Bass Lake Bunch 2: The Secret of the Lost Lake Cottage

By Leslie J May and Charles R Ratliff

When Sam Sommers sees a “hobo” camping on the lot next to Grandpa Sommers’ garage, he tells his friends – The Bass Lake Bunch – about him. When Grandpa Sommers overhears the kids talking about "the hobo," he decides to check things out for himself. What he finds takes him back 35 years to Bass Lake’s

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lost Lake Cottage Publishing
• Release date: Mar 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9780999800911

Leslie J May

Leslie J. May is a former award-winning teacher and administrator in Nevada, Arizona, Missouri, and Indiana. She is a 2010 and 2012 Clark County (Nevada) Teacher of the Year, and received honors in both 2005 and 2006 as a finalist for Arizona School Administrators Distinguished Elementary Administrator Award. Leslie has worked as a school improvement consultant, professional development presenter, and served as a state delegate representing school administrators from both Arizona and Indiana. Leslie is a recovering cancer patient, and works diligently to support others who are fighting this battle. She loves music, blooming flowers, an exciting football game, and a great cup of coffee. She spends her leisure time playing in Bass Lake, visiting her son, and trying out new recipes. Leslie J. May currently resides at Bass Lake in Northern Indiana.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Jackson screamed as the Gladiator tube he was riding flew off the crest of the one-foot wake and slapped the dark, blue-green water of Bass Lake harder than he would have liked. His 10-minute ride seemed to last for an hour, but he wasn’t tired – yet. He lay prone and spread his weight evenly across the five-foot diameter tube, resting his midriff comfortably on the canvas covering the center donut hole. The wake churned by Grandpa Sommers’ impeller-driven speedboat repeatedly punched the canvas through the donut hole and into his belly as it towed the tube he rode at a brisk 25-mile-per-hour clip.

Faster! Jackson screamed with glee. Go faster! He would have waved at the riders in the boat ahead of him, but he was afraid to let go of the handles attached to the canvas cover, which he used to hold himself on the tube. The 60-foot towline that attached the tube to the speedboat slackened slightly and then jerked suddenly by the motion of the boat as it went into an S-turn.

The engine of the speedboat drowned out his scream; Sam and Patrick pointed at him from the observer’s seats, gleeful laughter marking their faces. Before Jackson could get another glimpse of them, a wave broke over the right side of the tube, across his right arm, and splashed his face soaking his hair and life vest. When he was able to wipe the spray from his face with his upper arm, he glimpsed a three-seat yellow-black Jet Ski pull alongside, keeping pace with the boat 20 feet away. His cousin Brianne rode the back seat and held on to Aunt Roxy with one arm, and waved at Jackson with the other.

Just as Jackson thought to wave back at her, he felt a sudden pull as Grandpa Sommers steered the speedboat into a shallow port turn. As the boat turned to its left, the tube Jackson rode was pulled to the right by centrifugal force out of the wake behind the boat and into a large, arcing swing. As Grandpa Sommers maintained his speed, the tube was flung farther to the right and glided over the smooth, wake-less waters of Bass Lake. Even though the boat’s speed remained unchanged, Jackson felt the tube speed up. Jackson’s heart beat faster as he realized what Grandpa Sommers’ next maneuver would be.

Grandpa Sommers straightened the boat’s course, then steered it into a gentle turn the opposite way, without slowing down. This brought about an opposite effect on Jackson’s tube. As the tube swung back across the wake, Jackson cringed at the size of the waves that spewed and roiled behind the speedboat as it churned through the shallow water of Bass Lake, creating an obstacle for the tube to cross. Jackson gripped the handles tighter and …

… Swoosh! The tube angled up one side of the wake, flew nearly sideways in the air and cleared the water briefly as Grandpa Sommers’ S-turn maneuver brought the tube flying behind the boat and to the other side, clearing the wake completely. The speed at which he hit the wake rocked Jackson to the right. Then, as he came back down, he over-compensated his weight to the left. Thinking he was keeping the tube level when he actually rolled too far into the outward swing, caused the tube to flip. As Jackson realized his mistake he let go of the tube’s handles before he hit the water. He slid off the tube and landed in the water on his side and back.

He skimmed the surface for the briefest of seconds like a skipping rock and tunneled head and shoulders first into the water like a bullet. Holding his breath, he waited until the energy of his momentum expended itself, and then gently floated to the surface. As he flung the water from his face and hair, he opened his eyes to see Grandpa Sommers slow the boat and come around in a lazy turn. The tube dangled rider-less behind it. He saw Patrick and Sam reeling in the rope as Grandpa Sommers pointed the boat toward Jackson to pick him up.

As the boat neared Jackson, where he floated in the water with the help of his life vest, Grandpa killed the engine.

You did that on purpose, Grandpa! exclaimed Jackson, with a smile on his face.

Don’t get upset with me, it was Sam and Patrick who wanted to see you fly off the tube, Grandpa Sommers chuckled. Then, he leaned over the edge of the cockpit, a slight smile on his face, and asked, Are you all right?

Jackson returned the smile, and replied, That was fun, Grandpa.

Sam dropped the towrope, leaving Patrick holding all 60 feet of it, and leaned over the edge of the boat. Wow! Did you see how high out of the water you flew? You must have been clear of the water by at least three feet!

From the rear of the boat, Patrick disagreed. It was only a foot, but what a tumble you took! You must have corkscrewed around twice before entering the water.

I don’t remember, said Jackson as he stood up in the three feet of water to catch the boat as it floated near him. He turned at the sound of the Jet Skis as they pulled up close. Besides his Aunt Roxy with Brianne as her passenger, Jackson noted that his Uncle Joe carried Kevin on the back of the family’s other three-seat Jet Ski, this one red and black.

Jackson, that was way cool! shouted Kevin, after the engines on the Jet Skis shut down.

Who’s going next? asked Grandpa Sommers.

Standing in the three-foot deep shallow lake, Jackson held onto the boat and was able to keep it still while Patrick stabilized the tube behind the speedboat. Sam and Patrick were the next ones in line, and Jackson saw Patrick stand up on the stern of the speedboat, then dove onto the tube as it floated in the water. He grabbed hold of the canvas handles to steady it, and then flopped around to get into the right position. Once Patrick was set on the tube, Sam placed his feet against the Gladiator’s edge, kicked hard, and floated it away from the boat.

All right, Jackson, into the boat with you, said Grandpa Sommers. Jackson walked to the rear of the boat and, using the handles and the step, climbed into the boat with Sam. Water flowed off his vest and out of his swimming trunks, falling to the floor of the boat to be sucked into the drain tube beneath the seats.

Without another word, the Jet Skis pulled away to allow Grandpa Sommers room to pull the tube. Once the towrope was pulled taut, Patrick gave the thumbs up sign and Grandpa Sommers pushed down hard on the throttle. The force of the motor lifted the bow of the boat high out of the water momentarily. As the boat picked up speed, the nose settled back down and the boat planed onto the water.

Patrick’s scream went unheard at the sudden jolt of the towrope as the tube shot forward.

***

Bass Lake, which sits in northwestern Indiana, is the fourth largest natural spring-fed lake in the state. Kidney-shaped with a depth of mostly three to four feet on the south-western end, it is fed by an underground spring that keeps it full nearly year round. Bass Lake is more than three miles in length, and a mile wide in most places, with nearly every bit of shoreline owned by cottage residents.

In the summer, when almost all of the residents come to the lake for vacation, some families stay for the entire summer, while others visit just on the weekends. Most of the residents live and work in Chicago, Illinois, but many are retired, like Jackson’s grandparents, and come from other states, like Nevada and Arizona. Most of their days are spent playing in or on the water.

As Grandpa Sommers’ boat pulled up to the pier in front of the Sommers cottage near Cedar Point, Jackson Hall, his best friend Patrick Dillon, and cousin Sam Sommers, leapt from the boat as the engine died and helped guide it onto the lift. Once they had it centered over the submerged runners, Jackson cranked on the lift’s wheel, which raised the runners until it made contact with the boat. Once cleared of the water, Grandpa Sommers stepped from the boat onto the pier without trouble. The lift allowed the boat to be moored next to the pier without fear of floating away.

The boys climbed out of the water and onto the wooden pier, which stretched from the Sommers’ meander land more than 100 feet into the lake. The boys noticed that the Jet Skis were already in place, nose in, or pointed toward shore, stationary on their lifts beside the pier. Grandpa’s pontoon boat remained on its lift and became the dumping ground of all the wet gear as everyone exited the water.

You boys coming ashore, or staying in? asked Grandpa Sommers, turning just as Jackson grabbed Sam and Patrick by the arms and pulled them into the water. All three jumped clear of the pier and landed feet first in the shallow swimming area.

Jackson looked up at his grandpa, smiled, and said, I think we’ll swim for awhile. Patrick, who had been swimming along the bottom, stood up fast, water cascading off his brown, sun-tanned torso, and grabbed Sam. Protests to the contrary, Patrick lifted Sam off his feet and both fell backward into the water.

Don’t stay in too long, Grandpa said, shaking his head. We’re roasting hot dogs later.

A Whoopee! from the direction of the shore caused Jackson and Grandpa Sommers to glance down the pier. Brianne and Kevin were heading toward them, intent on jumping into the water well-written across their faces.

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Are we having a campfire tonight, Grandpa Sommers? Brianne asked.

Yep, and you two make sure your Aunt Beatrice brings you down, ya’ here? he reminded them. A couple of yes sirs, and Brianne and Kevin leapt off the pier and into the fray at Grandpa Sommers’ feet. Without another thought, Grandpa headed for shore.

It had seemed like yesterday since Brianne and Kevin had escaped the custody of a state social worker while in Knox, and in the process of running away, searched for their Great Aunt Hazel among the many residents of Bass Lake, Indiana. Aunt Hazel turned out to be a cousin of Jackson’s grandmother, Cousin Bea. She had revealed that her given name was Beatrice Hazel Hastings Reynolds.

Jackson and his mom had lived in Southern Missouri when he was a toddler and he had gotten to know Cousin Beatrice and loved her as much as he loved his own grandmother. Cousin Beatrice relocated to Bass Lake upon retirement some years before and was one of the regulars at the Sommers’ cottage. Jackson spent much of his pre-teen years playing at Beatrice’s cottage, which sat next to Grandpa Sommers’ garage just a few houses down Elm Street. Elm Street ran parallel to part of the shoreline of Bass Lake. Not only was Elm Street known for some beautiful cottages, like Aunt Bea’s, but residents who owned property on the lake also purchased vacant lots on Elm Street and built two- and three-bay garages in which to store cars and boats.

Jackson, Patrick and Sam ran across Brianne and Kevin, who had been hiding out at an abandoned fish hatchery behind the small town of Winona, located at the north end of the lake. Vowing to help the runaways, the three friends conspired to hide out with them and planned a search mission to find the orphan’s long lost relative. Jackson and Sam had just finished their restricted punishments for that little act of misbehavior. Patrick still had time to serve and his Grandma Nan, who lived at the lake and to where Patrick’s dad often dumped him, had him scheduled to spend a week at the Lightning Dude Ranch to fulfill his punishment.

Once found, Cousin Beatrice was given the opportunity to become Brianne and Kevin’s guardian. The brother and sister eagerly agreed to remain with Aunt Beatrice as they called her, rather than continue to reside in an orphanage. Once again living stable lives, the two orphans were adjusting quite well to life at Bass Lake.

Chapter 2

The sun had dipped behind the trees along the western edge of Bass Lake, casting the shore, and the entire southern part of the lake, into darkness. As the moon rose and came to life it cast an eerie glow upon the water. The dark piers jutted out onto the glowing water, all manner of watercraft tied up for the night. As the five friends congregated at the point where the Sommers’ pier met the meander land, they listened to the last of the waves from their earlier adventures lapping at the hulls of the boats nearby.

Sam, Patrick and Brianne sat on the pier near the steps Grandpa Sommers had built so that Grandma Sommers could step off the pier and into the water. Kevin and Jackson waded around in the shallows; Kevin dragged through the water a fish net attached to a silver loop and handle. A sudden tug caught his attention.

Hey, I think I got one! he exclaimed, not so loud as to scare the fish. All eyes turned toward him and Jackson moved to Kevin’s side.

Here, I’ll hold the net, you grab him as he comes out of the water, Jackson said.

Uh, I don’t know about that Jackson, Kevin replied.

Haven’t you ever held a fish before?

Sure, but not one I caught in a net, replied Kevin, nervously.

Okay, you hold the net, and I’ll grab him, Jackson said.

Watch out, Jackson, if it’s a catfish, it’ll have stingers, Sam said, in that ever-knowing tone of voice that always grated on Patrick’s nerves.

How do you know what a catfish has? Patrick asked, sarcastically. You’ve never caught one before!

Sam, glowing red about his chubby cheeks, even in the dark, responded hotly, So? Just because I’ve never caught a catfish doesn’t mean I don’t know what one might look like.

Knock it off, you two, Brianne said, berating them. Sam’s right, Jackson, be careful.

Jackson looked at Brianne and said, Always! with a smile as he reached down, without looking, and grabbed the net wiggling in the water.

Out of the water came a fish at least as long as Jackson’s arms with a girth wider than both his hands put together. As he realized the size of the monster, as he would describe later, a yell escaped Jackson’s lips. The yell generated several screams in return as the tail of the monster fish began flailing the water at his legs. Kevin screamed as he threw the fish net handle away from him and turned toward the shore, scrambling out of the water as fast as his short nine-year-old legs would carry him.

The three on the pier scrambled back from the edge, coming to their feet in one swift movement. Jackson, frozen in fright, continued to hold the monster fish as it beat its tail fins against his legs. Screams continued to emanate from the more frightened of the bunch. In mid-scream, Jackson threw the fish away from him, toward deeper water, and scrambled behind Kevin.

Not far away, adults seated around the campfire, noticed the brouhaha in the water and turned their attention toward the commotion.

Did you bite off more than you could chew, Jackson? asked Grandpa Sommers, who was lounging beside the fire pit.

Funny, Grandpa, replied Jackson,