[From K. Dannemeyer's reporter's notebook, boarding house room, Elm St. Pages undated; sequence approximate.]
p. 43. S.P. [Sarah P.] says F.'s junior — the boy who went out to Port Aimes in Nov. — was paid $600 in early Dec., bank draft, Hume Sh. office account. Ask: for what.
F. himself got $2,200 same window. "Consulting."
p. 44. Three names S.P. won't say — she was told by whom to leave alone. Probably Vantine direct.
Cabin steward: J—— T—— (can't place; steward service only 9 mo. before sinking; register at the Company office not shown to me). "J. for John." Widow says he sometimes went by "Jack."
Was at the inquest prep, not the inquest. Why.
p. 45. Mrs. Halvorsen (Elm St. boarding house, 2 doors from me) says the Company moved three men out of Port H. in Dec. — paid passage to elsewhere. One to San Francisco, one to Pittsburgh, one she thought to Boston but may have been Buffalo. Men who survived the sinking. Not all crew — one was a passenger who spoke to her lodger about what he'd heard on deck.
p. 46. Z. Malinowski's petition:
- Started 4 Dec 1912.
- 58 signatures by 25 Jan.
- She cannot afford a lawyer.
- Beacon will not carry it. I offered twice.
- She says one of the widows, Mrs. Sosowski, thinks her husband spoke with the captain in Polish the night before. Capt. R.H. did not speak Polish.
p. 47. Mr. Reddick writes back re. internal report. "In a condition unsuitable for release." The phrase is his.
p. 48. Note to self. Listing here b/c the article is spiked: the arithmetic. Inspection 12 Sept. Sinking 7 Nov. 8 wks. Boilers fine at inspection. Weather bad, yes. Boilers that break in 8 wks from certified-sound need an explanation or the explanation is that they didn't break when the Company says they broke. The reef hit first. That is what I cannot prove without the log. Someone has the log. A boiler that is struck on a reef breaks in ways the reef explains.
p. 49. B.D. [Benjamin Dreyfoos] says "drop it." Said it twice. Second time he said it like a friend: "Klaus, drop it."
I will stop writing it. I will not stop looking.
p. 50 — last entry before a long break — 14 Feb 1913.
Maeve McCausland asked me, at the door of her laundry, if I knew shorthand — the kind used by first mates at sea. I said no, not Lakes shorthand. She said her husband's was his own style, anyway. She did not say why she asked.
I thought about that for an hour after.