Michael proposed to his young companion that he should cross first, embarking in the ferryboat with the tarantass and horses, as he feared that the weight of this load would render it less safe.

After landing the carriage he would return and fetch Nadia.
The girl refused.

It would be the delay of an hour, and she would not, for her safety alone, be the cause of it.
The embarkation was made not without difficulty, for the banks were partly flooded and the boat could not get in near enough.

However, after half an hour's exertion, the boatmen got the tarantass and the three horses on board.

The passengers embarked also, and they shoved off.
For a few minutes all went well.