Chapter 40
Wait ’Til She’s Beached
DOZENS OF YOUNG boys and girls danced in the area in front of Professor George Maurer’s makeshift bandstand and their parents stood nearby tapping their feet. The musicians began another German favorite and their leader took note of several running passengers. Maurer wondered if someone had fallen overboard, but the band played on. He spotted smoke heading his way and glanced at his wife, and the look of terror on her face made him drop his baton to the ground. Once the music came to an awkward end, Maurer h heard his first cry of fire.
Everyone ran—most away from the fire, although some entered the flames to find loved ones. The majority, however, ran in circles. Bodee rushed to the rack of life preservers and cut them loose from their mounting. A whi
