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Immediately there followed the shrill piping of the boatswain's whistle; one of the officers, the first engineer, and some half dozen of the crew came dashing through the crowd, and there was a great shout of "The boats! The boats!" The crowd broke up, rushing here and there about the ship, reforming again in smaller bands by the boats and life-rafts.
"'I didn't think there would be any need of it, he said. "'Get one while there is time, I told him. 'The last boat is gone, and we are done for. "'No, he said, 'I think there are some life-boats to be launched, and we may get on one of them. "'There are no life-rafts, I told him, 'and the ship is going to sink.
Life-rafts are said to be much inferior to lifeboats in a rough sea, and collapsible boats made of canvas and thin wood soon decay under exposure to weather and are danger-traps at a critical moment. Some of the lifeboats should be provided with motors, to keep the boats together and to tow if necessary.
I am the only one to blame for it." Then he disappeared in the whirlpool caused by the sinking ship, and we were left still struggling. One of the life-rafts, hastily rigged by the sailors, floated our way. Hilda struck out a stroke or two and caught it. She dragged herself on to it, and beckoned me to follow. I could see she was holding on to something tightly.
Most of the boats are of wood, according to the official United States Government record of inspection. The records show that a considerable proportion of the entire number of so-called "life-boats" carried by Atlantic Ocean liners are not actually life-boats at all, but simply open boats, without air tanks or other special equipment or construction. Life-rafts are of several kinds.
It was the signal for boat-drill, and while the men of certain companies sprang to ranks and stood in silence at attention awaiting orders, other detachments rushed to their stations at the life-rafts, and others still swarmed up the stairways or clambered over the rails, and in less than a minute every man was at his post.
There were life-rafts on the top deck, of a homelike sort of model, in the form of two benches with the air-tanks under the benches. If anything happened to the ship, you could go floating off with all the comforts of a seat on a bench in the park if too many did not try to have seats at the same time. It was a fine night for anybody to spot us, but just as fine a night for us to spot them.
She carried no useless, cumbersome life-rafts; but because the law required it each of the three thousand berths in the passengers', officers', and crew's quarters contained a cork jacket, while about twenty circular life-buoys were strewn along the rails.
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