The Quagmires

A Long Awaited Reunion

Duncan, Isadora, and Hector had been very busy lately. Between sending for help and trying to keep the Self Sustaining Hot Air Mobile Home afloat amid the many eagle attacks, they were catching no breaks. There was not a moment where someone wasn't needed. They even had to sleep in shifts so two people were always awake patching up the Air Balloons.

That day was going to be the last day of their troubles. It was the day that a VFD recruit would come to their rescue. During this special moment, someone would have to brief the recruit on the situation while others continued the patching. Hector had volunteered to do the patching.

In his words, "Uh, no, I am way too jittery. I don't have a way with words like you, Isadora. Duncan, your journaling will be oh so useful for the recruit to read and as notes while you brief them."

Isadora and Duncan could not deny his point, but they did not agree until they had talked up all of Hector's strengths too.

And so Isadora and Duncan found themselves waiting at the top of the ladder by which this recruit would come. Isadora was thrilled at the idea of meeting a new person after all this time with only her brother and Hector. Duncan replayed in his head how he would greet the recruit politely but without wasting a moment's time. The hot air balloon stalled in the air over the peak of the highest mountain in the Mortmain range. They were extremely high up but they could still make out the image of a dark-haired boy who contrasted against the snowy surroundings. The boy looked up as they dropped down the ladder.

"Duncan! Isadora!" He screamed.

"Yup, that's us!" Isadora called down.

Duncan wondered whether they had mentioned their names in the telegraph. Eh, he probably knew about them and their circumstances, being a VFD member.

The black-haired boy scrambled up the ladder, almost falling off in the process.

"Don't rush!" Duncan advised. "If you fall we can't get you back!"

The wind picked up, so the boy might not have heard. Isadora and Duncan began bringing the ladder back up.

It had been designed with pulleys and levers to maximize efficiency and minimize effort, cleverly designed by their good friend Violet Baudelaire.

With this versatile mechanism they were able to pull the volunteer aboard and he landed in a heap. He lifted his face into the light, and Duncan and Isadora fell down, their eyes wider than ever in their life.