08 Every Man for Himself

Chapter 08 Every Man for Himself “ Annie! ” cried Jack. “ Let me out! ” he heard Annie shout. But the lifeboat kept going down. “ Wait for me! ” came a loud voice. “ Wait for me! ” A woman in a fur coat appeared at the railing. She nearly threw herself over the side of the ship. “ Stop! ” the uniformed man called. “ Bring the boat back up for Lady Blackwell! ”

Slowly, the lifeboat was brought back up. Jack pushed his way forward. The lifeboat came even with the ship. Jack reached out to Annie. She grabbed his hands. He pulled her back onto the sinking ship. “ Room for one more! ” Annie shouted to Lady Blackwell. Then she and Jack took off before anyone could catch them. They ran up the slanting deck. Annie stopped and peered over the railing. Jack looked, too. They saw Lucy and William’s little lifeboat creaking down toward the Atlantic Ocean. It reached the glassy black water. Then it floated off into the darkness. Annie waved.

“ Bye, William! Bye, Lucy! ” she shouted. “ Thank you for your gift! ” She held up the watch that hung from her neck. Then she and Jack looked at it. The time was 2: 05. “ Only fifteen minutes left! ” said Annie. “ We have to get back to the tree house now! ” said Jack. “ Let’s climb the stairs to the smokestacks! ” Suddenly, the front of the ship dipped down into the sea. Deck chairs started to slide past Jack and Annie. The band played a slow, calm song. It sounded like a church hymn. But the crowd started to panic. People pushed and shouted, trying to get to a safer part of the ship.

“ It’s every man for himself! ” the captain shouted to all of his crew. The men all stopped what they were doing and ran up the deck. Jack and Annie ran, too. They dodged sliding tables and chairs.

They reached the stairs that led to the smokestacks. They grabbed the railing and pulled themselves up the steps. The ship tilted further. “ Get to those smokestacks! ” cried Jack. They slipped and crawled down the deck. But when they got to the smokestacks, Jack and Annie looked around wildly. The magic tree house was gone!