An Unsinkable Love - By Terri Benson Page 0,29

the way while we pull the blocks."

As he wadded the stiff material into a bundle and pushed it off to the side he noticed there was no davit to lower the boat. "How do we get it down?"

"With ropes, unless you'd like to wait until it floats off?"

Malcolm shook his head, managing a grin at the sarcasm.

He saw the nearly thirty-foot-long lifeboat would be too heavy for the three of them alone. He quickly descended and rounded up a half dozen stout men from a group who stood quietly at the back of the crowd. They appeared to have accepted their fate but, faced with a positive activity, were eager to help. The men were assigned to ropes by the lead crewman and took up their places as he directed them to lower the boat down the stair railing. Malcolm and two men were sent down below to keep the bow from slipping off the rails. It was slow work as the ship's list increased by the 95

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

minute and the bow began to drop alarmingly as well. The crowd of passengers milled around on the boat deck, becoming more agitated. A few took an interest in what Malcolm and the others were doing.

"Hey, there's another boat! Them fellers found a boat!

They're trying to get away with it!" Malcolm turned and saw a weasely faced man working to drum up a fight. He succeeded too, as several more men joined him and viewed the boat with covetous eyes.

"Look out!" Malcolm yelled as the mob surged forward.

This time there were far more attackers and the three men at the bottom of the stairs were quickly overwhelmed. Malcolm battled fiercely, but knew they were losing ground. He sensed movement coming at him from the right, but only managed to turn a fraction before everything went dark.

[Back to Table of Contents]

96

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

Chapter 11

Bree gasped as pain seared her shoulder. Briny water trickled down her throat and her starved lungs burned. As she choked and sputtered, she felt herself pulled back to the surface. Through bleary eyes, she looked up into the face of a boy, no more than twelve or thirteen, who leaned far over the lifeboat's gunwale to grasp her wrist. Behind him, Elizabeth and two other women held on to his belt to keep him from tumbling into the water. When she was within reach, another woman grabbed her arm. The boy let go long enough to reach into his pocket and pull out a small penknife.

Her nearly frozen brain barely functioning, Bree watched dazedly as the boy cut the ties of the life vest. He tugged and it slowly drifted away. With it gone, the heavy fur coat slipped off until it hung by one arm.

"Reach up," the boy called. "Give me your other hand." He repeated the demand three times before her muddled brain managed to command her numb arm to move. As soon as he had a firm grip, the woman let go of her other hand and the waterlogged fur coat dropped like a stone into the black abyss.

Bree was dragged painfully over the gunwale by her rescuers. As her hips cleared the side, the sudden lack of resistance sent them tumbling into a heap in the bottom of the boat. Other passengers came to their assistance and in a few moments she sat shivering and nearly unconscious on her seat next to Elizabeth.

97

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

Elizabeth removed her fur coat and forced Bree's body into it, wrestling Bree around until the coat was buttoned tightly under her chin. Two women at the rear of the boat stripped off coats worn over layers of heavy clothing and passed them forward.

Elizabeth called out a grateful "Thank you!" donned one of the coats and wrapped Bree's legs with the other. Bree gasped at the sensation of a million needles stabbing her as Elizabeth roughly rubbed her hands and face. She shivered so hard she feared she would fall off the bench. Her teeth clacked together, making it impossible to talk, even if her brain had been capable of forming words. Exhausted, she clung to Elizabeth, who crooned soothingly in her ear.

Bree gradually warmed, although bouts of violent shivers still racked her body. She looked around at the other women, smiled wanly and mouthed her thanks. They nodded in return. The two crewmen watched impassively, their expressions threatening anyone else who stepped out of line with a similar punishment.

Silently they drifted farther from