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“Charlie!” Ruth yelled.
“Let’s get you out of there,” he said.
“It’s locked,” Meg reminded him. The water had risen so high, she could no longer even see the keyhole.
“It’s a good thing I have this, then,” he replied, pulling the gate open and showing her the key he had used to do so.
“A key! Where did you get a key?”
“Come on,” he said, taking Ruth out of her arms and pulling her back the way he had come. “We need to get you two to a boat immediately.”
The water on E Deck was rising, but they were able to walk out of the deepest part fairly quickly. Charlie seemed to know exactly where he was going, and Meg held onto his hand and let him lead her.
“I need to go back to the stairwell and see if I can find Daniel,” she explained.
“No time for that,” he said dismissively.
“But I promised him I would.”
“I saw him on the Boat Deck. I told him that wouldn’t work. Besides, he’s probably already searched all of E Deck for you. He can’t get to F Deck, so he’ll be headed up, which is the way we are going. Hopefully, we’ll run into him.”
“Is this Scotland Road?” Meg asked, struggling to keep up.
“Yes.”
“Should I yell for Daddy now?” Ruth asked innocently.
“I think that would be a great idea,” Charlie confirmed for her. “But how about you yell Daniel instead of daddy, all right?”
She nodded and began yelling for her father. They were almost out of the water now, and Charlie led them up another stairwell where they encountered another locked gate, which he was able to get them through.
“Why are the gates locked?” Meg asked.
“I’m not sure,” Charlie replied, “but it will make it awfully difficult for the Third Class passengers who stayed below deck to make it to the Boat Deck. Thank God Jonathan gave me this key.”
Meg nodded. She had assumed that’s where it had come from. “Where is he anyway?” she asked.
“If he did as I told him, he should be out on the Atlantic by now, drifting around with Kelly and Lizzy. Otherwise, I have no idea.”
Within a few moments, they reached the First Class Promenade, which was directly below the Boat Deck. As they approached the stairway that led up to where the boats were launching, Ruth changed her screams of “Daniel” to “Daddy” and began to wiggle in Charlie’s arms, causing him to pause and he and Meg both to turn around. Sure enough, Daniel was there, off in the distance, peering over the railing at the decks below, his cast the only thing that made them sure of his identity.
Meg took off running after him before he could get away from her, yelling his name as she went. In her soaking wet dress, it was difficult to move as fast as she needed to, and she saw him headed toward the stairs. The last thing she wanted to do was go back downstairs. She knew Charlie was waiting for her at the stairway leading to the Boat Deck, but she had to catch Daniel so that she could get Ruth to safety. Just before he began to descend the stairs, he paused and turned back, as if, perhaps he heard her. She waved her arms in the air and he smiled in recognition. She beckoned for him to come that way, and he began to fight his way through the crowd, moving in her direction.
The first thing he said was, “Where’s Ruth?”
“With Charlie. Come on,” she replied, panting. She grabbed his hand and began to pull him through the crowd as quickly as she could.
Once they fought their way back to the stairwell, Ruth flung her arms around her father’s neck, and he kissed her on the cheek quickly before Charlie yanked her away and began clearing a pathway up the stairs. Oddly enough, there were people trying to come down the stairs as well, and Meg began to realize many of these people were running around with absolutely no direction whatsoever, not even fighting to get aboard the lifeboats. It all appeared to be chaos for chaos’ sake.
There was a huge crowd of people all the way forward on the ship, so when they reached the Boat Deck, on the port side, Charlie led them all the way aft where crews were working to launch the last few boats on this side, but the crowds were smaller. “Let’s go all the way down, quickly,” Charlie directed and the other two followed, Meg clutching his arm as she did so.
Once they reached Lifeboat Number 16, they could see there were about twenty people aboard already with only a few others standing about. “All right, Meg, time to get into the boat,” Charlie said, handing Ruth to Daniel.
“Okay,” she said, after pausing to catch her breath. “Let’s go.”
He took her by the arms then so she would turn to face him. “I’m not getting in the boat, Meg,” he replied.
Her eyebrows furrowed. “What? Why not? There’s plenty of room.”
He shook his head. “I’m not going to get on a lifeboat when there are hundreds of women and children still aboard this sinking ship, Meg. What kind of man would I be if I did that?”
Panic began to set in again. “No, Charlie, listen, you have to get on the boat. You saw those people down there. They don’t even know which way to go. And they’re launching these boats practically empty. There’s no way those people are going to make it up here in time. If you don’t get on the boat… you’ll die.”
“Meg, they’re going to launch this boat in a minute whether you’re on it or not, and there’s a little girl right here waiting for you to get on. Stop arguing with me, and get on the boat. I’ll find another way.”
“Anyone else?” the officer in charge of loading the boat yelled.
“Come on Meg, get on the boat so I can give you Ruth,” Daniel said.
“Oh, you’re going, too,” Charlie said gently pushing Daniel toward the boat.
“But how can I, after what you just said?” Daniel argued.
“You only have one arm, and that little girl needs you. Get on the boat, Daniel,” Charlie insisted taking Ruth from him so he could climb in. Though it was getting a bit more crowded than some of the other boats, there was room, and he reluctantly climbed aboard.
Charlie hugged Ruth tightly and kissed her cheek. “You be a good girl, and I’ll see you on the big boat in the morning,” he said, handing her to her father.
“You’re coming, too, right Uncle Charlie?” she asked as she settled against her father’s lap, someone else wrapping a dry blanket around her.
“You bet I am. I’ll be on the next one, okay, love?”
“Miss?” the officer said, clearly holding the boat just for Meg.
Tears were streaming down her face now. “Charlie, I can’t…” she said, shaking her head.
“You can, and you will. I need to focus on taking care of myself now, Meg. If you’re here, neither one of us will make it out alive. Get on the boat, and I’ll see you in the morning, all right?” He brushed a tear off of her cheek.
Meg glanced at the boat, and then out to sea where she could see several lifeboats already floating. She turned her attention back to Charlie, still shaking her head. “I’m so sorry,” she said quietly as she began to sob.
“No, none of that now. You have nothing to be sorry about.” He pulled her into his arms one more time, hearing the officer beginning to ready the crew of the boat to launch, and Daniel calling her name. He pushed her back to arm’s length, looked her in the eyes, and said, “I love you, Meg. I always will.”
Despite the fact that the boat was being lowered, she took his face in her hands and kissed him. He lifted her into the air, his lips still pressed to hers, and dropped her over the railing into the lifeboat where the other passengers helped her down into the seat next to Daniel. “I love you!” she yelled, the tears pouring out now.
He stood at the railing waving, blowing kisses at Ruth who was doing the same, until the boat was in the water and drifting off across the placid surface of the Atlantic.
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