Dick and Dorothy come to the riverside of Boole to spend the summer vacation on Mrs. Barabals ship ""Teasel"". Tom and the twin sister ""port"" and ""starboard"" of the ""black duck club"" become their friends. To protect a kind of water bird called ""black duck"", Tom secretly unties the motorboat ""Margarita"" anchoring rudely at the entrance to the lairs under the cover of the night, letting it drifting away. So the villains on the motorboat awear to catch Tom. Taking Mrs.Barabals suggestion, Dick, Dorothy and the twin sisters drive ""Teasel"" to the water area in the south.