thought popped into his head. Could this be the lost Mr. Quack?
He had forgotten that probably Mr. Quack dressed differently from
Mrs. Quack, and so of course he had been looking for some one all
in brown. There was the bang of a gun somewhere over on the Big
River, and the green head was hastily withdrawn under the bush, but
not before Sammy had seen a look of terrible fear in his eyes. "I
believe it IS Mr. Quack!" thought Sammy. "If it is, I'll have the
best news ever to tell Mrs. Quack. Just trust Sammy Jay to find
anything he goes looking for."

This was just plain boasting, and Sammy knew it. But Sammy always
does have a good opinion of himself. It is one of his faults. He
quite lost sight of the fact that it was entirely by accident that
he had come over to this swamp. Now that he had guessed who this
might be, he was less impatient. He waited as still as you please,
and at last the green head was slowly stretched out again, and
Sammy could see that the neck was green, too, and that around the
neck was a white collar. Sammy could keep still no longer.

[Illustration with caption: "Yes," said he in a low voice, "I am
Mr. Quack."]

"Are you Mr. Quack?" he asked eagerly.

The beautiful head disappeared like a flash. Sammy waited a minute
or two, before he repeated his question, adding: "You needn't be
afraid. There isn't anybody here but me, and I'm your friend. I
just want to know if you are Mr. Quack because I've been looking
for you for Mrs. Quack. Are you?"