There was so much to do. Normally, the Lady Sara had a captain and a minimum of four competent deck hands who knew what they were doing.
Loesie threw off the covers and accompanied Johanna up the ladder, past the door to the cabin—still closed—and to the front of the boat. She hissed and hmmmed and pointed at the rope harnesses. Yes, Johanna had probably gotten it all wrong.
Under Loesie’s direction, they managed to get each animal tied up to their individual bars in the beam. Loesie untied the mooring ropes and hauled them in. Feeling the pressure against their backs, the cows started swimming. Johanna flung the bait into the water to keep them going and the boat slowly started moving. Johanna scanned the riverbanks, but could no longer see any people.
Next, the furnace.
She went into
