Part 4

Jesse dropped Luke off at the farm, then went to call on Cooter. Luke tried to sleep, and tossed and turned for nearly an hour before he realized that sleep would be impossible. He got up and went to sit out on the front porch, where he and Bo had spent many summer nights drinking beer and talking for hours. It was late summer, and Luke could feel autumn creeping in.
Cars went by on the road just beyond the farm, and Luke watched them come and go, feeling mellow and unhappy. He looked up as a vaugely familiar car engine sounded towards the farm. Luke gasped aloud as he looked up to see the green Chevy blow by him, the green Chevy that belonged to the two men that had shot Bo.
Luke swore loudly, and ran for Daisy's jeep that one of her friends had dropped off the night before. Dixie wasn't the General, but maybe he could catch up to them. He keyed the ignition with his spare set of keys and took off after the Chevy, his heart racing. He knew that they might have the gun yet, but he didn't care. If he got ahold of the guy who had pulled the trigger on Bo, Luke would make him eat that pistol.
It took nearly ten minutes to catch up witht the Chevy, and Luke knew it was headed back to the abandoned barn near the ridge. He stepped on the gas, wishing he hadn't left the General back at the hospital. He passed the Chevy and hit the brakes hard, and cranked the wheel, hoping like hell the jeep wouldn't tip over. It held, and Luke slid the jeep to one side to block the Chevy. The other car screeched to a halt. A tall man with a scraggly beard got out of the driver's side, glaring at Luke.
"What the hell is wrong with you, plowboy? You drunk or something?" He shouted, and Luke's eyes flashed.
"It was you, wasn't it? You pulled the trigger."
"What are you talking about, boy?"
"You shot my cousin, and i'm going to make you pay for it."
Realisation dawned on the criminal's face, and he sneered at Luke.
"Oh yeah, the blond kid. Saw him go down. Didja plant him yet?" He laughed.
"He's not dead. You nearly killed him though, and now I'm going to make you eat that gun piece by piece." Luke said dangerously.
"You think so? Come one then, I ain't armed now." The criminal said.
Luke held off. "Where's all that money you were willing to kill over?" He asked.
"None of your beeswax, boy. Come on, let's fight if you want to fight!"
All of Luke's anger rolled to the surface, and he rushed the tall man, meaning to beat him to death. He tackled the man, hurling obcenities and punches. The other man was trying to ward off Luke's blows, having underestimated Luke's strentght and anger.
"Back off, plowboy! I give, I give!"
"That doesn't make Bo any better." Luke half sobbed, and broke the man's nose with a swift punch. Blood flew.
"Back away, boy." A voice said from behind them, and Luke froze.
The tall man's partner jammed a pistol in Luke's back and clicked the hammer.
"Maybe you'd like to join your cousin, hotshot. Get up."
Luke got to his feet and faced the gunman.
"You got no call to do this. Just take your buddy and get."
"I ought to blow you away right here, and I won't miss like my partner did with your cousin." The man said, and put the muzzele of the pistol to Luke's head.
"Say goodbye, hotshot." The man said, and a gun went off.
Luke gave a cry of fear, but felt no pain. When nothing happened, he opened his eyes. What he saw amazed him. The gunman lay on the ground, clutching his bleeding knee. Uncle Jesse was leaning out the window of his pickup truck nearby, aiming his rifle at the gunman. He got out of the truck and walked over to where he lay, and reloaded the gun.
"Is he the one, Luke? Is he the one who shot my boy?" Jesse asked, and Luke was unnerved by the look in his uncle's eye.
"No, it was him." Luke replied, pointing to the other man he'd beaten unconscious nearby.
Jesse swung the rifle in his direction, trembling.
"It ain't for us to do, Uncle Jesse. Call Enos and Rosco." Luke said, and Jesse lowered the gun.
"I did already." Jesse replied, and picked up the man's pistol.
"How did you know?" Luke asked, and Jesse smiled a little.
"I came back from Cooter's just in time to see you take of in Dixie. Thought i'd follow you."
"It's a good thing you did." Luke replied, and hugged his uncle.
"How's Bo? Any word yet?" He asked.
"Let's take care of this rabble, and we'll go see." Jesse said as Rosco and Enos pulled up.
"Rosco, these guys are the guys who shot Bo, and there's a bag of stolen money in the abandoned barn near the ridge." Luke explained.
"All right, freeze!" Rosco shouted, and looked the situation over. Enos looked puzzled.
"I think they're already frozen, Sheriff."
"Enos, hush! Just get 'em into your vehicle. No bleeding in my patrol car, either!" Rosco shouted, loading them into the cars.
The cars started up, sirens blaring, and they sped away.
"I'll take Dixie back to the house, then we'll go to the hospital." Luke said, and Jesse nodded.

Back at the hospital, Daisy awoke to someone tapping her shoulder. She sat up to see Luke standing there.
"I fell asleep. Any word?" she asked, and Luke shrugged.
"Not yet. Let me tell you what happened to me, though." Luke laughed, and sat down to explain his adventure.
Halfway through the story, Daisy burst into tears. Alarmed, Luke held her.
"What, what is it?"
"You damn fool, bad enough Bo is in there dying, and you have to go and put yourself in danger too?" She asked, pummeling Luke's shoulders.
"Take ti easy, Daisy. I'm okay!"
"Thanks to Uncle Jesse. Well, at least now they'll have to face charges for what they did to Bo." Daisy replied, and hugged her cousin.
Just then, the hospital entreance doors opened and Amos came out.
"Well! Who wants to go and see Bo?" He asked, and the family jumped up.
"You mean-" Luke began, and Amos nodded.
"He's real weak, but the internal bleeding has stopped. We've fixed the damaged blood vessels,a dn I don't think there'll be any permanent damage." Amos said.
Luke, Jesse and Daisy hurried down the hall to Bo's room, their hearts swelling with joy.
Bo was back in the same bed, but he was off the respirator, and breathing on his own. When he saw his family, he smiled weakly.
"Hey." He whispered, and Luke sat by him.
"I knew you'd be okay, Bo. I told them you were tougher than old leather!" Luke laughed, tears running unchecked down his face.
"I still don't want you to sell the General." Bo replied in a barely audible voice.
"Just hush, Bo. We'll talk about it later." Luke said, and hugged his cousin carefully.
"Dealing with Boss, it's a big mistake." Bo whispered, and Jesse hushed him.
"Not one more word, Bo James Duke. You lay there and get better, and I'll deal with the family finances." Jesse said, and Bo nodded.
"Okay, you win. It's good to see ya'll." Bo said and took their hands.
"Same here, Bo. When you get a bit stronger, I'll tell you what happened to me today." Luke said, and Bo looked over at him.
"You having fun without me cousin?" He teased, then his eyelids drooped.
"Go back to sleep, Bo. Get stronger, get well." Luke replied, and Bo closed his eyes.
"You got it." He said, and slept. His breathing was clear and quiet.
"He's going to be okay!" Jesse said gleefully, and hugged Luke and Daisy.
"Didn't I tell you he was tough?" Luke asked, wiping his eyes.
"Now, about the money. . ." Jesse said, almost to himself, and Luke sighed.
They would have to part witht the General and Dixie, and Boss would own their land probably until he and Bo had grandkids.
"I don't think Bo is ever going to forgive us." He said.
"It's the only way." Jesse replied.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Luke Duke." A voice said from the doorway, and Luke turned.
"That's me, sir."
"Mr. Duke, I'm Robert Cromwell, FBI." The man said, and Luke back off a step.
"Hey, I didn't mean to, that is. . . " He began, and Cromwell smiled briefly.
"Relax Mr. Duke. I'm not here to arrest you. In fact, you know those two men you helped apprehend this morning?"
Luke nodded.
"Those two men have knocked over three banks in the last seven months. There's a substantial reward for their capture." Cromwell said, and Luke smiled.
"Really?"
"Yes!" The agent looked over at Bo and smiled. "I imagine you'll need it. How is your cousin?"
"The doc says he'll pull through." Jesse replied, and glanced at Luke.
"Agent Cromwell, how much is the reward?" he asked.
"The last bank job they pulled resulted in a shooting death of a security guard, which means they were wanted for murder. Congratulations Mr. Duke, you've just earned yourself the reward sum of eighty-thousand dollars." Cromwell said, and the Dukes gasped.
"That'll pay off Bo's operation!" Luke said, and Cromwell nodded.
"I imagine it will."
"That means we don't have to give Boss our land, or sell The General and Dixie!" Daisy cried, and hugged Luke.
"You did it, Luke!" Jesse said, and Luke put an arm around him.
"We all did it." He replied, and hugged his family.

Later that night, Luke was sitting at Bo's bedside when his cousin awoke. Bo smiled, but his eyes were troubled.
"Hey Bo, how are you feeling?" Luke asked.
"Better. Luke, we need to talk. You can't sell the General Lee, no matter how much money we need. You and me built that car from the ground up!" Bo said, his voice getting stronger.
"Bo, button your lip." Luke said affectionetly, and Bo looked surprised.
"But-"
"Hush! Listen, they caught the guys who shot you. Actually, me and Jesse caught them. They're in jail, and it turns out they were bank robbers! There was a reward, Bo, eighty-thousand dollars!"
Bo's blue eyes grew wide and disbelieving.
"God Amighty!" He breathed, and Luke grinned.
"The check is coming to the house tomorrow. We can pay for your surgery, plus maybe get a new coat of paint for The General, and some new farm equipment for this fall's harvest. We get to keep our farm, and not owe Boss a cent!" Luke said, and Bo looked amazed. Tears welled in his eyes.
"Really?" Uncle Jesse doesn't have to sell our land?" He asked timidly.
"Nope."
"I'd give a 'yeehah' worthy of a fifty foot jump in The General, but I'm just getting used to talking again." Bo replied, and Luke leaned over to hug him.
"That's okay, we'll take the long way home when you're well." Luke laughed, overjoyed to have his cousin back.

Bo went home three weeks after his surgery, and although Amos threatened to fracture Luke's skull if he jumped the General with Bo in it, Luke couldn't say no to Bo when he asked.
Bo buckled up tight, and Luke jumped the smallest jump he could find, which was a small creek near the farm. Bo hung on tight as they landed, laughing like a kid. The General Lee, his new coat of paint gleaming in the September sun, headed for home.
"It's a good day to be alive." Bo said, leanign out the window.
"You bet." Luke replied, rounding the curve towards the farm.
"Didn't think I'd live to even see another day like this."
"I knew you'd be okay. I said it all along, and no one believed me." Luke said.
"You've always believed in me. Ever since we were kids. Most everything I know, I learned from you, Luke." Bo said, and his cheeks reddened. "Did i ever thank you?"
Luke shrugged, but he was deeply touched.
"Tell you what, cousin. You can thank me by not ever putting me through anything like that again."
"Deal." Bo replied, and glanced at Luke. "Now let me drive."
"Sure you're up to it?" Luke asked, pulling over. Bo eased himself out the window and they switched sides.
"Now you're gonna see a real jump!" Bo laughed, and stomped on the gas pedal, his blood racing.
"Bo, wait!" Luke gasped, but Bo ignored him. He swung the car around and sped down the road to Hazzard Pond. He hit the bump and they flew.
"YEEEEEEHHHHHAAAAAHHH!!!"Bo hollered, drowning out Luke's yell of alarm.
They landed smoothly, and Bo grinned widly.
"I've been waiting to do that for nearly a month." He laughed, and they headed for home.
It was business as usual for Bo and Luke Duke as Rosco's patrol car came around the curve to chase them, lights flashing and sirens wailing.

The End
4/9/96
By Krista Weiler

Remember you can email Krista at: dukescrazy@aol.com. Also, you can get to her homepage off of my links page. Just click on Crazy Cooter's homepage. Write her and tell her what you think of this story and also go read more of her stories.