Oh goodness, how funny - at least your story has a happy ending!
Yes thank goodness, I didn't tell you the whole story, actually only 2 of the girls followed Ernie down to the river, the other one was sitting on 10 eggs, but when i couldn't get the 2 home i got stupid and put the one in a dog harness and carried her down to the river well she wemnt in the water and out of the harness so now i have 3 ducks down there and 10 eggs with no one to sit on them, I frantically carried the eggs up stairs in a basket lined with towels put a desk lamp over them and misted them all through the night, next morning when I see Ernie coming up with the girls in tow I grab the basket of eggs put them into the nest, well Shirley walks in and goes and gets on her eggs just like she had only been gone a few minutes. and believe it or not all 10 hatched about 2 weeks later. lol Needless to say dog harness are not made for ducks with out shoulders.