Avis Dolphin

Avis Dolphin — page 5 — I don’t know says George He’s moving quickly but he looks calm Like he doesn’t have a care in the world I wonder if he’s heard the rumors He must have heard They were plastered all over the newspaper this morning I saw them right under the announcement that the Lusitania is sailing to Liverpool The words were big bold and clear The Germans mean business George rolls his eyes Maybe if you’re rich you think nothing can harm you Nah Not after the Titanic Money didn’t save Benjamin Guggenheim John Astor or Mr and Mrs Strauss The rich die just like the rest of us What are they talking about What rumors What danger Why would Mr Vanderbilt or anyone die on the Lusitania Hilda I say did you read the newspapers today Is the Lusitania in danger Hilda is standing on her tiptoes to see Mr Vanderbilt Oh that Nothing to worry about Avis She waves her hand in the air like she’s swatting a fly I heard that Mr Sumner the spokesman for the Cunard company reassured Mr Vanderbilt that the Lusitania is too fast to be in danger of being torpedoed by German U-boats It’s all rumors and

Avis Dolphin — page 6 — fear-mongering The press love that It sells newspapers Hilda points in the direction of the two photographers The burly one glares at her Maybe My heart pounds like it did when Mother told me I was going to school in England But England is far away I told her and it’s at war The war is on battlefields in Europe far from where you’ll be living Avis And it won’t last A few months more at most and it will be over You’ll be perfectly safe with your grandparents and at school This is a wonderful opportunity for you to get a good education It’s what your father would have wanted What could I say I didn’t want to leave home but Mother insisted And now with all this talk about German U-boats and warnings in the newspaper I want to jump back on that train I know about U-boats They’re submarines hiding under the sea waiting for ships like foxes hiding in bushes waiting to pounce on rabbits or deer When U-boats spy a warship they launch a torpedo And if the ship is hit that’s it The ship sinks But until today I thought the U-boats were only after warships I tap Hilda on the shoulder Maybe the warning is real

Avis Dolphin — page 7 — worrying Do you think a millionaire like Mr Vanderbilt would risk his life sailing on the Lusitania if there was anything to be concerned about Or Lady Mackworth Sarah chimes in She’s a suffragette fighting for women’s rights She knows all about politics and what’s going on in the world She wouldn’t sail on the Lusitania if there was any danger And neither would Josephine Eaton Burnside the daughter of Timothy Eaton who owns that department store or that New York fashion designer Carrie Kennedy or See Avis says Hilda interrupting Sarah No one else is letting a few rumors scare them off All your worrying will just give you a headache It’s already giving me a headache Enjoy yourself Avis I certainly will says Sarah Imagine We might even meet some famous people on the ship I hope you ladies do enjoy your trip It may be your There you go again Avis says Hilda Stop last says the burly photographer Hilda glares at him What a cruel thing to say she snaps Do you realize you’re scaring an impressionable young girl Hilda puts her arm around me and squeezes my shoulder so hard that I wince

Avis Dolphin — page 8 — Look I’m only telling you what I’ve heard It’s not too late to turn back You don’t have to sail on the Lusitania Some people have canceled their trip I untangle myself from Hilda’s arm What if the photographer is right What if it isn’t all fear-mongering but there’s something real to fear After all everyone said the Titanic was unsinkable and it sank How could the Cunard people be sure that nothing is going to happen to the Lusitania Hilda I begin again Hilda cuts me off and shakes her finger in the photographer’s face We have no intention of changing our plans We are not afraid of rumors Rumors can be true says the photographer pointing his camera With a click he takes a picture of the three of us Well if anything happens at least we have your picture The photographer and his friend push through the crowd as a black car drives up to the dock and deposits another wealthy couple on their way to the Lusitania I look up Smoke curls from three of the four giant smokestacks on the ship Huge escalators haul up suitcases trunks and boxes The gangplanks have been lowered and people scurry aboard Ready says Hilda Her face is flushed with

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