The captain kept waving his coat. “Not if they think we’re a U-boat.”
“Oh.” Joy drained out. She forced her numb fingers to unbutton her coat, and she shrugged it off. Keeping her backsidefirm against the deck for balance, she swept her coat overhead. “Over here! Over here!”
The ship drew nearer, and sailors bustled around on the destroyer’s deck. “Stay where you are,” a man said over a loudspeaker. “We will send a boat to you.”
“They see us!” Lucie translated the instructions into French, broken by giddy laughter.
A motorboat lowered over the destroyer’s side, then chugged over to the hulk.
The American sailors tossed up a line, and the Portuguese sailors secured it.
With great care, Lucie worked her way across the wreckage. A sailor helped her over the side and onto a rope ladder, and Lucie descended.
“I’ve got you, ma’am,” a very American voice said, and strong hands gripped her waist.
“Thank you, sir. Thank you.” Lucie collapsed on her bottom. “I’m so glad you saw us.”
A handsome face stared down at her from under an officer’s cap. “You’re American.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is this theEspiritu Santo? We received an SOS last night.”
“Yes, sir.” Lucie scooted over to make room for the other survivors.
“What was your point of departure, ma’am?” the officer asked. “Your destination?”
“Lisbon. We were supposed to arrive in New York this morning.”
“How many aboard?”
“Thirty-five passengers. Captain?” She switched to French and addressed the man coming down the ladder. “How many crewmen?”
“Twenty-four.”
Lucie translated.
The American officer glared out over the ocean. “Was it a U-boat?”
“Yes, sir. The captain saw the torpedo approach.”
The officer’s frown deepened with sympathy. “Just the four survivors, ma’am?”
A stone plummeted in Lucie’s stomach. “Several lifeboats departed. Haven’t you found them?”
“We haven’t heard.”
“Oh no.” Lucie pressed her hand to her mouth, and sickness swam inside. “My—my daughter.”
“Is she in a lifeboat?”
Lucie could only nod.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine, ma’am. Several ships are in the area.”
The American sailors called out to each other, and the engine revved.
“Sir?” Lucie tugged on the officer’s sleeve. “When—when will we know?”
