Iceberg

Hazel decides to take the opportunity while she’s on the first-class deck to go to the bow of the ship and look out across the ocean. She thinks about the arrogance of the Titanic and of her own self for being so bold. She asks a nearby officer how many lifeboats are on the ship, and he answers 20, which Hazel knows is barely enough for half the people on board. She then overhears the Mollisons talking about her, saying how they need to stop her from interfering with their plan. Mr. Mollison mentions how he plans to cheat at gambling that night. Hazel has more questions than ever about the Mollisons.

Two days before the Titanic hits the iceberg, Hazel meets Mrs. Abelman at the library. She starts looking at books and, overhearing two women talking about the lack of lifeboats on board, interjects to say that there are only 20. The women argue over whether the Titanic is impervious to an accident. Mrs. Abelman gives Hazel a book about ocean voyages, which Hazel takes to study from cover to cover. As she leaves the library, she runs into Sylvia, who apologizes for not defending Hazel at dinner the night before. She explains that she has few friends but wants to become Hazel’s friend. Hazel warns Sylvia about the Mollisons and her suspicion that they might be after her family’s money. Sylvia decides to keep an eye on the family safe and invites Hazel for tea. Hazel accepts but dreads the thought of being around first-class passengers again.

Hazel takes her book to the third-class deck and finds a quiet room in which to read. She learns about bulkheads and wonders if the Titanic’s bulkheads seal from above or just the sides. She also reads about icebergs and the different classifications, determining that dark icebergs are the worst because they’re the most solid and the most difficult to see. Hazel excitedly tells Mrs. Abelman what she learned, and Mrs. Abelman insists on taking her to see the purser to ask about the ship’s bulkheads. Hazel feels embarrassed to do so but asks her question anyway and learns that they only seal from the sides. This means that if water came in from above, it would quickly leak throughout the whole ship. Hazel realizes that if the Titanic hit a dark iceberg, it would spell disaster for the ship and its people.

Hazel suddenly remembers tea with Sylvia and rushes back to her room to get ready, inadvertently leaving her bag behind there. When she arrives at the café, it’s far too late, and Sylvia is gone. Mrs. Mollison spots Hazel, revealing that she knows Hazel stowed away and threatening to report her if Hazel doesn’t comply with her demands. Hazel refuses, warning Mrs. Mollison that she could report everything she knows about her. Before the conversation can go any further, Charlie appears and makes up a story about Mrs. Mollison having an urgent message. Hazel thanks Charlie and returns to her room, where she finds her bag and everything in it (including her notebook and money) gone.

It’s April 13, 1912, the day before the Titanic hits the iceberg. Hazel is certain that the Mollisons took her bag, hoping to prevent her from reporting their crimes. She sees Mrs. Abelman at breakfast, who notices her sullen expression and reassures her that she can always remember what she knows and get another notebook. Mrs. Abelman then explains how refraction works as light bends in water to make objects appear in the wrong place. Hazel realizes that this could happen with an iceberg, but Mrs. Abelman assures her that the circumstances would have to align in a very rare way. Hazel is happy to have learned something new and leaves to find Sylvia and apologize for missing tea.

When Hazel finally finds Sylvia, she apologizes, but Sylvia accuses Hazel of caring only about her story and not about people. Hazel tries to explain that this could be her only chance in life to do more than work in a factory, which helps Sylvia understand why the story matters so much to her. Sylvia admits that she knows Hazel stowed away, promising to keep her secret as friends, and then asks for help finding the key to the safe deposit box. Hazel agrees, but not before she checks the Mollison’s cabin for her notebook.

After Mr. Mollison conveniently leaves the door slightly open, Hazel slips into the cabin, much to Sylvia’s disapproval. She checks everywhere but doesn’t find her notebook, and then the Mollisons return. Hazel hides under the bed and listens to their conversation, hearing that Mr. Mollison won money gambling. Hazel spots a piece of paper under the bed that outlines the Mollisons’ plans to avoid repaying a debt and steal a safe deposit key. When the Mollisons leave again, Hazel slips out, but Miss Gruber sees her. Hazel almost reveals what she knows about the Mollisons but instead slips away and out of sight.

Hazel runs into Charlie, who tells Hazel that the coal fire is now under control. When she tells him about the Mollisons, he insists that she simply warn Miss Gruber and then forget about it all, but Hazel is sure that Miss Gruber would never trust her. Sylvia arrives, wanting to apologize to Hazel about her being discovered exiting the Mollisons’ cabin. Hazel tries to warn Sylvia that Miss Gruber is conspiring with the Mollisons, but Sylvia doesn’t think it’s possible. When Sylvia asks Hazel if she would like to be her paid companion in New York rather than work in a factory, Hazel finds the idea enticing but knows that it would prevent her from becoming a journalist. However, she promises to think about it. Miss Gruber appears and announces that she reported Hazel as a stowaway, and an officer comes to take Hazel away.

Hazel is taken to the ship’s command center, which she finds amazing despite the circumstances. She’s told to wait for the captain and tries to explain to the officer that she plans to pay for her ticket eventually. Before the captain arrives, Mrs. Mollison comes, insisting on a moment alone with Hazel. Mrs. Mollison tries to get Hazel on her side again, threatening to frame her as a thief if she doesn’t comply. Hazel asks who the Mollisons are targeting, and when Mrs. Mollison denies that it’s Sylvia, Hazel wonders who else it could be. Mrs. Mollison accuses Hazel of stealing the paper outlining the thievery plot from their cabin, but Hazel denies doing so. When Mrs. Mollison tells Hazel that she used to be a housekeeper and worked to be in first class, it suddenly occurs to Hazel that Mrs. Mollison could be the housekeeper who got Mrs. Abelman fired. Charlie walks in, revealing that Mrs. Mollison reported him too.

While Hazel and Charlie await the captain, she tries to apologize to him for indirectly getting him in trouble. He remains stoic and says that he’s primarily concerned about not being able to send money home to his large family. After getting this off his chest, he’s ready to answer more questions about the ship, but Hazel says that she doesn’t want to write her story anymore. Charlie insists that doing so could prevent future accidents and save lives. The officer returns and informs Charlie that he’ll be spoken to in the morning; Hazel is told that her ticket is paid and that nothing further will occur if she remains in the correct areas of the ship and stops asking questions about it. Hazel wonders who could possibly have paid for her ticket, but her primary concern is warning Mrs. Abelman about the Mollisons. She heads back toward the grand staircase and finds Mrs. Abelman at a gambling table with Mr. Mollison.

Hazel learns that Mrs. Abelman has already lost most of her money to Mr. Mollison. Hazel finds Sylvia, who warns her against interfering, so she watches with dismay as Mrs. Abelman loses another round. Mr. Mollison tells Mrs. Abelman that he knows she’s a Jewish woman who grew up in poverty and married into wealth. He then whispers something else into her ear that Hazel can’t hear. Mrs. Abelman’s last item to bet is the key to her safe deposit box, and she looks at Hazel, who shakes her head, hoping that Mrs. Abelman will reconsider. Mrs. Abelman is aware that Mr. Mollison cheats but wins the final round anyway. She offers to trade him all her winnings for Hazel’s bag and notebook, which Mrs. Mollison promptly hands over. Hazel approaches Mrs. Abelman after the game to say that the notebook isn’t worth what Mrs. Abelman just traded for it, but Mrs. Abelman insists that Hazel’s story and her dream are more important than money. The chapter ends with a weather forecast for the final day on board the Titanic, predicting fog that will make it difficult to spot obstacles in the water.