Page 211 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 1 - 5

4264. They were still drawing the fires, these men, were they? - Yes. 4265. How high did the water get above the plates they were standing on? How much water were they standing in before they left? - About a foot. 4266. Working up to their knees? - Yes. 4267. Scraping the cinders out? - Yes. 4268. Just one other thing. When you were in No. 4, as you have described, did you see anything of the engineers coming in through the emergency door behind? - No. 4269. You did not notice that? - No. 4270. Through the watertight door? - No. 4271. You know what I am referring to, Cavell, do not you? - Yes. 4272. There was a watertight door behind and a watertight door before you? - Yes. 4273. As far as you knew, and as far as you observed, was the watertight door which was abaft of you raised at all? - No, Sir. 4274. Not as far as you know? - No, Sir. 4275. Of course, there would be a lot of steam in No. 4, would not there? - Yes. The Commissioner: Are you suggesting that that door was open? The Solicitor-General: My Lord, we have had evidence that it was. The last Witness said he opened it. The Commissioner: Which door are you talking about? You are talking about the door between 4 and 5. The Solicitor-General: I was not, my Lord, with great respect. If I said No. 5 I made a mistake. I said there were two doors, one in front of him, and one behind him. The Commissioner: The one in front of him was not open. 4276. (The Solicitor-General.) I know, my Lord. I wanted to draw his attention to the difference. (To the Witness.) Just to be quite clear, I am talking, you know, about the one? - Through the passage between the bars. 4277. As far as you know that was not opened when you were there? - I cannot say that. 4278. (The Commissioner.) You mean to say that you do not know? - I do not know. The Commissioner: That is all it comes to. 4279. (The Solicitor-General.) Yes, my Lord. (To the Witness.) There would be a lot of steam, would not there? - There would. 4280. And were all the men there working as fast as they could? - Yes. 4281. This watertight door is in a sort of tunnel, is it not? - Yes. 4282. You say you worked as long as you could, and then you came up the emergency ladder? - Yes. 4283. Where did you go? - I came down again. 4284. What, down into No. 4 again? - Yes. 4285. Why did you do that? - Because I could see nobody about in the alleyway. 4286. (The Commissioner.) Why did you go back? - I thought it was all right, my Lord. 4287. (The Solicitor-General.) You got up again as far as the alleyway; you found nobody in the alleyway; you thought it was all right and went down again? - Yes. 4288. Did anybody else do that with you? - No. 4289. When you came down again from the alleyway to No. 4, were there any other men in No. 4, or had they all gone? - I could not see any. 4290. Was the water the same height, or was it still rising? - I could not say. I never went right to the bottom. 4291. Then you came down, and I suppose you went up again? - Yes. 4292. When you got into the alleyway where did you go? - I went along on to the boat deck. 4293. The top deck? - Yes.