Orphan Train Disaster

by Rachel Wesson

  They kept moving downward, floor by floor. Little by little it seemed easier to breathe, but she still didn’t take the scarf off, not until they heard the fireman.

  “Steady on there now. You are almost down. Ladies, you can remove the scarves now. Gents, take care of those ladies.”

  Esther darted for the door, but the same fireman blocked her. “Not outside yet, Miss. We’ll tell you when. Just wait here. You are safe.”

  Maria couldn’t breathe or see. She clawed at her throat as if she could open it more. She felt her legs give way and grabbed for Conrad as she passed out.

  Chapter 30

  Maria opened her eyes to find herself on the ground floor, seeing Conrad’s face hovering over her.

  “Thank God, you gave me a fright passing out like that. How do you feel?” he asked as he helped her to sit up properly.

  How did she feel? Rather numb. Spotting Esther standing to her side, alone, she asked, “Where did Gustav go?”

  “He muttered something and took off. The firemen tried to stop him, but he shrugged them off. He knows many people working here, maybe he’s gone to check on them.” Conrad’s voice sounded different, rougher than usual.

  A group of firemen protecting the small group of factory workers distracted her. She searched the faces of the female workers, but Rosa wasn’t there. She didn’t recognize any of the women, some of whom were crying, others calling out asking if she had seen Surka or Mary Leventhal or Anna Gullo.

  Maria stood up with Conrad’s help. Gripping his hand, she asked some women if they had seen Rosa. Nobody had. Everyone fell silent at the cries for help, and screams from the upper floors floated over them.

  Maria counted backwards, trying to distract herself from the horrible sounds around her. Screams, thuds, an explosion. She gripped Conrad’s hand tighter. He pulled her closer. Esther stood near them, her eyes scanning everyone who moved.

  “Esther, who are you looking for?”

  The girl didn’t seem to hear her. Maria reached out to touch her arm. Esther jumped.

  “Did I hurt you? Are you burned?”

  “I have to find my sister and my brother. I should have stayed to look for them. I have to get back up there.” Esther tried to push her way through the firemen but couldn’t.

  Maria rushed to her friend’s side. “Esther, you can’t go back up there. Let the firemen do their work. Come over here.”

  A fireman stepped forward. “Listen to your friend, lady. There’s nothing you can do for those up there.”

  Maria caught the expression in the fireman’s eyes, but she didn’t want to recognize it. She wanted to see hope, not resignation. She put her arm around Esther’s shoulder but took it away as the girl flinched. She lifted Esther’s hair, grimacing at the horrible burns. “Esther, we have to get you to the doctors. You must be in agony.”

  Esther brushed off her concern. “I want to stay here. Wait for Joseph and Fannie, my brother and sister. They will look for me.”

  Conrad and some other men spoke with a fireman. Maria watched Conrad’s expression, seeing his eyes turn glassy, his face losing all color.

  She moved to his side. “It is Rosa?” Even as she asked, she knew it was stupid to think the fireman would know her sister.

  “What?” Conrad took a moment to understand. “No, he wants us to go outside.”

  If that was all the fireman wanted, why did he take the men aside. Why not just tell them all to move? Suspicious, she looked closer at the other male workers. They wouldn’t meet her eyes either. She glanced at the women. Some of them were crying, others staring into space.

  Conrad took her hand. “Stay close to me. I don’t want to lose you.”

  “We’re only going out on the sidewalk.” Why was she arguing with him? He knew something. What?

  “It’s chaos out there. Lots of people looking for their loved ones, friends, neighbors. Just keep beside me.” Conrad turned to Esther. “Come on my other side, Esther, and hold my hand. The three of us stick together until we all get out alive.”

  Alive? What was he talking about? They were safe now, weren’t they?

  Maria sagged against him, not releasing her grip. The firemen directed them across the street into the doorway of a store where others had gathered. Maria turned to look at the factory, but Conrad pulled her head against his coat. “Don’t look, Maria. Don’t look.”

  She pulled against him, knowing he was protecting her. But from what? She saw the fire engines, firemen and police. The nets, the ladders. They were too short, the ladders. They didn’t reach to the top, not even to the windows where the blazing flames were pouring out.

  “Maria, stop it. Torturing yourself won’t help anyone.”

  Esther screamed beside her before fainting. Conrad released Maria and helped to lay Esther on some coats.

  “Stay here, look after her. I’ll get someone,” he said.

  “Don’t leave me.”

  “I’ll be back. She saved your life. Look after her, Maria.”

  His firm tone spoke through her panic. She owed Esther everything. Kneeling by Esther’s side, she cradled the girl’s head on her knees, trying to position her friend in such a way as to prevent hurting her more.

  “Esther, everything will be okay. Conrad will find someone to help. Open your eyes. Please.”

  Esther’s eyes fluttered. “Maria, did you see? The pavement?”

  Maria shook her head. “Don’t speak. Just rest.” Where was Conrad with a doctor? She didn’t want to think about what Esther had seen. After everything, what had been so horrid it caused her to pass out?

  Chapter 31

  Conrad came back alone.

  “There aren’t any spare doctors. They’re busy. We’ll take her to the hospital.” The whole time he spoke, he avoided her eyes. She wanted to scream at him to talk to her, tell her what he had seen, what scared him, but she was too frightened. She knew it was bad, but she didn’t want to know for certain.

  Maria spotted Gustav walking down the sidewalk, his red eyes staring out of his blackened face. He looked... lost.

  Conrad moved forward to shake his hand and then hug him. Instead of shaking Gustav’s hand, Maria hugged him too. She held him as his body shook and then he pushed her away.

  “I saw you and Conrad, and I couldn’t leave you behind. Not after what you did for my family,” Gustav’s raspy voice testified to how much smoke he’d inhaled. “I’m sorry about your sister. Any sign of her yet?”

  Maria shook her head. “No, Conrad offered to search for her, but then Esther fainted, so he went for a doctor. I spotted Rosa’s boyfriend, Paulo. I didn’t speak to him, but he’ll search here. She may have gone looking for me. We need to get Esther to the hospital.”

  Conrad squeezed Maria’s hand. “Firemen said we should get Maria and Esther checked out. Both got a little singed by the fire.”

  “I’m fine.” Maria protested, “I can cut the burned ends of my hair out, but Esther has a nasty burn on her neck. We’ve been waiting for news of her brother, Joseph, and older sister, Fannie.”

  Gustav offered young Esther his arm. “Come on Esther, let’s get you down to the hospital. Your family will look for you there. Can’t leave a burn like that to fester, could get infected.”

  The girl took his arm without a word, leaving Maria and Conrad to follow them.

  They walked in silence. Every so often, Conrad shuddered, but he didn’t cry. Maria brushed away enough tears for both of them. The streets were full of people, some crying, others covered in soot walking in a daze. She saw people on the ground, doctors trying to mend broken legs, nurses cleaning wounds. Ambulances passed them. Nearer the hospital, the crowds seemed to intensify. She moved closer to him.

  “Thank you for saving me. You risked your life coming back for me.”

  “I don’t have a life without you.” Conrad didn’t look at her, but tightened his grip on her arm and maneuvered their way through the assembled crowds.

  Some were obvious
ly looking for their families. The looks of horror and desperation were enough to tell that. She looked round for Rosa or Paulo. She didn’t see anyone else she recognized either. Not until they reached the hospital did she see some familiar doctors.

  “Maria, are you hurt?” Patrick Green moved quickly to her side.

  “No, thank you, Patrick.”

  Conrad gave her a look. “Ignore her, Doctor. Her hair got burned, and she swallowed a lot of smoke.”

  “Only as much as you did, Conrad,” Maria responded. She pointed at Esther. “Patrick, I mean Dr. Green, could you look at Esther? She took off her scarf, she was frightened, and she got burned.”

  “I’ll help your friend, but try to find somewhere to sit and drink milk. They think it helps with smoke inhalation. Frieda will be happy to know you are okay. We all are.”

  Chapter 32

  She let Conrad lead her to an empty chair before he went in search of milk. The surrounding chairs filled up quickly, as did the room. More and more survivors came into the hospital with their families. Like her, many were missing sisters, brothers, and sometimes mothers and fathers.

  One boy was missing his mother, two sisters, and a brother. Maria wanted to help him, but when she tried to stand, her legs wouldn’t work. She sat back down just as Conrad returned, a cup of milk in hand.

  “Drink that.” He pushed it into her hand. She met his eyes, but he wouldn’t hold her gaze. Her heart hammered in her chest. Was it Rosa?

  “You know something. What? Tell me.”

  “I can’t,” he whispered, his face ashen.

  “It is Rosa? Did you find her?” She stood up, spilling some milk. She handed the cup to one of the other workers. “I can’t drink it, but the doctor said it would be good for us.”

  She turned back to Conrad. “Tell me.”

  “It’s not Rosa.”

  “What then?”

  “Not here, Maria. Come outside.”

  She followed him outside stunned to see the crowds gathering, all muttering and mumbling, but nobody was shouting.

  “Maria, oh my God. I can’t get the images out of my head. There are loads of them in there with all sorts of injuries. I don’t know how the nurses and doctors do it.” He angrily brushed a tear away. “What do I look like? Whining like a boy.”

  She wrapped her arms around him, not caring who saw her or what they thought.

  “Conrad, you saved me and Esther today. You should be proud.”

  “Gustav saved all of us.”

  “Yes, but you came back for me first. Otherwise, Gustav wouldn’t have found me. They’d have crushed me against that door. Why was it locked? Why did nobody know where to go? What about Harris and Blanck? Did they get out? I haven’t seen them.”

  “They survived. And their kids, too. Not that I would want anything to happen to those lovely little girls, but their fathers? How they can walk around with their heads up, I will never know. They should be here supporting everyone, but my guess is that they’re in hiding.”

  “Or filing their insurance claim forms knowing those two,” Gustav said, coming up behind them.

  Esther wore a bandage around her neck. Gustav spoke as Esther just stared into space, “We should tell Esther’s mother she is safe. Maybe they know something about her brother and sister. What will you do?”

  Mama! How could she have forgotten her mother? She’d be fretting at home. “I’ve got to go home. I checked with the nurses. No patient with the name Rosa Mezza has been admitted. She just seems to have disappeared.”

  Maria caught Conrad and Gustav exchanging glances, but someone distracted her. Looking into the crowd, she recognized Mr. Maltese.

  “Maria, have you seen my wife, my daughters? Rosaria? Lucia? Please, you must have seen them. They walked to work this morning.” His facial expression begged her to tell him they were alive.

  She had seen the family on her way to work. Lucia was joking around, making her mother and sister laugh. She’d shared the elevator with them but couldn’t remember seeing them later in the day.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Maltese. I didn’t see them. I’ve lost Rosa. Have you seen her?”

  Mr. Maltese shook his head, his eyes wide with terror.

  “Mr. Maltese, don’t wait here.” Conrad said. “I know your wife, a lovely lady. I’ve searched this hospital for Rosa and didn’t see your wife or girls. They took some injured to Bellevue hospital. The police have taken the bodies to a temporary morgue. That’s all we know for now. Would they have gone home?”

  The man muttered in Italian. “I was at home, nobody came. I waited, and then I heard there was a fire. The building, the smoke, those bodies. My girls, where are they?”

  Conrad offered his advice. “Mr. Maltese, speak to a police officer or a fireman. They may know more. I would go with you, but I must get Maria home.”

  “Yes, her mama will worry.” Mr. Maltese wrung his hands, his eyes darting one way and another before he wandered away.

  Chapter 33

  Conrad led Maria away. Maria hoped the man would find his family. Could they have all died? Knowing Lucia and Rosaria, they wouldn’t have left their mother behind, and Mrs. Maltese might not have been able to jump up on the tables. Getting up above the fire was one common theme to the stories of how some had survived. Maria shuddered.

  “Are you cold?”

  “No, I was thinking of the Maltese girls, they wouldn’t have left their Mama. Nobody would run away and leave a parent in that inferno.” Yet she’d done exactly that only in her case, it was her sister.

  He read her thoughts. “You can stop thinking like that right this second, Maria Mezza. You didn’t desert Rosa, you couldn’t know if she had got out or not. She worked at the Triangle longer than you did. You had to save yourself, that’s what she would have wanted.”

  Maria couldn’t answer. It was uncanny how he could read her mind. She huddled closer. Glad of his support even though he’d suffered too. He hadn’t lost family, but many close friends and co-workers, plus they’d never forget the sights they’d seen.

  Conrad put his arm around her waist to support her physically and mentally.

  “Paulo may have found her and taken her home. Come on, we will try to find a cab.”

  But there wasn’t any, and they had to walk back. Their journey slowed by meeting other survivors or those still looking for missing family.

  “Maria, Maria Mezza!” Maria turned in response to her name being called. Sarah, her friend from the 1909 strikes, flung her arms around her.

  “Thank God you are safe, Maria. I worried about you and prayed for you.”

  It was just like she and Sarah had spoken last week. As if they were still close friends.

  “Sarah, it was horrible. Just like you said. They locked the doors.”

  Sarah didn’t look shocked, she knew what working in the Triangle was like. “Don’t worry about that for now. How are you? Rosa? Your friends? Did you see Katie and Rosie Weiner? They’re sisters and good friends of our family.”

  Thrilled to give someone good news, she nodded. “Katie is fine. I saw her after on the sidewalk. Someone said they took her to Bellevue hospital for her hands or maybe her feet. I heard she jumped onto the elevator. The top of it or something, but she’s alive. I didn’t see Rosie.”

  Sarah hugged Maria. “Thank you, Maria, her mother will be so happy to hear about Katie. Maybe Rosie went to the hospital with her. So many dead and injured. How will they recover? I best get back. I’m so glad I saw you. I pray you will find your sister. Good luck.”

  With that, Sarah left. “A good friend of yours?” Conrad asked as they continued down the street.

  “She was. We were friends during the strike, but she was very cross when I went back to work. I broke the strike, and she hated me for it. We haven’t spoken since.”

  “Looks like she got over it. Those things mean little in times like this.”

  He was right, nothing mattered now but finding Rosa alive. As they drew
closer to the apartment, her walk slowed.

  “Want me to wait here?” Conrad asked. “Your mama might not welcome my presence. Times like this are for close family.”

  “No, don’t go.” Maria gripped his arm so hard she made him wince. “I’m terrified. What if she isn’t there? What if she didn’t make it out?”

  “Shush, darling. We will know soon enough. Don’t expect the worst. Come on, dry your eyes. Your mama needs you more than ever now.” He kissed her on the tip of her nose, and taking her hand once more, strode around the block to her apartment. Nodding at people staring at them, he pulled her alongside into the apartment. Only when they got to the door did he stop.

  “You can do this, Maria Mezza. Go on.”

  The door opened just as he finished, and her mother’s screams rang in her ears. A string of Italian followed with her mother kissing her and behaving like she was the prodigal son. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Benito standing up, his arms folded as he eyed Conrad. Sophie and Louisa hung in the background, arms around each other, tear stained white faces.

  Mama held her away, looking over her shoulder, “Where’s Rosa? Why isn’t she with you?”

  Maria glanced at Conrad before she looked her mama in the eyes. “Mama, she’s not here?”

  “No Maria, she was with you. You left here together this morning. You come home together.” Mama spoke forcefully, as if she could will Rosa to appear. “Rosa, where is my Rosa? My girl, where is she?” Mama paled and crumpled.

  Before Benito could move, Conrad caught Mama before she fell to the ground. Maria pulled a chair out and together they pushed her mother onto it.

  “Take your hands off my mother!” Benito roared.