by: Marty Chrisman
Jesse and Bo were in the barn doing chores and Daisy had left for work. When they finished in the barn and headed back to the house, Jesse told Bo “Why don’t you go check on Luke and wake him up while I start supper. He’s been sleeping most of the day.”
“Yes, sir.” Bo said as they went into the house. Bo climbed the stairs to his room and opened the door, surprised to find the room empty. Thinking that Luke was probably in the bathroom, he walked down the hall and knocked on the bathroom door. When he didn’t get any answer, he opened the door and looked inside but Luke wasn’t there either. Quickly, he checked Uncle Jesse’s room and Daisy’s too but still no sign of Luke. Hurrying back down the steps, he went into the kitchen where Jesse was gathering the ingredients to make supper.
“Uncle Jesse,” He said anxiously trying to keep the worried tone out of his voice “Luke’s gone. He’s no where in the house.”
“What?” Jesse said in a startled voice “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure…I looked everywhere.”
“Dang it! Now where in tarnation did that boy take off to?” Supper forgotten, he barked “Come on, we have to find him! It’s too dangerous for him to be wandering around somewhere by himself.” The two men hurried out of the house and climbed into the cab of Jesse’s truck.
Bo immediately got on the CB “Breaker, breaker….This is Bo Duke calling everybody on the Hazzard net…listen up…Luke’s missing and we need help finding him. If anyone sees him…..give me a shout.” He tried to keep the fear and concern out of his voice but was only partially successful.
Cooter’s voice immediately came back over the radio “This is Crazy Cooter coming at ya, Bo. Tell me what you want me to do…”
“Jesse and me are out by the farm; we’ll check the roads out here.” Bo told him “Can you check around in town and see if you can find Luke anywhere?”
“You got it, buddyroo….I’m down and gone…”
As soon as Cooter got off the air, Enos Strate’s voice said “Bo, this is Enos. I’m out here by Hazzard creek….I’ll check the roads out here.”
Other calls started coming over the air from more friends and soon most of the county was covered with people trying to find Luke. Daisy called in from the Boars Nest wanting to leave work and help look for Luke but Jesse ordered her to stay put in case Luke showed up there. Systematically, a search began for the missing Duke boy. Unknown to anyone, the Harrison brothers had also been monitoring the CB and had heard the calls about Luke. And cowards that they were, they armed themselves heavily and decided to go and look for Luke themselves because they had a hunch that he was looking for them.
But nobody realized that Luke wasn’t anywhere near the main roads or any of the roads for that matter. He was cutting cross country, keeping hidden from sight, as he began his own search for the Harrison brothers. Relying on his Marine training, Luke had let his mind slip back into combat mode and he was the perfect killing machine once more hunting through the jungles of Viet Nam looking for the enemy. At the moment, Luke was more dangerous then he had ever been before to anyone who might accidentally cross his path.
Luke had no idea that most of Hazzard County was looking for him and it wouldn’t have really mattered if he had. Luke only had one thing on his mind. Finding the Harrison Brothers and settling the score with them for killing little Angie Barker and trying to kill him. Taking his time and staying out of sight, he returned to the scene of the murder. Somehow, instinctively, he knew that eventually the Harrison Brothers would return here looking for him and he would be waiting for them when they did.
Luke found a place to hide behind some rocks and made himself comfortable. Then he waited. Patience was an admirable trait in any hunter no matter what kind of game they were hunting. He leaned his head back against the rock behind him. Although he seemed to be staring at the horizon, he was actually highly attuned to everything around him. Watching and listening, ready to spring into action at any second.