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Stowaway

Dreams of America

By Cleve Taylor Published 2 years ago 5 min read
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Stowaway
Photo by Jason Blackeye on Unsplash

Stowaway

By Cleve Taylor

Liam was small for his age, either 13 or 14, he wasn't sure, but he was expected to do a man's job as he helped load the 1385 bags of mail onto the ship bound for America. From two tenders, appropriately named PS Ireland and PS America, 123 passengers boarded the Titanic at its offshore anchorage in the Cove of Cork, its last port of call in Queenstown, County Cork, Ireland. Most of them, 111, were to sail in third class steerage. But Liam was there only to move bags of mail onto the net that lifted the mail bags from the tender onto the ship and into the hold for transport to America.

Titanic, built in Belfast but launched from Southampton, was boarded by the Astors, Molly Brown and many others at Cherbourg, France, the Titanic's first port of call before the ship sailed to Queenstown. In total, the Titanic left Queenstown at about half capacity with 1308 passengers and 898 crew, that is 2206 souls in total, and numerous pets. Fewer than 700 of that number and three dogs, all belonging to wealthy passengers who broke the rules by keeping their pets in their cabins, made it to New York.

There was much shouting and organized confusion loading the mail and other cargo within the planned two hour stop at Queenstown, so no one noticed when Liam secreted himself among the mail bags as they were being lifted and made himself part of the cargo. His act was spontaneous as he got caught up in the excitement. Actually, there was no one on shore, except maybe for Sean with whom he occasionally worked and played cards, who would miss him. As an orphan there would be no mother crying and wringing her hands when he did not return home, no brothers or father to search the docks for him.

So it was that Liam, surrounded by mail bags, made a nest for himself out of sight against the wall of the cargo bay. The more he thought about what he had done, the more pleased with himself he became. When the hatch to the hold closed and the mighty throbbing engines propelled the ship toward America, he made a bed for himself atop some mail sacks, closed his eyes, and dreamed of what America, with its streets of gold, had in store for him. His journey started April 11, 1912, at 1:30 p.m. when the Titanic raised anchor.

Hours passed before Liam woke up to the beginning of hunger pangs. He had not a crust of bread with him. He explored the hold which was in blackness except for a sliver of light that crept through the edge of a door. He listened at the door but heard nothing except the continuous rhythmic muffled sound of the engines. He sat down with his back to the door and started second guessing his impetuosity, now that his stomach had a vote.

He thought he was dreaming again when he heard dogs barking on the other side of the door. Then, realizing that the barking was real, he started banging on the door with the heels of his hands and shouting, "Hello. Anyone there?"

He was rewarded when a young man named Brian, whose job it was to walk and attend to the animals in cargo, opened the door and let him out of mail storage. Brian's job was slightly more prestigious than a scullery maid, and he was amused but not distressed to see Liam and hear his story. Liam helped him with the animals after which he was led by his new friend to steerage and shown an empty berth where he might slip to sleep. He explained that steerage passengers ate next to their berths, no cafeteria or restaurant for them, but that the food was plentiful though shy of greenery. He promised to secure extra food for Liam at the next meal and gave him an apple for the time being. Liam was thrilled.

Over the next three days Liam spent his waking hours exploring steerage, helping Brian take care of the animals, and making friends with other steerage passengers. They excitedly told him of their hopes for America, of family awaiting them, of friends and family left behind, of the sacrifices made to gather funds for tickets. They told him how Annie Moore, a 17-year-old from Queenstown, was the first person processed through the Ellis Island immigration facility in New York on January 1, 1892. She was a local hero for having made that trip with two younger brothers and no adult to shepherd them. Liam told them little about himself and slipped into his berth at night only when he was sure no one was watching. True to his word, Brian kept him in food. Things were going so well; Liam was sure that an angel watched over him.

But on April 15, 1912, whatever good luck Liam and 1,517 passengers and crew had, abandoned ship. The Titanic lost a confrontation with an iceberg. Captain Edward Smith discovered that his unsinkable ship was in fact, sink-able, and it did so in only two hours and forty minutes.

There were one thousand five hundred seventeen known fatalities. Liam was not on the list of those drowned. He was also not on the list of the survivors. Only one other person even knew Liam was on the ship.

Liam's friend, Sean, thought of Liam occasionally. He imagined Liam was with a bonny colleen in Dublin and envied his good fortune.

Short Story
2

About the Creator

Cleve Taylor

Published author of three books: Ricky Pardue US Marshal, A Collection of Cleve's Short Stories and Poems, and Johnny Duwell and the Silver Coins, all available in paperback and e-books on Amazon. Over 160 Vocal.media stories and poems.

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