Free Call Me Ismay by Sean McDevitt

dramatic murmur shook the hall.
     
    “What did you do then?”
     
    Ismay felt a twinge of anxiety. There was much about that disastrous evening that remained unclear to him. “I think I went back to my room for a short time, but I am not absolutely certain...”
     
    “Did you hear any order given by Captain Smith?”
     
    “I went up, after that, on to the bridge, and I heard Captain Smith give an order. I- I am not quite certain whether it was to lower the boats or to get the boats out, but it was in connection with the boats.”
     
    “When you heard that order given on the bridge, what did you do next?”
     
    “I went along the deck, and then I think I spoke to one of the officers.”
     
    “You do not remember which officer it was?”
     
    “No.”
     
    “Did you help to get the boats out?”
     
    “I rendered all the assistance that I could.”
     
    “And to put the women and children in?”
     
    “Yes,” he replied grimly.
     
    “That was on the Boat Deck?”
     
    “Yes.”
     
    “And did you stay there until you left the ship?”
     
    “Yes, practically. I don't- I do not think I ever left that deck again.”
     
    “Can you tell us at all how long it was after you felt the impact that you heard the order given by Captain Smith to get the boats out, or to lower the boats?”
     
    “No, I- I really could not tell, it is very difficult indeed, it might have been 20 minutes, but it is very difficult to judge the time...” Once more the jumble of that evening unrolled in his mind; all the flashing shades of black and blue and chaos and the recollection of shouts of many men made most of it an inexpressible mental burden to carry.
     
    “Did you see some of the boats lowered?”
     
    Ismay struggled to focus. “I did.”
     
    “On which side of the deck were you?”
     
    “On the starboard side.”
     
    “Was there any confusion amongst the crew or the passengers?”
     
    “I saw no confusion at all.” And yet Ismay felt uncertain about what he had seen.
     
    “Did you see any attempts by men to force their way into the boats?”
     
    “I did not.”
     
    “Or to get into the boats?”
     
    “I did not.”
     
    “Were there a number of women and children on the deck?”
     
    A shade of anguish shaped his answer. “There were.”
     
    “Did all those who were on the deck get away in boats?”
     
    “All the women that I saw on deck got away in boats.”
     
    “Did you realize that they were not all the women and children who were on board the ship?”
     
    A black steel door seemed to slam shut in Ismay's mind. “At the time I did not.”
     
    “Did you know at all what was happening on the port side?”
    

    “I did not.”
     
    “Did you hear any reports of the ship making water?”
    

    “I did not.”
     
    Sir Rufus was skeptical. “You were not told about that?”
     
    “I was not.”
     
    “Did you notice any list?”
     
    “When I left the ship she had a list to starboard,” Ismay nodded.
     
    “To starboard? ” Sir Rufus pounced. “Mr. Ismay, innumerable witnesses in two inquiries have to this moment testified that the ship was suffering a pronounced list to port! ”
     
    “To- to port, I... I beg your pardon.” There came another reaction of disdain from the crowd.
     
    “Tell us this, Mr. Ismay,” Sir Rufus continued with understated and brittle British sarcasm, “how long did you remain on the Titanic after the impact? Can you answer that with any degree of certitude?”
     
    Ismay, red-faced, breathed in silently before responding. “I should think, as I said in Washington-” he said with deliberate and angry pronunciation- “ an hour and a half, or perhaps longer than that.”
     
    “Your candor is much appreciated, Mr. Ismay,” Sir Rufus replied, moderating his sour tone a bit. “Meanwhile, did you then notice the vessel was going down by the head?”
     
    “I did.”
     
    “That downward direction, of course, increased as time went