Chapter 60. In a Hurry Are We?
The bacon from Laketown was always excellent. They had many slabs in their larder, covered with cloth to keep dust and insects off. Smoked to perfection, ready to be sliced however thick they wanted, thin for regular breakfast strips, or thick for bacon sandwiches. The ham they kept, hanging in the larders, was presumably from the same farm. Lightly smoked and not too salty. It kept well on all their voyages ,and was one of their staples for much of their menu. They had smoked beef as well, and Will was very interested in smoking fish. If properly done and properly stored any smoked meat could last up to six months. Now this was much longer than they needed but it was nice to know in case of an emergency.
Will pondered all this while looking at his last slice of bacon on his plate. Deciding on the spot that his next project was going to be a smoker. Placed beside the bbq grill at the bow. More room up there and nicely out of the way. The stern and midship was always the busier parts of the boat but the bow was where the crew relaxed. That’s where they were right now. Minnie and Naomi had cleaned up after shrimping, Will had made breakfast today.
“I do like bacon dad, you know I like it better than just about anything, maybe more than shrimp, can you make shrimp bacon?” , asked Minnie.Now that was a good question, thought Will.“I don’t think so, you have to smoke or cure bacon.That won’t work on the shrimp or crabs, if we ever find any.”, he answered.Min didn’t seem quite convinced but let it go for now.As their meal wound down Naomi gathered the dishes.“I’ll take care of this, you guys have to get us going right?”, she said as she loaded a tray.Minnie nodded “Yeah, we gotta get going, it’s a while to Newton, gotta keep an eye on the shrimpies too.”.
Will was pulling in the anchors, nice and easy this time.As soon as she saw him secure them Minnie engaged the engine and hit 3/4 speed.The lake foamed at the bow as the Rose surged ahead.Pennants snapping in the wind, rocking away through the waves.A long wake behind them showing the world they were on the way.“Yeehaw!”, cheered Will, standing at the bow, “Look at us, top of the world.”.
A few minutes later, sitting in the wheelhouse, Will was writing todays log entries.Just a record of the day’s activities so far, he found it easier to do this several times a day.Compared to a long writing session in the evening, this was better if he had the time.The estimated time to Newton was five or six hours and they were all hoping the shrimp would be alive by then.Shrimp eat anything so they had dumped leftovers and compost into the barrels to keep them happy.
Minnie was still at the helm, it was a straight line to Newton, but she still kept an eye out.Mostly for debris, like the one that caught them last trip out.“We don’t really need to get much in town do we?”, Minnie asked.“Not really, a couple of odds and ends.Better magnifiers for you, some tree sap, more candy.”, said Will.Her eyes lighted up at the word candy.“Oh yea, I love that place.Let’s get everything.”.Laughing, Will had no problem with that.He had enjoyed several things from there and had wanted more since they had run out.
Naomi joined them in the wheelhouse and had brought her violin.Minnie loved music and singing along with the songs Will had remembered.It was a very pleasant few hours spent relaxing.Years ago, when Will first heard these songs and memorized them, he could never have thought he would be singing on a steamboat, that he was captain of, with his best friend who used to be a dog, a young woman he thought of as a daughter, sailing on an endless lake.What a life I fell into he thought, a true gift.
As they travelled, they had turned closer to shore.Being near to where the debris field had been but there was no trace now.Whatever it had been was probably all over the shoreline now.Newton was within two hours at this speed and the shrimp were doing well still.Swimming around in the barrels, a couple had managed to jump out through the nets.Tossed back in so the rest could feed on them.
Minnie was at the helm as they came into the Newton harbour. Pulling on the steam whistle to let everyone know they’re back. Crowds were gathering at the lands end of the dock, and along the shore. Nothing had really changed here, and Will wondered how all the friends he had made were doing. “Big place huh dad, I want to go shopping again. It had only been three or four weeks since they were here last but it seemed bigger. Carriages and wagons were arriving now and it looked as though a couple of the councillor’s were here. Minnie steered them to the end and throttled back, as they slowly drifted in Will jumped out and started tying the Rose to the dock. Flipping the fenders out and lines tight they were safe and sound. “All good Min, shut us down.”, called Will. He felt the vibration of the engine stop, pulling down the stairs he climbed back on. Minnie met him and they went to the engine room and shut down the boiler.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“You think they will need more ore and stuff?”, asked Minnie.Will thought for a bit, while they changed clothes and cleaned up.“They might, we did make a deal to come every couple of months but we’re quite early for that .”,he said.“We don’t have to do what they ask do we?”, she asked again.Will shook his head “No, we’re free agents here.We don’t work for the towns, we work with them.But our independence is important.”.“That's good dad, I like working with the littles, but I’m really looking forward to more travelling.”.“Me too…are you ready?”, Will asked.Minnie gave her ears one more brush, and they left their cabin.
Naomi was waiting on deck, looking rather impatient.“You guys took forever.”, she said.“Blame dad”, answered Minnie “He was the one, I was ready ages ago.”.They started walking briskly down the long dock toward town when a thought struck Will.“”Why do we always tie off at the end, why not at the sides here, it would be a shorter walk.”.From Minnie and Naomi’s look he could see they had never thought of it either, until now.“Ummm maybe it’s tradition, that the end of the dock is where you….I have no idea “, said Naomi.“Is the water deep enough on the sides though, the tides and waves might be too dangerous to tie up there.”, asked Minnie.“We’ve got to do some soundings, but that’s probably the reason .And now the barges go there, when unloading at least.”, said Will, “Good one Min.”.
The barges in question were visible, beached and tied to strong pilings.To prevent washing out to sea in bad weather.They had been unloaded and towed to shore before the Rose had left Newton last time.Looking further up the beach Will could make out more barges under construction.At least two that Will could see, in the early stages.Frameworks of thick lumber, hulls slowly taking form.
It looked like Newton had an appetite for ores and coal.
As the crew reached the end of the dock it was like a festival.Everyone was happy to see them again.Will took the councillors to one side.“We have a treat onboard.Have any of you had shrimp before?”, he asked.Matt’s eyes lit up “Oh many many years ago.On my first trip on the Rose, we made a stop after loading ore.Captain Tegan took the crew on shore and we cooked and ate, sang songs.It was wonderful.”, he had a faraway look, reliving that night.“Well we have 8 barrels of live shrimp, and we’re willing to let you have them….for credit of course.”, saidWill.Matt huddled with the others, and convinced them quickly to agree.“I’ll send for Edmund and Rudy to unload those right away.”, said Samantha.“Most people, me included, have never even heard of shrimp, much less eaten them”, added Gemma.
“We saved a few dozen for our use,” said Will, why don’t you all join us onboard tonight and we will cook them up a few ways for you all.”.The councillors agreed happily, all eager to try something different.As for the live shrimp it was decided to do a limited raffle for the towns restaurants to have a chance to buy them.A rare treat for anyone to try.At that minute Edmund and Rudy drove a large wagon up to the dock.Dinner had been set for sundown so the crew escorted to wagon as it backed down the long dock.Will and Minnie walked with Rudy, guiding the horses, Naomi up with Edmund.Minnie kept poking Will and pointing at the younger two, a big grin on her face.“See?”, she whispered to Will, “She’s got a sweety…told you so.”.
The barrels were heavy but Will easily handled them, lifted them to the wagon where Minnie and Naomi put them in place.Ed and Rudy stood back, a bit in awe of how easy they they made it look.Barrels strapped down “Watch out, they like to try to jump out, they’re not as active now, keep an eye out.”, advised Will.“Will do captain.”, repliedEdmund.“I’ll escort the wagon back captain.” said Naomi, “I’ll be back before dinner, okay?”.At these words Ed turned to look at Naomi, “You, you’re immune now, safe from the lake?”, he asked.She looked at Will who gave a slight nod.“Yes, but it’s not permanent, only as long as I’m with Minnie and the captain.”, she answered.Minnie waved at them,“okey dokey, you have fun now.”.Naomi and Ed turned a bit red but both smiled happily.Rudy told them“Go ahead Ed, I’ll walk back and meet up in a bit.”.The wagon drove off and Will could see the two talking away.
“Nice girl.”, said Rudy, “I hope she’s not disappointed too much.”. Minnie gave him a look “Why would she, be disappointed that is, it’s nice to have someone to be with.”. Rudy looked blank for a second, then said “Ed’s already in a promise with someone. I think that Naomi is in for a bit of a shock when she meets him.”. Oh, thought Will, that would be a shock. “You mean Ed loves someone already, can’t you love more than one person dad?”, asked Minnie. “You can sweety, but…let’s leave it at that for now and talk about this later…okay?”, sighed Will. “All right, but don’t forget.”, she said.
They reached lands end and bid Rudy good day and walked back to the Rose.They had a bit to do with company coming for dinner.Minnie thought they should eat on deck, under the moon and stars.So they got to work setting up long folding tables and chairs, the ones used for lunch on shore parties.Will also hauledup a couple of the portable stoves and got those going too, easier than cooking below. Minnie had set up large umbrellas in case of rain, it didn’t looks like it would, but you never know.The grill was ready to go, camp potato’s in large metal roasters had started to dimmer away.Along with the shrimp Will had also prepared two large floaters they caught today and they were baking away too.Minnie had started readying the shrimp, peeling them and washing in fresh water, several dozen so far.
“Look at my fur, it’s yucky, I gotta go wash this goo off me.”, she complained.Will eyed her up and down, “You look okay to me, a bit scruffy but that’s normal.”.She gasped “I am not scruffy, I’m gooey, from those things, I’ll be back up in a minute or two.”, and she scampered belowdecks for a quick bath.“Great, now the cabin will smell like wet dog…”, Will muttered under his breath.“I heard that you know, and wet dog is a nice smell, better than you after bean night!”, came the yell from downstairs.“Oops sorry Min, wet dog is wonderful.”, Will laughed.
He was waiting on her for more than a few minutes, when he saw a wagon drop Naomi off at the end of the dock. “Oh oh,I’m gonna need you up here Minnie.”, he called.