Chapter 2: Sounds in the Dark
It hardly took Daisy fifteen minutes to reach the turnoff to Wyle's Lake from the Boar's Nest. Any other young woman might be afraid, driving down them dirt roads in the pitch dark late at night, but not Daisy. She'd grown up in these parts, and with the little bit of light shed by the moon through the thick trees, she was at home as a squirrel in a tree. She'd spent her own fair share of time on the lake, lookin' up at the stars with her cousins or in the arms of a new beau. It was a beautiful spot, well out of the way of neighbors and nosy sheriffs. The gentle hills around the lake sloped down to the shore in a smooth, sandy beach just below a bend in the track close to the dirt road. On the far side of the lake, the hillside had been eroded by the river that originally formed the oxbow lake, leaving a high cliff overlooking the lake and the surrounding hills. Best of all, two different dirt tracks led away from the lake, allowing teenage revelers ample time to spot the law (or angry daddies) coming and get away without a trace.
Daisy reached the dirt track that circled the lake and turned right, headlights bobbing on the bumpy road. She looked back and forth from the road to the lake, trying to spot her cousins or their cars. She was fairly sure they'd be parked up on the far side, but she didn't want to miss them in the dark. At one break in the trees, she caught a glimpse of movement on the water. Braking, she looked closer and smiled. Four figures were in a small rowboat, one of them pulling on the oars toward the center of the lake. That would be Luke, she was sure, though she had no idea where the rowboat had come from. Two more were seated close together, with a third sitting behind - Helen, Ann, and Bo, she guessed.
Daisy drove on along toward the beach, but frowned when she parked her jeep next to two unfamiliar sedans. She climbed out and walked down to the water's edge, squinting to see details better in the bright moonlight. The rowboat stopped in the center of the lake, and two of the figures stood, pulling the other two to their feet as well. Daisy was about to call out to them, but her voice froze in her throat in horror as the rowman lifted a gun in his right hand, clearly outlined in the moonlight, and fired.
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The first crack of gunfire jerked Luke from a light doze. When a second blast immediately followed, he knew he wasn't dreaming. He was on his feet at the sound of two watery splashes, heart pounding at the feminine scream that echoed across the lake.
"Bo!" he called, jumping down from the truck bed.
"I heard it too," Bo called back softly, moving to join Luke at a trot. Ann was close behind him, pale in the moonlight, and Helen soon joined her.
Both men looked out across the lake at the rowboat with its two occupants and the sizeable ripples the spread out from the center of the lake where the boat had been moments ago. Male voices called angrily from the boat to the shore, and were replied to in kind. A female voice cried out in protest, rising louder than the others.
"Let me go!"
Wide-eyed, Bo and Luke turned to each other, and spoke simultaneously. "Daisy!"
Luke thought fast, glancing from Bo to Helen to Ann.
"Bo, I don't know what just happened, but we've got to get Ann and Helen out of here. You take them the back way out in the truck - I'll take the General and go after Daisy. Meet back at the farm."
He was already headed for the orange car when Bo protested.
"Now wait a minute, Luke, they've got guns! I'm not letting you go down there alone. We've got the bows in the General, why don't both of us go after Daisy and Ann an' Helen can head out without us. They'll be safe if they can get away without being seen."
Luke frowned, looking up at the girls. He didn't want to leave them unprotected, but Bo had a point.
Helen spoke first. "Luke, he's right, we'll be fine - I don't want to see you get hurt going alone."
The elder Duke nodded assent. "Okay, then. Helen, be careful. Go straight on home - your daddy is probably worried and madder than a wet polecat anyhow. Keep your ear on the CB, but keep quiet until we call you," he instructed. She nodded, kissed him on the cheek for luck, and strode towards the driver's side of the truck. Ann climbed in beside her after a goodbye kiss to Bo.
Luke cast a worried look across the lake as the girls drove off behind them. The rowboat was halfway back to shore, and the commotion hadn't ceased.
"Let's go, cuz!" Bo urged from the driver's seat of the General. The engine roared to life as Luke slid across the hood and climbed into the passenger seat. Dust flew into the air as Bo reversed the orange car and swung to the left, speeding down the shorter of the two routes to the far side of the lake.
Luke strained to see the rowboat or the beachfront of the lake through the trees. "Now I don't know if they saw us or not, but that was definitely Daisy, and she's definitely in trouble."
"What are we gonna do, Luke?"
The elder Duke looked over at his cousin. Bo had his eyes focused straight on the road, with determination in his face outshadowing a hint of fear. Though young, the twenty-year old was hardly a boy anymore, with a courage born of strength and confidence - and a shade of recklessness thrown in. Luke was proud to have him at his side in any fight.
"Well, if they're at the beach - you pull in just this side of that knoll, so they don't see the car. I'll slip around and come in from the other side. Do we have any dynamite left?" He glanced back in the back seat.
"No, I think we used it all showing off to the girls," Bo replied guiltily.
"Figures. Well, you go up to the top of the knoll and distract 'em…"
Luke finished explaining his plan just as they reached the last knoll before the beachfront. Bo backed the car into the shade of a knot of trees, and they both climbed out. It had only taken them minutes to circle the lake, but a quick glance through the trees showed the rowboat just reaching the shore.
"Good luck, Bo."
"Be careful, Luke."
With that, Luke was off, slipping silently across the dirt track into the cover of the trees. Bo watched him for just a moment before opening the trunk of the General. He retrieved his bow and a handful of arrows, shut the trunk, and loped up the low hill, keeping to the shadows of the trees. Keeping low, he crept to the crest of the knoll and assessed the scene below.
The moon shined brilliantly down on the open beach, revealing seven figures standing at the water's edge - one unmistakably Daisy, held in the grip of two large men who could easily be mistaken for gorillas, accompanied by two more lean, tall figures facing the two climbing out of the rowboat.
"Let's just get her in the boat and drop her in the lake too," one of the tall men argued.
"No!" the rowman snarled, "Did you see the headlights on the other side of the lake? We need to get out of here. We'll dispose of her later."
"So what? It's probably just some stupid hicks drinking moonshine and hunting possums, who run off at the first sight of us. If we dump her now, we don't have to worry," the same tall man argued back.
"Alec's right, Sonny, let's just get rid of her now," urged the second man from the rowboat. The others nodded agreement.
Sonny scowled darkly before giving in. "Hurry up, then. You row, Snake, my arms are tired," he spoke to one of the large men before turning towards the cars.
Daisy shrieked as the large men pulled her towards the rowboat, digging her heels in the sand and fighting to loosen their iron grip. Bo's heart twisted in his chest. Hurry up, Luke! he thought. Then he heard it. Whiiip-puwiw-weew whiiip-puwiw-weew came the trilling call from the trees across the beach - Luke's whip-poor-will call, barely discernable from the real thing. He was ready.
Steeling himself, Bo sucked in a lungful of air. "YEEEEE-HAAWW!" he cried out his best rebel yell. His cry echoed across the lake.
"Who was that!" Alec exclaimed below, stopping just shy of pushing Daisy into the boat.
"Sounds like your drunken hick," Sonny remarked snidely. He stepped forward, searching the land around them. "Who's out there!" he called, "You show yourself, nice and slow! You wouldn't want anything to happen to your lady-friend here!"
Bo stood and stepped forward slightly to the edge of the shadows, his bow hanging in one hand. "I'm sorry, mister, I didn't mean to scare you!" he called down, "I'm out huntin' for possum for Mama. I just bagged me a big one! Wanna see?"
Sonny rolled his eyes. "Well sure, son, why don't you come down here and show me?"
"Sure thing!" Bo continued the act, reaching down to pick something up from his feet.
It took a moment for Sonny to register the arrow Bo brought up and nocked to his bowstring. "He's shooting at us, get him!" the man screamed at the same moment Bo loosed the arrow. The sharp point hit the front tire of the first sedan with a thunk. "The cars! Shoot him!"
Luke leaped out of the bushes behind him at the same moment five men charged towards Bo on the knoll. Sonny had taken hold of Daisy for only a moment when Luke slammed into him, knocking him into the ground.
"Run, Daisy!" he ordered, jumping back to avoid Sonny's leg kicking out at him.
Thunk! Another arrow hit a tire on the second sedan, followed by another to Daisy's jeep. Thunk! Thunk! Bo fired as fast as he could, trying to disable the vehicles below and keep the rough gang from giving chase. The five men pulled out guns as they ran for the hill, stopping every few steps to fire at the blond figure above. Bo ducked and dodged in the moonlight, watching Luke's fight with Sonny below. Daisy, at least, had gotten off safely into the trees.
Now, ain't it a good thing the bad guys never seem to be able to hit the broad side of a barn? Otherwise, Bo might be in a bit of trouble.