a 
wonderful but awful sight. Some hid their eyes and 
could not bear to look at her, but I could see and think of 
nothing else. 
A ship has more personality than any other non- 
sentient thing, and to witness such an end as this must 
fill the coldest heart with emotion. 
The Last Farewell 
Still there was nothing hurried or undignified about 
her. Slowly she heaved forward in a most deliberate 
manner till she was literally standing on her head nearly 
half out of the water, the screws pointing straight up to 
heaven. Then she began steadily sinking, but there 
was no rapid plunge, she merely subsicfcd in a calm 
and stately manner. It was a most impressive and 
solemn moment. One minute she was still there— ^the 
ne.\t she was gone below to join — alas — too many of her 
sisters in the underworld of the Mediterranean ; and what 
a glorious death salute her crew gave her. They all 
stood up, cheering, shouting and waving ; it was more 
like hailing a victory than mourning a loss. One could 
hardly believe that it was only thirty-five minutes since 
she had received her death-blow. There was no regular 
whirlpool, only a rough swirl where the sea had closed 
over her ; spars, chairs and bits of wreck, all danced on 
the surface of the troubled waters. An explosion, not a 
loud one, and a cloud of steam were the only signs of the 
tragedy. 
Calm settled down again ; we pulled ourselves to- 
gether and began to think of our own fate instead of the 
fate of the ship. 
It was now that I first saw the submarine, or rather, her 
periscope, which from our lowly position only looked like 
i large funnel. She was evidently keeping near to be 
ready in case there was any attempt to rescue us. She 
.soon disappeared, but subsequently emerged three or 
four miles aw;iv to have a last look round. 
Tiie jjioeiKi! of the Captain made all the difference 
to our well-being. A comparatively empty boat came 
up and took off about twenty of our load, while one which 
had a leak was abandoned altogether. A ship's ofiicer 
was put on each vessel to take command ; ours was the 
chief engineer, whose name, " Funkiwashi," had always 
amused me. Then the roll was called, and to our great 
relief we were told that no life had been lost either of 
passengers or crew, 28^ in all. Another piece of good 
news was next circulated. A wireless message asking for 
help had been despatched before the ship sank, and an 
answer had been received from Port Said to say that a 
salvage boat would be sent for us. 
Nine of the ten boats were now roped together in a long 
line, about 30 feet apart, while the tenth, which contained 
some of the crew, rowed about independently. Sails 
were hoisted and oars put away, for it was our object to 
remain as near as possible to the scene of the disaster. 
Though very calm, there was a slight swell, and the 
motion as we lay and flopped was very trying to most c f us, 
some of the crew even succumbing. Some women and ; mill 
children had begun being seasick almost as soon as the 
boat reached the water and they managed to keep it up 
practically all the time. 
Feeling more at ease as to our prospects, we took stock 
of our fellow flotsam, and tried to make the best of our 
position. I was sitting at the side of the stern, and had 
the gunwale to lean against, but there was only a narrow 
bar to put my feet on ; however, I had my shoes on, 
though no hat, so was much better off than the two ladies 
next me, who had come away with only stockings on 
their feet, and were also bare headed. Underneath the 
bar lay several stokers and cooks who were lightly clad, 
and found it warmer there. Later on a mackintosh 
sheet was cut in pieces to cover up those who felt cold. 
A Merry Purser 
The purser and his under-study were both in our boat. 
The former was a bald, elderly man, who chuckled merrily 
if spoken to. I did not at first recognise him in the boat, 
for he had completely concealed his uniform with a long 
drab mackintosh ; on his head was a brown Homburg 
hat, and he spent some time in fitting his hands into a pair 
of new doe-skin gloves. Perhaps he had hopes of being 
taken for an American citizen if captured. 
We were much exercised by seeing flames rising from 
the Captain's boat, and heard afterwards that he was 
burning some very important papers which must on no 
account fall into enemy hands. 
The sunset that evening was a glorious sight. The west 
was afire with golden brown, when it died down an orange 
glow came over the sky and lingered long, while on the 
other side the full moon got up out of the sea, looking 
gigantic at first ; as the darkness deepened the moon- 
beams playing on the water were like drops of liquid silver. 
Our little fleet then looked most picturesque, iialf the 
sails in brilHant light the other half in black shadow, 
while from time to time a brilliant red flare, burnt on one 
of the boats to attract attention, cast lurid reflections 
in the water, the dark figures against this glowing back- 
ground had quite a theatrical effect. About six o'clock- 
much too soon— we began thinking that the rescue boat 
might turn up. Now and again lights showed in the 
distance. Some nearer, some further, and iilled us 
with hope which quickly turned to despair, as one after 
another they made off. One came so near that the ropes 
were undone and we all rowed hurriedly towards her; 
she was a very small vessel, and on hearing that help 
had been promised us she prom])tly made off. 
No doubt any ship which stojjped to pick us up would 
have been exposed to the danger of being torjiedoed, but 
that excuse cannot be made for the Dutch neutral boats 
which travel fully lit up and are perfectly safe from 
attack. Two came quite near and looked at us ; then 
these Priests and Levites of the ocean passed by on the 
other side. A cruel disappointment. 
Nine o'clock came, ten o'clock, still no sign of help ; we 
all did our best to be cheerful, and luckily it was very 
still and warm. Biscuits were served out and some 
people were glad to nibble them, but I never felt the 
least hungry or thirsty though at first I had an odd parched 
feehng in my mouth. From time to time I slept fitfully 
for a few minutes, my head on the gunwale, my feet on 
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