“He would not have understood.”
The witness said that before leaving the cabin ten minutes before the ship went down Phillips sent out a final C. Q. D. There was no response, Bride saying the spark was then so weak that it probably did not carry.
When Bride and Phillips stepped out on the beatdeck he said they found persons rushing around in confusion. They were seeking life belts.
“There were no big lifeboats aboard at that time,” said Bride. “There was a life raft over the officers quarters, which later was lost over the side.”
The witness then told of his experience in following with a small boat beneath which he nearly was drowned before he could extricate himself. With a number of other survivors he clambored on the overturned boat.
“One of these was Phillips,” said the witness. “He died on the way to the Carpathia and was buried later at sea.”
When Bride gained the bottom of the boat he found between 35 and 40 men already there.
THE LAST MAN ABOARD.
“I was the last man invited aboard,” said Bride.
“Did any others seek to get on?”