noon
`` It ees ze veery hard thing to breathe back there , '' he gasped , pointing over his shoulder toward the engine room aft . Almost immediately the boys forward could hear Commander Mcclure giving orders to open the reserve oxygen tanks . Under the emergency measures adopted living conditions were for the time greatly relieved ; but every man aboard knew this relief was but temporary and realized that in twenty-four hours more at the most the supply of oxygen would be entirely exhausted . The morning wore on to noon and mess was served to a crew of men who cared little to eat . Grim disaster stared them in the face . The meal over , Commander McClure called a council of his aides in the control chamber . It lasted ten minutes , at the end of which time `` Little Mack '' sent word to Chief Engineer Blaine to assemble all his men with the remainder of the crew in the torpedo compartment .