"Can you hear that?"
"I don't hear a thing."
"That's just it- the engines have stopped."
Everyone who knew it had happened was in shock. Could the unsinkable ship have just it an iceberg?
"What's going on?"
"What was that loud sound?
Some people in the lower areas of the ship were knocked out of bed by a terrible noise.
"What was that?"
"I didn't feel anything."
"There was just a slight shudder."
The people who had been awoken by the crash, (or were already up, but felt it) went up on deck only too be reassured that there was no trouble. They went back to bed, or whatever they had been doing.
Captain Smith had been awoken by the crash and immediately came to the bridge asking what they had struck. First Officer Murdoch (who was in charge when the ship struck the fatal iceberg) responded that they had hit an iceberg.
Thomas Andrews, the ship's head designer, had not felt or heard the crash. He continued looking at the ship's design plans.
The fourth officer searched the ship and did not see any damage as far as he had gone. After telling this to the Captain he left with the ship's carpenter for a more thorough check. They found that the ship was indeed damaged and was collecting water fast.
After the Captain heard from the fourth officer he went to find Thomas Andrews for a look at the areas where the ship was taking in water. They toured the mailroom and found it was flooding with water.
After touring the other damaged areas, the Captain asked Thomas what he thought.
"Titanic will sink."
"But that's impossible! The Titanic is unsinkable!"
"She can stay afloat if four of the sixteen compartments are flooded. Five are flooded."
"How long can she last?"
"An hour. An hour and a half at most."
