CHAPTER SIX

I just pulled a prank.

It's not like I really planned it out, I just did it. Uncle Scrooge was sitting there, eating a sandwich on the picnic basket, and when I ran behind him he probably thought I was still chasing the frisbee past some butterflies.

Nope.

When he lifted the thermos lid that was filled with coffee, I made sure to stay out of the way. But not so far away that I couldn't see what happened.

Uncle Scrooge spit that coffee out almost as soon as it touched his lips.

"DEWEY!" He shouted, standing up.

It worked. It worked! For the first time ever, we finally got Uncle Scrooge with the coffee prank! We actually did it!

"Nephew! Come here and explain yourself!" Uncle Scrooge shouted, marching over to me.

Oh boy, here we go. I ran to a different part of the park, laughing as I went. I knelt down behind a rock, and made room for Huey next to me as always-

Wait, he wasn't there. How could I see him out of the corner of my eye, if he wasn't there?

I stopped laughing, and stood up. Uncle Scrooge had already made it over to me anyway.

"And just what," he asked, "Is the meaning of this?"

"Sorry," I said, but still smiling.

Uncle Scrooge actually rolled his eyes, then grabbed me by the arm. "Come here," he said, "I'm not about ta waste a good cup, ye'll have ta drink it for me."

"WHAT?" I asked, "But there's too much salt in there!"

"Just the same," Uncle Scrooge said. He sat me down at the picnic blanket, and handed me the cup of coffee.

Just as I put it to my lips, he started chuckling. I actually took a sip. But when I gagged it out, he started laughing as he took the drink away.

He was laughing?

That was when I realized it.

Uncle Scrooge just pranked me back!

He passed me some lemonade, chuckling now, and then ruffled my head as he went back to working on his sandwich.

So, I moved a little closer to him and picked out a sandwich of my own.

"Uncle Scrooge," I said after a few bites, "Why did Loonsvania have to hit the cruise ship?"

I hadn't planned to ask that.

Uncle Scrooge was silent for just a moment.

"Lad," he began, "Would you like me to talk about it?"

I thought for a moment. I had talked about some of it with the therapist today, but not Uncle Scrooge.

"I want to know why," I said.

"Do ye want ta blame anyone?" Uncle Scrooge said.

"Maybe..."

"Loonsvania," Uncle Scrooge said, "Is a country run by some good people, and some bad people. Some of them, from Loonsvania and our own country, made a series of decisions."

Where was he going with this?

"Those decisions led to what happened." Uncle Scrooge said, "I donnae think all those people would plan it together on purpose. But there are some people who want ta use it to start a war."

"Why?"

"Some people think war can bring profit." Uncle Scrooge said, "Land, money, free laborers. But the losses outweigh the gains."

He looked me directly in the eye. "Listen Lad," Uncle Scrooge said, "I've seen real war. What happened ta the cruise ship was inexcusable, and threatens peace between our countries. But until we need ta protect, we donnae need ta resort to war."

"But what about Uncle Donald?" I asked, "And Huey and Louie, and Grandma Duck, and-"

"Dewey," Uncle Scrooge said, "Yer Uncle Donald was in the Navy. Did ya ever ask him if he liked war?"

I shook my head.

"I talked about it with him before," Uncle Scrooge continued, "He was there to protect. Lad, they were hurt. But that doesnae mean we have ta hurt others. It also doesnae mean we have ta sit back and forget about it. We're about ta start negotiating reparations with Loonsvania."

When we arrived back at the mansion, I quietly asked Uncle Scrooge if I could watch the news with him.

Uncle Scrooge was just about to step into a meeting, but he nodded anyway.

"Mrs. Featherby, reschedule all my meetings and calls by one hour." He said, and led the way to the tv.

I turned on the tv, and picked the news channel. Uncle Scrooge sat down silently next to me.

"And now," the announcer was saying, "We'll reply the clip from Loonsvania. Earlier today, Loonsvanian leaders gave a stirring speech in the park across the Loonsvanian Capital building, affectionately termed the Loony Bin."

"People of Loonsvania, and people of the world," Someone in a suit began, his voice resonating with every word. Someone must have been holding a mirror or something reflective in the crowd, because the white background behind him kept lighting up a regular pattern.

"We once more deny every intention of hitting the civilian cruise ship with one of our state-of-the-art missiles. We regret this unfortunate event-"

"Uncle Scrooge," I said, grabbing his hand, "That's morse code!"

"What?" He asked.

"Morse code!" I ran towards his office, and grabbed some paper and a pencil off his desk. He followed me.

"Can I borrow this?" I asked.

Uncle Scrooge looked at me carefully, and then nodded.

"Great!" I said, racing back to the tv.

I changed the channel until I found one that was playing the speech again, and watched the whole thing this time while carefully writing down the morse code.

By the time I was done, there were three words written down.

It read, "Salt Coffee Prank"

To Be Continued...