"Bo, would ya eat, already? You're insultin' Daisy, ignorin' your dinner like that," said Uncle Jesse. Bo continued to toy with his food. In addition to holding the ice bag to his swollen face with one hand, he kept looking toward the windows at every little sound.
"Bo," said Luke. "She'll be back. Ya might as well try an' eat."
Bo shook his head. "It's been hours, Luke. Where could she be?"
"Hard to say, Bo. But I doubt she'll go far. Now eat somethin'."
Bo caught Daisy glaring at him and decided he'd better not argue. Uncle Jesse had been stern with him, but he'd let the subject of Bo's behavior drop after Bo apologized. Daisy hadn't been quite that forgiving. Although, the fact that she was using the frying pans to cook with was an improvement. He ate a few mouthfuls, wincing with every chew, then went back to playing with it.
Daisy suddenly slammed her palm on the table. "Bo!"
They all jumped. "I'm sorry Daisy, but…" Bo looked toward the window again.
Luke sighed and put his fork down. Truth be told, he thought Bo should spend a little more time in the doghouse, but he also thought Darla would have been back by now. The sun was going down; Darla was fairly familiar with the lay of the land in Hazzard County, but she didn't like to drive by herself at night.
"C'mon, Bo, let's go look for her," he said. He'd barely gotten the words out before Bo jumped out of his chair like there was a spring beneath him. He kissed the top of Daisy's head as he ran out of the kitchen toward the front door.
Luke couldn't help but smile a little. "I don't reckon I've seen anyone so ready to admit he's been a jerk," he said.
Jesse chuckled. "You boys be careful, and make sure Darla gets back safe."
"Will do, Uncle Jesse. I better get out there before Bo takes off without me!" said Luke, as the General Lee roared to life. He ran out the door and was barely through the General's passenger window before Bo took off.
Jesse shook his head. "You know," he said to Daisy with a teasing look, "if Darla decides to forgive him, that means you're gonna have to."
"Hmph!" said Daisy, but the corners of her mouth were twitching. "It's her decision, I guess."
"Now, Daisy, Darla's family in all but the legal way, and Bo always has been. And when you're a Duke, you forgive family. That's the way it works."
"Doesn't mean I can't still be ticked at him." Daisy was genuinely trying to hide a smile now. "And it doesn't mean I have to keep his dinner warm for him, either," she said, as she put Bo's and Luke's plates in the oven. Jesse grinned as he dug into his own plate.
"This is Lost Sheep callin' Little Lamb, Lost Sheep to Little Lamb. Darla, you got your ears on?" Luke waited, but there was no reply. "Lost Sheep to Little Lamb—Darla, you out there?" He looked over at Bo. From the right side, he didn't look so bad, but Luke could see his jaw clenching. "Relax, Bo, she's probably just out of earshot."
Bo shook his head. "Somethin's wrong, Luke." He eased more speed out of the General Lee as they headed for town.
"Bo, you're jumpin' to conclusions again; I think you've done that enough for one day. Now let's think for a minute; where would she go?"
Bo heaved a sigh and thought for a second. "Well, she don't know the county like we do, she only knows the places we've showed her." After a minute he said, "She might go to the Hazzard Dam, or maybe Miller's Pond; she liked it there."
"What about Bronson Canyon, or Silver Lake?"
"I don't think she could find her way to Silver Lake, not in the dark. And she wouldn't risk Bronson Canyon at night," said Bo. He reached for the CB. "Lost Sheep to Little Lamb; Darla darlin', would ya answer me, please? Come on, hon, come back."
They heard a click on the mic, but it wasn't Darla. "Hey, this here's Enos, y'all. You lookin' for Darla?"
The boys looked at each other, and Bo replied, "Yeah, Enos, we're lookin' for her. You got any idea where she went?"
Enos didn't reply. Luke gestured for the CB mic. "Come on, Enos, we know you know. We need to find her. Help us out here, will ya?"
Enos was torn. He told Darla he wouldn't say where she was, but it had been a few hours; hopefully she wasn't still mad. He hoped she wouldn't mind. "Well, I saw her over to see Miss Lulu, y'all. She needed somebody to talk to, she was pretty upset." He couldn't quite keep the reproach out of his voice.
Bo felt another wave of guilt, but he couldn't help feeling relieved. He grabbed the mic. "Much obliged, Enos. We're gone." He floored the General and sped off for town.
Darla opened her eyes. At least, she thought she did. It didn't seem to matter if her eyes were open or closed; it was pitch black. She was lying on something cold and damp. Pain was shooting through her head. She started to push herself up, and yelped as another sharp pain stabbed through her right shoulder. She tried to touch the painful spot on her scalp, but she couldn't get her arm to work. Where am I? She thought back, trying to remember.
Phantom Panther. Poachers.
As her eyes adjusted, she could see a patch of light. She moved toward it and looked up at the moon through the trees. The treetops looked a long way away. She realized she was looking through a jagged opening of some kind. What did they do, throw me in a pit? Then she remembered the poachers marching her through the woods, and that awful feeling of falling before the impact, and the blackness.
She let out a breath, and saw a faint mist. It had been warm earlier in the day, but now that early autumn warmth was fading up above as the sun went down, and it was already freezing down here. She looked down and saw she was covered in something dark. She hoped it was mud and not blood. Her head was spinning, and her shoulder was killing her. Should she call out for help? What if they came back?
She looked into the blackness again, and felt a cold knot of fear start to form in her stomach.
I'm trapped.
Bo rang the bell at the Hogg's house and ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't done much with himself after Cooter had slugged him; he was still covered in dust and dirt, and his shirt was speckled with blood. He wished he looked more presentable. Of course, nothing was going to hide the shiner or the swollen jaw. He wondered what Darla would say about that.
"Umm…" Luke jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the porch ledge. "I'm just gonna wait out here, okay?"
Bo nodded; Luke clapped him on the shoulder and turned to go sit down as Lulu opened the door. "Oh, it's you," she said. She made no attempt to hide the disapproval in her voice.
Bo huffed a sigh. "Yeah, Miss Lulu, it's me. Can I…can I talk to her? Please?"
Lulu frowned. "You mean Darla?"
Bo looked confused. "Well, of course Darla, who else would I mean?"
"Well—she ain't here, Bo, she's gone."
"What?" Bo felt his stomach lurch.
"She left?" Luke joined Bo at the door.
"Almost three hours ago," said Lulu, looking at her watch. "Oh my goodness, didn't she make it home?"
"She didn't say where she was goin'?" asked Bo.
"She said she was goin' back to the farm. She didn't mention anything else."
"Alrighty, thanks Lulu," said Luke, and the boys ran off the porch and headed to the General. They tore out of the square and headed back out of town.
"I knew it. I knew it," said Bo. He struck the steering wheel with his fist. He felt sick. "Somethin's happened to her, Luke. I know it. And it's…" He shook his head. Luke saw him swallow hard.
"Take it easy, cuz. We'll find her." Luke got on the CB again. "Lost Sheep to Sheppard, Bo Peep and Crazy C. We got a problem, come back y'all."
"Crazy Cooter comin' back at ya loud and proud, what's up y'all, come back?" answered Cooter.
"This is Sheppard, what is it, boys?" Jesse chimed in.
"Jesse, has Darla come back?" Luke figured he ask.
"No. Why?"
"Cooter, have you seen her?" He was really reaching now.
"Naw, not since the afternoon. What's goin' on?"
Luke sighed. "She left the Hogg's place nigh on three hours ago, and I don't think anyone's seen hide nor hair of her since."
Oh, no, Cooter thought. "Alrighty then boys, where do we start lookin'?"
"Daisy, Jesse, why don't you check the Boar's Nest, just in case she went there," said Luke. "Maybe someone there's seen her tonight. Try Miller's Pond, too. Now if she was headed home, there's only two ways she could have gone. Cooter, can you take Pond Road? Me an' Bo will take Ridge Road. Hopefully we'll find somethin'."
"Ten-four Luke; we'll holler if and when we find her," said Jesse.
"Ten-four, good buddies, I'm gone," said Cooter. I sure hope I don't have to knock some sense into Darla, too, he thought as he headed for his truck. One Duke a day is enough.
"This is all my fault, Luke," said Bo. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "If anything happens to her, I—" He couldn't finish.
Luke looked at his cousin. He could barely see him in the twilight. "Pull over, Bo."
"What for?"
"Pull over now."
Bo hit the brakes; the General skidded to a halt. "What?"
Luke turned to face Bo and put a hand on his shoulder. "First of all, if you're that riled up, you need to let me drive. And secondly," he squeezed Bo's shoulder gently, "She's out here somewhere. We don't know if somethin's happened to her at all; she may have just decided she wanted time alone."
Bo's eyes were filling up. "Everything I said to her, I—what if I don't get to…"
"Bo," said Luke, "You'll get to. We will find her. Okay?"
Bo sniffed and wiped his eyes again, and nodded. "Okay."
"Now will you let me drive, please?"
"Nope," said Bo. "Sorry cuz, but I'll be even more of a basket case over there." He fired the General back up and they sped off.
"We ain't just gonna leave her down that hole, are we?"
"Shut up, Timmy," said Morty, staring at the campfire.
"But we can't—"
"I said shut up," Morty snapped again. "We're gonna go find that cat at first light, bag it and get outta here and get our money." He absently rubbed his stomach.
"You're just pissed 'cause a chick got the drop on you," sneered Earl.
Morty chucked a rock at him. "Ow!" whined Earl.
"Yeah, I'm not a bad shot with a rock either, ya jerk," said Morty. "Now shut yer traps, both of ya." He flopped back on his sleeping bag. Timmy lay back too, but he didn't sleep. We're just supposed to bag this bobcat, he thought, not kidnap a girl.
"Lost Sheep callin' Bo Peep, Sheppard and Crazy C," said Luke over the CB. "Y'all had any luck yet?"
"Negative, Luke," said Daisy. "We drove by Miller's Pond and the Boar's Nest. She wasn't there, and Deanna says she ain't been there all night. Even Boss said he hadn't seen her. But he must be worried; Lulu called him, and he said he'd send Rosco and Enos out to help if we can't find her."
"Crazy C comin' back at ya," said Cooter. "I'm sorry y'all, but I been up and down Pond Road twice, and I ain't seen a thing."
Luke sighed. "All right, well, let's meet back at the farm and we'll decide what to do next. We may have to re-think where she might be."
"Ten-four, cuz," said Daisy.
"That's a big ten-four, I'm on my way," Cooter chimed in.
Luke put the mic down and looked at Bo. He could only see the faint outline of his face in the glow of the headlights. His cousin had said very little during their search, and Luke sensed that Bo was trying to hold himself together. Since Bo was focused on the road ahead of him, Luke let his gaze drift off to the trees. Suddenly, he caught the faintest glimmer of white out of the corner of his eye. "Wait, Bo—go back, go back!" he said.
Bo hit the brakes just past the Devil's Ridge turnoff. "What? What'd ya see?" He threw the General in reverse and backed up. They both looked up the hill. They could make out a white shape near the top, glowing faintly in the moonlight.
Luke squinted at it. "Is that Uncle Jesse's truck?"
"Sure looks like it," said Bo excitedly, and spun the General's tires as he headed up the rutted dirt road. The headlights illuminated the back of the pickup; the grimy license plate told them it was indeed Jesse's old Ford.
"It is her!" said Bo. "Darla!" He was shouting for her before he got out of the General. They both ran for the cab; Bo yanked the door open. "She's not here," he said.
"What?"
"She's not here!" Bo turned around and looked wildly into the trees. "Darla!" he shouted again.
Luke put his hand on the hood—it was cool, she'd been gone for a while—and then looked at the muddy, rutted road. "Bo, take a look at this," said Luke, kneeling down by the front of the truck. The tires were splattered with mud, and there were deep grooves in the wet road. "Someone else was up here. Looks like they took off in a hurry. And look here," he said, pointing at sets of footprints in the mud, thrown into relief by the General's headlights. "These have got to be Darla's; looks like she went off this way. And," Luke's face turned grim as he saw another set of tracks, "it looks like either somebody was with her, or they followed her." He suddenly realized Bo wasn't there to listen and turned around. "Bo?"
Bo was striding off into the trees. "Wait—Bo, wait a minute!" Luke ran after him.
"I'm goin' to find her, Luke," said Bo. His face was stony. "Are you comin' or not?"
Luke grabbed Bo's arm and dragged him to a stop. "Hang on, Bo—"
"Let go, Luke!"
"Bo—"
"LET GO!" Bo yanked his arm away, but Luke got in front of him and grabbed his shirt.
"Bo, stop!" he yelled, but Bo wasn't listening. He struggled against Luke's grip; Luke had to fight hard to keep hold of him.
"Dang it, Bo, I don't wanna fight with you again!" yelled Luke. "Bo, look at me! Look at me!" Bo finally stopped and looked at his cousin, breathing heavily.
"Ya can't go runnin' off in the woods in the dark by yourself," said Luke, speaking slowly and deliberately. "We'll lose both of you. Now, I said we'd find her, and we will. But if we gotta look all over Devil's Ridge in the dark, that means we're lookin' for a needle in a mighty big haystack. And we can't do it alone. Let's get the others, and Enos and Rosco too. We'll get some lights up here, and we'll figure out a search plan. Okay?"
Bo was still breathing hard; Luke realized he was trying not to break down again. He put a hand on Bo's shoulder. "Bo," he said softly, "I promise you, we'll find her." He reached out and hugged him. Bo hugged back and felt tears in his eyes again. "I'm scared, Luke," he whispered.
Luke knew what it cost his cousin to admit that. "I know, cuz. I am too," he said. And he was; he knew as well as Bo did, that Darla would never run off like this and make them worry, no matter how mad she was. Something had to have happened. He started steering Bo back to the General Lee. "Listen, go get on the CB, call the others and get them out here."
"What're you gonna do?"
Luke went back to Jesse's truck. "I'm gonna look in here and in the General for some flashlights or lanterns so we can look around." He jumped up in the truck bed.
"I thought you just said we were gonna wait!" said Bo.
The General's headlights caught Luke's grin. "Yeah, but you're too stubborn to listen to me, ain't ya?"
An hour later, the Devil's Ridge turnoff was bright as day from six pairs of headlights. Daisy passed out coffee to everyone as they gathered up jackets, lanterns and flashlights.
"Awright, ever'one, now here's what we're gonna do," said Rosco. "We're gonna dee-vide and conquer. Some of us'll go East, some'll go West, and the rest will head South."
"Nah, Rosco, we can't do that," said Luke. "This whole area's too big; we gotta stick together or we'll miss half of what's out here."
"Now you listen here, Luke Duke—" Rosco began, but Enos broke in. "Luke's right, Sheriff. We gotta stick together in the dark."
"Enos, are you contradictin' your superior officer?" Rosco blustered.
"Beggin' yer pardon, Sheriff, but we did learn search and rescue in the LAPD, and the only way we'll find anything out here at night is if we stick together." He turned to the others. "Everybody spread out an arm's length apart. Keep your lights pointed forward. We all walk at the same pace. We'll go about a mile out and back. Every pass we make, we'll come back here."
"Wait a minute, Enos, her footprints went off this way!" said Bo.
Enos gave him a sympathetic look. "Bo," he said gently, "She coulda gone any which way, once she got into the woods. And it's pitch-black out here; we'll never find the rest of her tracks now. Short of waitin' 'til mornin', this is the best we're gonna do."
Bo and Luke exchanged a look. "Okay, Enos, it's your show," said Luke. "Where d'you want us to start?"
Enos nodded at the muddy road. "We start right here. Up the road and back."
Darla was shaking from the cold. The clothes she was wearing offered no protection from the damp chill of the pit. The pain in her head had already made her sick, and it was still throbbing like mad; she was trying not to let her stomach turn over again. Her shoulder ached fiercely, and to top it off, she was coughing again; every spasm sent shooting pains through her head, chest and shoulder.
She'd tried feeling her way around her prison, but all she did was blindly stumble through the dark; she'd never made contact with anything, and she was too afraid to go very far from the light.
She absently rubbed her wrist; then she felt up and down her arm. "Oh, no," she whispered. Her saints' bracelet was missing. She'd rarely taken it off since Bo had given it to her. It had become a great source of comfort to her, and Bo's thoughtfulness in giving to her still touched her heart. And now, she had no idea where it was.
She curled up in a ball under the opening of the pit. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks as she rested her head on her knees. A whimper escaped her throat and echoed lightly around the chamber. "Please," she whispered, "Please, somebody help me."
A faint scratching sound came from overhead. She looked up, trying not to move her shoulder. She heard the light padding of feet through the dead leaves, and saw a dark shape look down at her. A growl echoed through the cave.