You may remember that Mr. Quackers first met his friends Rae and Vanny (and me!) while they were visiting Hungary one summer. You probably also know that Mr. Quackers visited the USA after that and enjoyed living with his friends in Texas for the rest of that year.

Soon, another summer came around (as summers do) and it was time for the friends to visit Hungary again. There was a lot to plan and do as they prepared for their trip. One of their biggest questions was: should Mr. Q stay hidden in Texas (safe from the schemes and attacks of witches), or travel with them to Hungary?

In the end, it was decided that he should stay in Texas while his friends traveled. If he got bored sitting around the house, he would visit them in Hungary—as long as he could find a safe way to do that.

The friends went off on their summer travels and Mr. Quackers got to work learning how to use the buttons on the television remote. Usually he would ask one of the girls to change the program, or he would watch whatever they were watching, but without them around he had to figure it out for himself. He was a smart duck, though, so he knew it wouldn’t take him very long.

Mr. Quackers on the Move

Part One - Mr. Quackers Receives a Warning

The witches weren’t having any luck finding Mr. Q after he left Hungary and went into hiding in the US.

The Sea Witch and the Witch of the Air sent various minions to hunt for signs and rumors of him so they might figure out where he was and what he was doing. Mr. Quackers had his own friends in watery places, though (and in other places, of course), and he was always able to outsmart the witches with his clever mind and the help of his friends.

One day, while he was relaxing on M. Drive in a certain town in North Texas (while Rae and Vanny were away traveling), someone rang the doorbell. Usually, Mr. Q ignored the doorbell, but this time he felt something (his Duck Intuition, perhaps) urging him to answer the door.

When he opened the door, there was no one there—but there was a brown envelope on the welcome mat. It was damp. Wet, even. It smelled like…the sea. It had ‘Mr. Q’ written on it.

He wondered what the witches were up to now. Had they managed to find him? Was this some kind of trap?

He took the envelope into the house and dried it off as best he could. Then he opened it. He immediately recognized the writing on the note inside.

Dearest brother,

the note began. This made Mr. Q smile. He continued reading.

I know that it has been some time since I’ve seen you or written to you. I’ve been busy with my work in the DIA—specifically in the ODS—but as you know, we aren’t allowed to talk about that. This note might smell like sea water, but I actually arrived in Texas by the freshwater lakes and rivers of this strange land. And by flying, of course. The fake seawater on this note is one of Mortimer’s latest inventions. You remember Mortimer from our days at duckling school, I’m sure. He works in the DWG department at the DIA now.

I’ve been in touch with your friends, Rea, Vanny, and that guy who might be their grandfather (I forget his name). I made them official members of the Orange Duck Society. I thought it would be useful to have them as ODS members in the dangerous days to come. I’ve given them symbols to keep with them so that any members of the ODS will recognize them as friends.

The situation with the pirates has become quite alarming. The Sand Witch and her sisters have worked with various pirate groups for many years, as you know. This summer, though, I’ve learned that the witches have given their pirate friends one mission and one mission only: “Scour land and sea until you find Mr. Quackers, and bring him to the Sand Witch for grilling.”

It’s impossible to guess how many pirates are looking for you as I write this. I’ll try to keep you up-to-date on everything I learn, but that may be difficult. I am already on the move and will be traveling all over the world—as you know my duties with the DIA require. I recommend that you spend this summer moving around as much as possible. Do not stay in North Texas. Do not stay in any one place for long. Keep in touch with your human friends. Avoid pirates.

Above all, dear brother, stay safe.

Quacks and Hugs, Drake

After reading the note, Mr. Q did what he knew he had to do with such top secret notes: he memorized it and destroyed it.

It had been quite some time since Mr. Q had heard from his brother Drake. Drake’s work in the DIA (the Duck Intelligence Agency) kept him very busy, especially since he had been promoted to run the super-secret branch of the DIA known as the ODS, or the ‘Orange Duck Society’.

The ODS was such a secret group that no one knew exactly who they were, what they did, or who was in charge of it. Mr. Q knew all about it, of course, but very few ducks (and now only three humans) had ever heard of the ODS. If Drake was recruiting humans into the ODS, things must be getting pretty bad with the witches and the pirates.

Mr. Quackers was happy to hear that his friend Mortimer was working in the DWG (the ‘Duck Weapons & Gadgets’ department of the DIA). Mortimer had been a friend of theirs since way back in their duckling school days. Mortimer came by Mr. Quackers' house in South Duckington from time to time to share some delicious duck snacks and a game of chess.

Mr. Quackers hoped he would get to see Mortimer sometime during the summer, but that seemed unlikely now that Mortimer was working for such a secretive organization. What Mr. Q needed to focus on now was making his way back to Hungary. He had to prepare for a summer of danger and adventure—and a lot of travel. He would need to keep moving, and he would eventually need to meet up with his friends.

Part Two - A Note from Q

Here is a note that Rae and Vanny’s friend, Mr. G, mysteriously received one morning while the friends were all in Hungary.

Mr. G,

I heard from my brother, Drake—I mean ‘Mr. D’—that you and Rea and Vanny were invited to join the ODS! Congratulations! Unfortunately, it will mean a lot of work for you three. I’m glad you’re helping, though.

I left M. Drive shortly after I got a soggy letter from Mr. D. I knew I had to avoid water because the Sea Witch (sometimes called the Water Witch and sometimes called the Witch of the Sea) has so many sea creatures on her side. I also knew that the pirates working for the Sand Witch had to be avoided at all costs.

A short time after I received that letter, my good friend Mortimer (also known as Mr. M) sent me a wonderful ointment (or oil or something). The note with it said that I should rub it on my belly feathers to make me ten times more slippery than a regular duck in water. That made me swim about ten times faster than usual, and—as you know—I’m already a faster swimmer than most ducks. With Mortimer’s oil, it was suddenly much safer for me to travel over lakes and oceans!

Alternating between speed-swimming and flying, I made it safely to Volcano Island. That’s an island that ducks usually avoid, because we don’t like having our feathers scorched, but it’s actually a pretty safe place. Witches avoid it even more than ducks do. So do pirates.

I’m writing this note from Volcano Island. From here I have three or four more islands that we ducks know about that I’m pretty sure witches and pirates don’t know about or hate to visit. If I make my way across the sea going from island to island, I may be able to get to New Zealand (a wonderful place to hide out!), and eventually to Hungary. We’ll see.

Hopefully I won’t run into any danger along the way. I have plenty of Mortimer’s oil, so I can move fast if I need to make a run for it. A swim for it. You know what I mean.

Tell Rea and Vanny that I’m doing fine and give them duck-hugs from me. Keep your ODS symbols handy in case I have to send anyone to you for assistance.

Q

Part Three - Island Hopping

Mr. Quackers hid out on Volcano Island for some time, but it turned out to be a very bad time to stay there. The island has seven volcanoes, most of which give off puffs of smoke regularly but don’t erupt. While he was there, however, two of the seven volcanoes decided to erupt. Mr. Quackers did not enjoy the idea of having his feathers scorched, so he moved on.

Next he stayed for some time at Floodwater Island. It’s called that because most of the time it’s above the sea, but once in a while it sinks below the waves. When that happens, everything on it gets flooded. After a while, though, it rises again and everything is fine—once everything dries off. Unfortunately, it sank while Mr. Q was there. He thought he might stay in the area (floating and swimming around), and wait for it to come back, but he got tired of waiting and decided to just find another place to hide out.

His next stop was Poison-tree Island, which almost everyone avoids, for obvious reasons. Mr. Q was one of the very few who knew that the island didn’t actually have any poison trees on it at all. The island got its name from a pirate many years ago who hid his gold there. He didn’t want anyone to come there looking for it. He spread the word that the island was covered with poison trees. He told everyone that the trees there were so poisonous that just touching one would lead to a long and painful death. His trick worked. No one had been there for years and years. Mr. Q knew it wasn’t really dangerous, though. It was the perfect place to hide out, since everyone was afraid to go there.

After several days on Poison-tree Island he decided to move on, because the island was rather boring. No one lived there and nothing ever happened there. He really missed his friends and wanted to keep moving so he could join them.

Next he spent some time on Unknown Island. It was an island that had no name. The people who lived there didn’t like visitors, and they especially didn’t like pirates, so many years ago they had started calling it Unknown Island. They did this so no one could put it on any maps. After a while, the island became truly unknown—except to ducks and the people who lived there. No one ever visited Unknown Island—except for a few ducks from time to time. Luckily, the people of Unknown Island liked ducks and didn’t mind them knowing their secret.

After staying there for a while, Mr. Q decided to continue his journey to Hungary.

When he arrived in Hungary, he went straight to the small town where he knew his friends would be. He found the right house. The small pool was still there. He slipped quietly into the pool shed in the dark of night. That’s where Rea found him the next day when she was swimming in the pool with Vanny and decided to go looking for him.

The friends were finally together again!