a. I saw all at once the wash of a torpedo, indicated
by a snake-like churn of the surface of the water. It may have been
about thirty feet away. And then came a thud."

_Mr. Kessler told of the general rush for the deck and the second
explosion. Then he continued:_

"Mr. Berth and his wife, from New York, first-class passengers, were the
last ones I spoke to. I should say that all the passengers in the dining
saloon had come up on deck. The upper deck was crowded, and, of course,
the passengers were wondering what was the matter, few really believing
what it proved to be. Still they began to lower boats, and then things
began to happen very quickly.

"Mr. Berth was trying to persuade his wife to get into a boat. She said
she would not do so without him. He said, 'Oh, come along, my darling; I
will be all right,' and I added to his persuasions.

"I saw him help her into the boat with the ropes of the davits. I fell
into the same boat, and we were slipped down into the water over the
side of the liner, which was bulging out, the list being the other way.
The boat struck the water, and after some seconds (it may have been a
minute) I looked up and cried out, 'My God, the Lusitania is gone!'

"We saw the entire bulk, which had been almost upright just a few
seconds before, suddenly lurch over away from us. Then she seemed to
stand upright in the water, and the next instant the keel of the vessel
caught the keel of the boat in which we were floating, and we were
thrown into the water. There were only about thirty people in the boat,
and I should say that all were stokers or third-class passengers. There
may have been one or two first class; I cannot recall who they were.

"When the boat was overturned I sank fifteen or twenty feet. I thought I
was gone. However, I had my lifebelt around me, and managed to rise
again to the surface. There I floated for possibly ten or fifteen
minutes, when I saw and made a grab at a collapsible lifeboat at which
other passengers were also grabbing. We managed to get it shipshape and
clamber in. There were eight or nine in the boat, all stokers except one
or two third-class passengers.

"It was partly filled with water and in the scramble which occurred the
boat was overturned, and once more we were pitched into the water. This
occurred, I should say, eight times, the boat usually righting itself.
Before we were picked up by the Bluebell six of the party of eight or
nine were lying dro