"Uncle Jesse, how much longer are we gonna sit here?" Luke asked, annoyance over fatigue and famish apparent in his voice.

"Now just hang on, Luke. It ain't but a little past seven. He could come rolling in any time." Jesse replied from his seat at the kitchen table where Luke and Daisy sat on either side of him, waiting for Bo to show up.

"Well, maybe we should go ahead and eat. You know how Bo gets when he goes fishing, he loses track of the time." Daisy suggested. "Besides, we've been sittin' here for half an hour. The food's gonna get cold altogether if we wait any longer."

"Then let it git cold. I'd rather eat it that way than have Bo eatin' all by himself when he gits back."

Luke paused for a moment before suggesting. "Jesse if you would just let me go out and look for him……"

"No!" Jesse commanded. "He'll come home when he's ready."

Luke simply looked at Daisy, who returned his solemn expression. Jesse noticed the look on their faces.

"Alright. I know it's still hard to think of 'em off by himself, but the boy left a note. He's fishin'."

"Uncle Jesse, I'm worried about Bo's dreams too, but don't you think you're taking it a little far? I mean, you never would have allowed Bo to chunk a day of chores to go fishing before, let alone keep the family waiting to eat until he got back. Not without a good lecture anyway." Daisy pointed out.

"I know, but he ain't never had to deal with what he's goin' through before either. None of us have. Now I ain't sayin' I'm respondin' to the situation right, but my main objective is to let him to know I support him and I'm there for him whatever it is he needs to do. And I know there ain't many things that'll relax ya and get ya mind off yer troubles like an afternoon at the lake. I'm just thinkin' that if he gits to enjoy himself a little, maybe that'll help him git back to normal."

Luke nodded his head. "Well, can't argue with that." He sighed, listening to his stomach rumble as he surveyed the food on the table.

After the trio had sat there thirty more minutes, Jesse reluctantly tried Bo on the CB. When he didn't get a response, the trio began to feel a since of dread. Jesse dismissed it however, insisting that Bo was out on the lake away from the General and concluding that fresh memories were simply emerging. In an effort to make them feel better, Jesse relented, allowing them to eat before Bo showed up.

At the conclusion of the meal, another thirty minutes had passed. Luke helped Daisy wash the dishes while Jesse went into the living room to try the newspaper again, the one that he had thrown aside when Boss and Rosco had charged into the house.

After the kitchen work was done, Daisy and Luke came into the living room. Daisy picked up some of the needlework she did from time to time while Luke sat next to her and propped his right ankle on his left knee, tapping out a tune on his leg with his hands.

And that was all that could be heard in the living room, except for the mantle clock that gave a subtle tick tock with each passing second, Luke tapping softly while Jesse rattled the paper from time to time. Each of them unconsciously strained to hear the distant sound of a car approaching.

After another 15 minutes, when Jesse realized he had never gotten off page two and couldn't recall the contents of page one, he finally threw the paper down, the sudden sound startling the occupants of the couch.

"Alright." Jesse replied, pointing at Luke. "You git out there 'n look for him. But…" he added. "Don't make it obvious that's what you's doin'. He's a grown man and he's got the right to time fer himself without bein' scolded like a puppy."

"Okay." Luke replied, jumping up. "I'll grab my fishing gear too, make it look like I'd been out myself."

"I guess it'll work, even though it's got so dark out there you'd hafta have bat eyes to fish at this point."

Luke nodded and ran for the door. He rushed out to the shed behind the barn where the family normally stored their fishing gear. He grabbed his pole and his tackle box and threw them into Jesses truck before taking off into the night.

"This is lost sheep callin' Crazy C. C, you out there?"

"Crazy C, that'd be me, and real good lookin', you'd have to agree. What's on your mind, marquis?

"Hey Cooter. I's just wonderin' if Bo might've been around today." Luke asked, having turned the channel to 47 where Cooter could usually be reached.

"That'd be a negatory Lukas. Don't tell me the lost sheep is lost again, come back." Cooter replied from his tow truck where he was driving home after a long day at the garage.

"'Fraid so. He left a note at the house sayin' he went fishin'. It's a might dark to still be out doin' that, though."

"The old fishin' story, huh?" Cooter chuckled. "You got any idea's I'll be glad to see if I can sniff out a trail for ya."

"Well, seein' how Lilly claims she don't know where he is, I thought I'd go ahead and check out the better fishin' spots anyway since that's where he said he's goin'."

"That's a ten-four. I'll check the east end, you the west. Report in 30."

"Thanks C. Over and out."

Both guys went to their respected checkpoints. Luke checked Dixon Pond, Catfish Marsh, and several spots along the Conasauga River that were know as good fishing hideaways. Cooter was left to check Mountain Lake, Possum Falls, and finally, Carter's Lake.

Cooter was circling the lake and came into the vicinity of Boss Hogg's fishing cabin when a familiar sound met his ears. Although he couldn't make out the car coming toward him in the dark, the unmistakable sound of a Charger engine left little doubt as to who it was.

"Lukas, Crazy C comin' at ya. The little lost sheep has been found, give 'em a holler, he's in the General Lee."

Luke smiled. "That's great Cooter! Thanks a lot."

As Cooter turned at a wide spot in the road to follow the General, Luke turned back to the Duke's usual channel, channel 36. "Lost sheep one callin' lost sheep two, come in."

Luke waited, not receiving an answer. He tried again with the same result. After several moments of not getting a response, he turned back over to Cooter. "Cooter, I can't get 'em to answer. He look like he's headed home?"

"Well right now we're at Carter's Lake, and the only way to go is one way- out."

"Maybe he's got the CB off. See if you can go up behind him and git his attention."

"Will do." Cooter replied, speeding up until he was behind the General. When he got there, he laid down on the horn, partly to get Bo's attention, partly just because he was Cooter and he thought it'd be funny.

In response, the General speeded up. Cooter laughed. Ole' Bo'd use any excuse to challenge someone to a cross country race.

Cooter would play along. He increased his speed as well, doing a pretty good job of keeping on the General's tail despite the fact that he was in his tow truck.

Suddenly, the General shot forward in an extra bust of speed. "Bo, yer crazier than a rabid squirrel." Cooter laughed, knowing that the single lane dirt road was hard to handle in the best of circumstances. Still he struggled to keep up.

After the General had succeeded in gaining some distance, it arrived at the parking area off the side of the road, which was more or less just a dirt area cut into the woods at which one car could pull over, allowing another to pass or where someone could park and take a shortcut through the woods to fish at the Coosawattee River, which fed Carter's Lake.

Cooter was a little surprised to see the brake lights, figurin' Bo was abandoning the race. He was even more surprised moments later, however, when instead of simply stopping, the area was used to perform a one-eighty, bringing the General back on the one lane road where it faced Cooter, who slammed on the brakes.

"Ah, an old fashioned game of chicken, huh?" Cooter laughed, putting the tow truck in neutral, revving the gas. He leaned out the window and could hear the same from the General, although it was some distance away. Slowly, the General inched forward, the Dixie horn blasting out a warning.

"You really think that's gonna work with me, buddyro?" Cooter laughed. He inched forward as well.

Suddenly, the General shot toward him. Cooter's good natured smile gave way to concern.

"Uh, Bo, don't do that." Cooter muttered, seeing that he clearly had no way to go.

With no sign that the General was going to slow, Cooter threw the tow truck in reverse and backed up quickly.

"Okay buddy, I give!" Cooter shouted out the window as he strained to see behind him as best as he could.

With the curve known as Moccasin Bend coming up fast, Cooter turned for a brief second to observe the location of the General. To say he was surprised to witness one of his best friends deliberately bumping the tow truck in such harrowing conditions was a definite understatement.

But surprise gave way to horror what he felt when the General nudged him again, sending the tow truck plummeting down the embankment at Moccasin Bend!

Now in case ya'll were wonderin' what that's all about... so am I.