Chapter 21 Recruiting

Will and Minnie walked away from the tavern.Min was as usual investigating and talking a mile a minute, Will was listening with half an ear and thinking of the rest of the day.His thoughts were interrupted by a clod ofmud tossed at him by Min, “hey dad, wake up yeah”, she said, “I was talking to you.”.Bending down to pick up a handful of mud and weeds he chased Minnie back to the quay threatening to muck up her fur.

As they reached the lands end they found wagons waiting to unload the Rose of the heavy ore load. Min and Will hopped onto the first wagon and rode down the quay to the waiting boat.Will went to the hold and started the process of loading the crane that Minnie lowered.Two hundred pound bags of coal were first.Will was loading two at a time onto the hook and Min winched them up and over to the waiting wagons.

The work was hard but not overly so.The first hold was half done, Min had shown the drivers how to use the crane and they took over.She was getting stronger every day but this work was hard on her, so now lying on top of the coal piles cheering Will on was her job.Making sure that no coal dust got near her though.

The wagon driver, Tom, called down that his wagon was fully loaded and he was heading back to land to switch off with another.Minnie raced up to the deck to escort him back to the safety of land and bring the other one back.Will met them and directed the driver below to load the crane.Soon enough this wagon was full too and it was time for a break.

Will and Minnie lazed on the deck by the stern.It was a very mild day still and Will was attempting to teach Minnie the card game cribbage. Things were going quite well, but as soon as she realized that there was a way to win things the games had become very competitive.Will had put up rewards for the winner and so far Minnie had won a fine telescope, a small bag to wear, he had won a new pillow and new work gloves.

They both knew the things they won had just been for fun but it added an extra bit of drama to the game. The cards had been thrown into the air several times and nearly overboard once after a battle had been lost, Will had to dodge the flying crib board once too. However, tempers had been mended, especially Minnie’s. She was many things but losing was not a strength of hers. After a few hands it was back to work. Will had found the crib board in the small store room that Minnie told him about. The cards too, they were an unfamiliar brand but still just a regular deck of cards.

Will was hoping to finish off both ore holds today, and use tomorrow as a cleanup and planning day.

All in all it took six wagons to empty all the ore from the Roses holds.The sun was getting low as the last was escorted off the dock by a tired first mate and captain.Tom, the driver, had thanked the two of them and also gifted them with a dinner his wife had prepared.A very tasty cottage pie that had filled Minnie to the bursting point, followed by an apple crumble.

After this wonderful meal, enjoyed in the quiet of the wheelhouse, the two crew had gone below.Will had closed off the holds, Minnie was asleep in their cabin by the time he got there.The sun was going down as he lay down on the bed, there was just enough light coming in through the port to see his little friend sleeping beside him.“Goodnight Min.” Will murmured, laying his hand on her small shoulder, “night dad” was the sleepy reply.

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The next day the air was crisp and clean, the smell of salt and fish was blowing through the open port.A fair bit of light was coming in showing it was far past sunrise and past time to wake up.For once Will was first up and, after his morning ablutions decided to cook breakfast for Minnie and himself.

As he puttered in the galley, frying bacon, eggs, toasting and so on he got lost in thought for a few minutes. While he had been brushing his teeth a little while ago he noticed some changes. It felt like some teeth were actually growing back, weird as that was. Others were not as worn or chipped anymore. Teeth were not the only things changing, his hearing was much improved as was his eyesight. Glasses and hearing aids were a thing of the past, good thing too. Batteries and new prescriptions might be a little hard to get.

And breakfast was ready, he covered the dishes and ran on deck, ran on deck and started hammering on the stern bell.

From below he could he startled barks and yells, no idea what she was saying but Minnie was definitely awake now.Hurrying back down to the galley he managed to be sitting again as Min ran in, still pulling on her overalls.“Oh hi there, breakfast is ready”, he said.Jumping on to her special seat Min started loading her plate.“Good one dad, good food too.” she managed to say around bacon.

“We are gonna take it easy today, well not too easy.” Will started, “not like yesterday at least.Cleaning up the holds and deck, you can hose them out if you want.”.Minnie nodded happily “ yeah, I love using the hose, cleans up good.”.Glad she agreed Will went on “Then we are going to plan our next trip, figure out where we going, what supplies…”.“And talk to Naomi and Regina, hope she wants to come with.” said Minnie.“Me too, me too.” agreed Will.

Breakfast over and done, dishes washed up, last drinks finished, then it was up to the deck for work.Will uncovered the pump he had brought up the night before, tossed the feed into the water and lowered the nozzle down to Min in the hold.As he started moving the handle it took a minute to prime but then the water started flowing and he could hear Minnie below yelling at the ore dust to get off her boat.They switched to the other holds and as the morning went on all were cleaned out.Especially the…in Minnie’s words…the yucky fishy one, eww.

They switched the feed hose into the bilge and pumped out as much as they could, it would never be dry but at least it’s clean.After a short break, lounging on the bow in deck chairs they had found below.Leftover cottage pie, tea and milk.Then cracking on, scrubbing the decks and hosing the dirt over the side.The salt water was hard on the wood but removed all the greases and oils that get worked in.

The Rose glistened in the afternoon sun, nearly every inch polished and scrubbed, ready for their next voyage.And that’s what Minnie and Will were deciding now, heads over the map table in the wheelhouse.Will was leaning towards going on a long trip, weeks long.To get the feel of the lake, to see more, to learn more of this new world.Minnie didn’t really care where they went.She was enjoying life day to day.

Will had planned out a month long trip, at least. Hugging the coast and heading east first then north for as long as they had supplies and trade goods. Apparently this village was one of the few sources of high quality cooking oils and had been a good source of income in the past. That and various iron mongery. Their holds would be packed and hopefully bring back what the village could use.

He also had an extensive list of supplies they needed, their galley and pantries would be stuffed.The only thing he would miss would be milk for Minnie .With no refrigeration it just wouldn’t keep.“Hey Min, maybe we should get a goat and some chickens to go along with us.”.he said.“Ghosts are scary and chickens are yummy” was the sleepy reply.Will laughed “not ghosts…goats.For fresh milk, and eggs from the chickens.”.

As soon as Minnie heard milk and eggs she was all for it, and ran below decks to find a good spot for the chickens. Will added feed for both to his list and left the wheelhouse to see where his first mate had gotten to. As he walked down the stairs he heard someone call his name, and at the lands end of the quay he saw Naomi and Regina waving to get his attention. “Hey Min, we got company,” he called out. She came galloping up the stairs, waited for him to flip down the gangway, then ran down the quay.

Will followed quickly and when he reached them Minnie turned to him and said “Naomi wants to come with us, isn’t that great, I can look after her like the goats and chickens too, we gotta find her a place to sleep and stuff.”.“Just remember Min, if Naomi’s on the boat one of us has to be too, okay?”. replied Will. Minnie nodded “oh yeah, no one being eaten by lake. Got it.”.