The great luxury liner was on fire, but no one knew it. Deep in the hold, near the engine room, hundreds of tons of coal were stored. Coal-powered ships used to carry the coal in a watered-down state. But this ship was new, and very big; bigger than any ship ever built, or had ever sailed. So even though the coal was watered for safety, the enormous amount meant that there were dry spots. A fire smoldered undiscovered deep in the coal supply, and when it was discovered, a fire-fighting crew was sent to quench it. They worked for days, even weeks, and couldn't put it out. It was determined that the coal stores were so huge that the fire would not deplete it, and was not a danger to the passengers or crew. So the ship put to sea with a fire-fighting crew sworn to secrecy, still fighting the …