Rosco had search nearly the whole county for Johnny Cash, but with no luck. He was just about to head back to town, when he remembered the one place he hadn't looked yet.
"The Duke farm." Rosco said to his trusty basset hound, Flash. Flash just looked at Rosco and yawned lazily, then rested his head back down on the seat.
"Hold on Velvet Ears." Rosco said happily. He turned the steering wheel hard to the right and did an almost perfect 180. He then put his foot on the gas and headed for the Duke Farm.
Yeller went to the front door, and used his mouth to pull the screen door open. He then went inside to get Jesse.
"BARK! BARK!"
"What is it Yeller?" Jesse asked the yellow dog confused. Yeller started to pull on Jesse's overalls letting Jesse know that Yeller wanted him to follow.
"Okay, okay. I'm comin' just hold yer horses." Jesse and Yeller went outside. Once the door was open, Yeller took off towards the spot where Bo was. Bo saw his uncle coming. Jesse saw his youngest nephew on the ground soaking wet.
"What on earth happened to you? And what is that awful smell?" Jesse asked while holding his nose.
"Well…ask Luke, he was the one that dumped the bucket on my head." Bo said. Luke, who had finally gotten all the mud and feathers off of him, had heard what Bo had said and stormed over to where his uncle and cousin were.
"Luke, what in tarnation were you thinking?"
"Well Bo and that mutt of his started it." When Luke called Yeller a mutt, both he and Bo grew equally angry.
"What do you mean 'mutt'? Yeller is a lot smarter then you." Bo said angrily. Yeller let out a deep growl that was just barely audible.
"What did you two do?" Jesse asked with a stern voice.
"Well we dumped a bucket of mud on his head, then we chickenized him. It only served him right for what he did earlier." Bo said.
"What did he do earlier?"
"Something I would rather not talk about." Bo said, still angry. Jesse looked at Luke.
"What did you do to Bo?"
"When?"
"A few minutes ago and earlier?"
"All I did was ask him why he didn't tell us that someone ran him off the road when he got into that accident. Then after he dumped the mud and feathers on me, I got even with him and dumped a bucket of rotten leaves and water on him."
"Why did you do that for? And why did you leave him on the ground?"
"Well what else was I supposed to do? Let him get away with it?" Luke asked angrily. "I swear, Bo is starting to become a spoiled brat, and that mutt of his ain't helpin' none."
"Will you stop calling him a mutt? He's a lot smarter then you are, that's for damn sure."
"Bo watch yer tongue." Jesse said.
"Yes sir. Look if'n ya'll ain't gonna help me up, I'll just get up myself." Bo said. He looked to Yeller and without even thinking about it, Yeller knew what to do. He walked over to the wheel chair and pushed it over to Bo. He then locked the brakes, and walked back over to where Bo was still sitting. Bo put his arm around Yeller's back and with the help of Yeller, finally managed to sit in his wheel chair.
"We won't be a bother to you guys anymore today. C'mon Yeller." Yeller turned around and growled at Luke before going with Bo. Luke sighed and ran his hand through his dark hair.
"Luke, you know if it wasn't for that dog, Bo might not be here. Maybe you should start to show him a little respect." Jesse said.
"Yeah, I know, but I'm just so mad about what they did."
"I understand Luke, but ya know, you shouldn't have done that to him, especially since he can't fight back like most people. And not to mention that he could get real sick from something that could've been in that water. Also you shouldn't have left him on the ground."
"Yeah, I know, but he made it clear just now that he don't want nothing to do with us right now. And he sure didn't seem to need any help getting up."
"Oh really? Looked like he needed someone's help to me. And he never once mentioned he didn't want anything to do with us. Don't forget that this is all real stressful for him. He's still trying to get used to the fact that he may never walk again."
"Yeah I know, but he won't talk to me about anything anymore, he don't even seem to want to be around anyone but Yeller. How am I supposed to talk to someone who don't want my help?"
"Luke, you keep forgetting that if it wasn't for Yeller, Bo would more then likely not be here right now. Bo just feels that because Yeller was there that day that he's the only one who understands what he's going through."
"Yeah, but Yeller's just a dog, there is no way that he could understand what we say without him being trained."
"Luke you ain't been listening. What I've been trying to tell ya is that right now Yeller is the only one Bo feels he can talk to. Whether or not Yeller can understand what Bo tells him. Just give Bo some time. We all have to be patient with him."
"I know, but…"
"No buts Luke, now I want you to go and apologize to him. Otherwise if you put it off for to long, you two may never be friends again."
"Alright Uncle Jesse. As soon as he gets cleaned up, I'll go apologize to him."
"Good boy, now I gotta get back inside and take care of the food." Jesse got up and left Luke to himself. Luke sat there thinking about what Jesse had said and realized that he was right.
Jesse went into the house and noticed Yeller going back outside with a towel and some shampoo.
"Now what's that dog up to?" Jesse said as he walked to the front door. He opened the door enough to look outside and saw the direction Yeller was heading. Jesse decided to follow him to see what he was up to. When Jesse peeked his head around the corner of the house, he saw Bo sitting on a lawn chair with his shirt off and the garden hose on the ground. Jesse saw Bo take the shampoo and towel from Yeller and sit them on the old tree stump by the side of the house. Bo patted Yellers head and Yeller bent his head down and picked up the hose. Bo took the hose from Yeller and reached over and turned the water on.
Bo held the hose over his head and let the cold water hit him. He let out a small yelp from the unexpected coldness of the water. Jesse couldn't help but laugh at his nephew's response to the cold water. Yeller started barking at the water and tried to catch it in his mouth. Bo saw what he was doing and sprayed Yeller with the hose. Yeller yelped in surprise at the cold water hitting him. Jesse left Yeller and Bo alone and went back inside to finish fixing dinner. It was about ten minutes later that Rosco showed up at the Duke farm.
Bo and Yeller had been wrestling in the front yard, Yeller having a big advantage over Bo. When the sheriff got out of his car and started towards Bo, Yeller immediately started growling. Rosco stopped right in his tracks and immediately drew his gun. He pointed it at Yeller, who was standing in front of Bo, growling at the sheriff.
"Rosco, will you put that thing away 'fore you shoot someone." Bo said.
"Oh hush Bo Duke, if that dog don't stop growling at me I'll shoot 'em. And I mean it."
"Rosco, we all know you wouldn't shoot no one. So why don't ya put that thing away before you do accidentally shoot someone. And 'sides Yeller here ain't doing nothin' wrong. He's only protecting his home from the local idiot." Bo said teasingly. Rosco who didn't have his sense of humor with him today, didn't find it at all funny.
"Now you listen here Bo Duke, I know that Johnny Cash is here. And I'm gonna cuff 'em and stuff 'em."
"Well for one, why would you arrest him for? And two, he ain't here" Bo said.
"Oh piddly, then who's car is that over yonder?" Rosco said pointing towards the parked cars.
"Well one of them is Daisy's, one's Uncle Jesse's, one's mine and Luke's, and the other two are our relatives. They's here for a visit. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Oh, uh well, no, but can you prove it?"
"Yeah, but not right now, see they's all in the back forty and ain't gonna be home 'til dinner. So unless you want ol' Yeller here to sick ya, then you'd best leave." Bo said hoping to scare the sheriff away. Rosco took Bo's threat seriously and headed back to his patrol car.
"Boss ain't gonna be to happy when I get back." Rosco said to himself. Bo sat on the ground with his arm around the back of Yeller's neck, laughing at how easy it was to fool Rosco.
'Boy he sure is easy to fool, took what I said seriously.'
'Yeah, least he won't be back here for awhile. Otherwise next time he shows up, I'll bite his leg off.'
'Naw we couldn't be that mean to him, with out his legs, Luke won't have no fun when he's drivin'.' Both Yeller and Bo laughed at what Bo had said. seeing that Bo was distracted, Yeller used his head to knock Bo backwards to the ground. Bo lay there for a minute trying to figure out what happened. Seeing the sparkle in Yeller's brown eyes immediately told Bo that he was the reason why he was flat on his back.
"Hey! No fair hitting a man when he's down." Bo said with a chuckle. Yeller just flopped down beside Bo, his head resting on Bo's arm. Both of them stayed on the ground and eventually fell asleep.
well that the end of the chapter! glad to see Bo laughing again. i guess ya'll can definitly say that Yeller is man's best friend. please R&R!