The Other Side of the Night by Daniel Allen Butler Page A

between herself and the Titanic in four hours, which was not good enough for Rostron. Now he really swung into action.
    Returning to the chartroom he called for Chief Engineer Johnston, and explained the situation to the dour Scot. Speed, he told Johnston. He wanted more speed than the old Carpathia had ever mustered. Call out the off-duty watch to the engine room, he said, and get every available stoker roused to feed the furnaces. Cut off the heat and hot water to passenger and crew accommodations, and put every ounce of steam the boilers made into the engines.
    Next he spoke to First Officer Dean and gave him a list of things to be done: all routine work was to cease as the ship prepared for a rescue operation; swing out the ship’s lifeboats, to have them ready if needed; have clusters of electric lights rigged along the ship’s sides; all gangway doors to be opened, with block and tackle slung at each gangway; slings ready for hoisting injured aboard, and canvas bags for lifting small children; ladders prepared for dropping at each gangway, along with cargo nets; forward derricks to be rigged and topped, with steam in the winches, for bringing luggage and cargo aboard; oil bags readied in the lavatories to pour on rough seas if needed.
    Dean set to immediately and Rostron turned to the ship’s surgeon, Dr. McGhee. The three surgeons aboard, McGhee, an Italian physician, and one who was Hungarian, were to be assigned to specific stations—McGhee himself in First Class, the Italian doctor in Second, and the Hungarian doctor in Third. All three were to be supplied with stimulants and restoratives, and first aid stations were to be set up in each dining saloon.
    He said to Purser Brown: see that the Chief Steward, the Assistant Purser and the Purser himself each covered a different gangway to receive the Titanic ’s passengers and crew; get their names and classes, and see to it that each one went to the correct dining saloon for a medical check.
    Chief Steward Henry Hughes received an additional set of instructions: every crewman was to be called out; coffee was to be available for all hands. Also, soup, coffee, tea, brandy, and whiskey should be ready for those rescued; the smoking room, lounge, and library were to be converted into dormitories for survivors. All the Carpathia’ s steerage passengers were to be grouped together; the extra space would be given over to the Titanic ’s steerage passengers.
    Finally, Rostron urged everyone to keep quiet. The last thing they needed was for the Carpathia ’s passengers to be lurking about while there was work to be done. To help keep the passengers where they belonged, stewards were stationed along every corridor to shepherd the curious back into their cabins. An inspector, a master-at-arms, and several stewards were sent down to keep the steerage passengers in order—no one was sure if they would take too kindly to being herded about in the wee hours of the morning.
    His instructions issued, Rostron quickly reviewed everything he had ordered, trying to think of what he had overlooked in his preparations. There didn’t seem to be anything, so he quickly strode to the bridge and began posting extra lookouts. He was determined that the Carpathia would not meet the same fate as the ship she was rushing to aid. Rostron had an extra man posted in the crow’s nest, two lookouts in the bow, extra hands posted on both bridge wings, and Second Officer James Bisset, who had especially keen eyesight, posted on the starboard bridge wing.
    Now having done all he could do, Rostron faced the toughest task—waiting. But there was one last detail Rostron attended to. Second Officer Bisset noticed it first, then so did the others on the bridge—the Captain was standing toward the back of the bridge holding his cap an inch or two off his head, eyes closed, lips moving in silent prayer.
    The order to uncover and swing out the Titanic ’s lifeboats had been given by Captain Smith just