The three men in the tow truck were all horrified to see that the very thing that had stopped their wild descent was taking a rapid trip to the bottom of Waldron Pond. Before the blue lights of the patrol car had a chance to disappear below the surface, Cooter was out of the truck, stripping off as much as he could that would inhibit his ability to swim.
"Open the glove box and hand me that tool." Cooter demanded as he stripped down to his undershirt and jeans. Luke managed to open it and ejected the small hammer shaped tool with a point suitable for shattering automobile glass. The seconds had seemed like minutes as Cooter grabbed that tool and rushed for Waldron Pond.
But the curse of the Hazzard blizzard was on them again. Cooter's foot found a sizeable hole under the snow and he managed to twist- and sprain- his ankle.
He had barely come to rest on the snow when another hand was grabbing the glass tool from his. Cooter managed to ignore his throbbing ankle long enough to watch a determined, albeit weak, blond-haired Duke boy making his way to the pond.
But Bo never made it, because an equally determined brunette appeared behind him, grabbing his arm and forcing him to stop.
"Bo are you outta your mind?" Luke exclaimed as Bo struggled to get out of his grasp as best he could.
"Don't be crazy, you ain't in no shape to go in there!" Cooter added.
"We can't just let him drown!" Bo insisted.
"I know but just hang on, maybe he'll come up." Luke hoped as they watched the pond, waiting for signs of life.
Deep down, Bo knew that an icy dive in his condition should be avoided at all costs, so reluctantly, he stood and waited, ready to dive nonetheless if the deputy stayed down much longer.
Just as Bo reached down to remove his boots in preparation of the winter swim, a wide brimmed black hat bobbed to the surface, where it floated for moments before a disturbance in the water appeared beside it, delivering the deputy who was spitting water from his mouth.
"Enos!" Cooter called out in relief as he used an old stump to pull himself to a standing position.
Taking a deep breath, Enos kicked away from the wreck and swam toward the bank. Climbing up, he began to shake uncontrollably.
"You alright?" Luke asked, just the sight of the deputy making him feel colder himself.
"W..w…w….will be when I get w..w…w…warm." Enos replied as Rosco showed up at the scene, having been patrolling the same areas as Enos.
Seeing the situation at hand, there was no need for questions. Rosco brought the patrol car to a stop and quickly jumped out. Running to the back, he opened the trunk where he ejected a blanket which he then went and wrapped around Enos' shoulders as he made his way toward the vehicles.
"Ain't you Dukes got no better sense than ta instigate a car chase in nearly two foot of snow?" Rosco scolded, drawing his own conclusions even as he wondered why any of them were out in such weather conditions in the first place.
Enos was simply shivering too much to offer an explanation, so Rosco led him on to the warm patrol car and placed him inside, turning up the heat. He then turned back to Bo and Luke and realized something was wrong when he saw, despite their youth and usual physical fitness, that even as a team they were struggling to assist Cooter back to the truck.
Putting away the handcuffs he had ejected, he rushed over to the trio. "What happened Cooter?" He asked, losing the superior attitude as he took over for Luke's who had been struggling under the weight of Cooter's right arm.
"I busted my ankle when I went to help Enos." Cooter explained as he grunted in pain. "There was a tree 'cross Razorback Road there so we was backin' down to get outta there and Enos pulled in behind us. Then we hit a dang patch of ice and slid down and knocked 'im back in the pond."
"Well what were ya'll doin' out here anyway?" He asked, turning to look at the Duke boys. "You two, especially, don't look too good."
"Well that's alright Rosco, you never was my type anyway." Luke managed to smirk.
"I's takin' them to the hospital." Cooter explained. "They both got hurt in separate accidents yesterday and need to be checked on."
"Looks like they're not the only ones who need checked on." Rosco replied, looking at Cooter's swelling ankle before casting a glace at Enos in the patrol car. "Listen, I want the three of you to get in the back seat of the patrol car and I'll get you all to the hospital just as fast as I can."
"No, Rosco." Bo said as they reached the patrol car and slid Cooter in the backseat. "I want….." He stopped to take a much needed breath. "I want you to get into Cooter's tow truck there and go back to the farm. There's a woman in labor back there and she needs to get to the hospital as well."
"But what about y'all?" Rosco asked, realizing that Cooter, who looked to be in the best condition out of the group, had a rather useless driving foot thanks to the busted ankle.
"I'm pretty sure I can get us there." Bo replied.
"Well honestly Bo, I'd have to disagree with you." Rosco replied as he looked at the young man.
"Rosco, either you can get in that tow truck over there………….. and go after her or I will." Bo insisted. "That woman is Tommy Vineyard's aunt, and if anything happens to that kid's family…….." He trailed off as he thought of his favorite youngster, his 'pet', the one who had grown on him.
"Bo, you know Jesse would tan your hide if he saw you comin' back to the farm." Cooter reminded him.
Bo was weak, but Rosco had experienced Duke stubbornness way too many times to know that he'd made his decision concerning Emily's rescue and there would be no changing it. "Keys are in the ignition." He advised. "Take it slow. And Enos, if it gets to where you can take over, I want ya to just as soon as you can. Ya hear?"
Trembling, Enos simply nodded as he grasped at his blanket even more tightly. Reluctantly, Rosco stepped away from his own patrol car, made his way to the tow truck, and turned it into the direction of the Duke farm.
"Bo you sure you can do this?" Luke asked as Bo switched to drive and continued down Apple Valley Rd.
"Just make sure I stay awake." Bo replied as the four made their way to the Tri-County hospital.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Uncle Jesse? Are you really sure you're gonna be alright?" Daisy asked, holding an ice pack against her uncle's forehead.
"Duke hard-headedness comes in handy in more ways that one." Jesse verified, removing Daisy's hand from the ice pack and placing his own there. "Wonder where Maudine went?"
"I'm sure she didn't go far." Daisy replied, then changing the subject. "Listen, if you'll just let me wake Doc Appleby so he can have a look at you………."
"I said I'm alright and I'm alright!" Jesse insisted. "I only blacked out there for a minute. Ain't like it's the first time it ever happened." He reminded her, recalling a car accident and an enemy ambush during his time in Korea, both of which had robbed him of his consciousness in the past.
They were interrupted when they heard a moan coming from the living room and spied Emily hunched over.
"You alright, Aunt Emily?" Tommy asked with concern.
"What's taking them so long to get back?" She muttered through gritted teeth as she ignored Tommy's question.
As if on cue, the sound of a horn echoed from outside. Daisy pushed back the curtain on the window and was surprised to see Cooter's tow truck once again.
"Cooter's back!" Daisy exclaimed.
"Well that was quick." Jesse mused. "Tell him to get in here and let us know what's goin' on with the boys."
Daisy was just about to go outside to Cooter when an unexpected visitor came through the door. "Rosco?" She asked. "How'd you get here in Cooter's truck?"
"Well, seems the boys ran into a little trouble over at Waldron Pond." Rosco explained, telling everyone what happened and how he ended up with Cooter's truck. "But don't worry, I got 'em all on the road on the way to the hospital in my patrol car."
"Well how'd it look like Cooter was managin' with that busted ankle?" Jesse asked.
"Well he wadn't managing anything, Jesse. Bo was driving."
"Bo!" Jesse exclaimed, dropping the ice pack. "Rosco that boy didn't have no sense gettin' behind the wheel of an automobile right now!"
"Well, I tried to explain that to him Jesse, but he pretty much had his mind made up that he was gonna either drive my patrol car on or bring the tow truck back here to pick up Emily. Now I figured him goin' on was the lesser of two evils."
"Are you folks gonna stand around jabberin' all day or do one of you wanna get me to a hospital before this baby's born on the kitchen floor?" Emily asked, reminding them of her condition.
"Well that's why I'm here." Rosco replied, not too happy with her attitude but able to overlook it considering her present condition.
"I'm going with you." Jesse announced, rising from the chair to put his coat back on.
"Why?" Emily asked.
"Waddaya mean why? My boys are sick and on the way to the hospital. I'm gonna go make sure they're alright."
"But shouldn't the doctor come? What about my baby?"
"You're baby's in better shape than anyone in this house." Jesse replied. Before Emily could offer another argument, he pushed her out the door, toward the tow truck. "Keep an eye on Tommy, Daisy." He threw back as he himself went outside.
"Have someone look at that head of yours." Daisy shouted out as she watched the trio pile into the tow truck and set off on their own trip to the hospital.
I don't know. Don't look too bad right now. Ya'll reckon it'll last?