Devore and Rogette Whitmore attack Mike on The Street and attempt to drown him in Dark Score Lake. The assault turns a dispute over Mike’s presence in the TR into a coordinated effort to leave him helpless in the water, with Devore using his wheelchair to block and threaten him while Whitmore strikes and pelts him with rocks. Mike reaches a swimming float and survives, but when he turns back toward shore, both attackers have vanished.

The confrontation on The Street

Devore first presents his obstruction as a defense of access, saying The Street belongs to everyone. But when Mike tries to pass, Devore drives his wheelchair at him and stops only just short of hitting him. Whitmore laughs, and Devore taunts Mike about the woman he calls a whore. When Mike attempts to go around the chair, Devore repeatedly cuts off his route. The exchange makes the threat plain: the claimed right of passage is being used to control who can actually move along the lakeside path.

Mike breaks to the lake side and nearly slips past, but Whitmore hits him in the face with a ring, cutting him behind the ear. Mike pushes her away; Devore then strikes him on the back of the head with his cane. The blows leave Mike bleeding and unsteady. Devore refuses to let him go, shoving his wheelchair forward again. To avoid being run down, Mike rolls aside on the slippery embankment and falls into the lake, twisting his foot on a submerged root as he lands.

The attack continues in the water

Mike tries to get away along the shore, but Devore follows in the wheelchair, moving easily along The Street. He introduces Whitmore as an athlete and tells her to demonstrate her skills. She has gathered rocks and begins throwing them at Mike. At first he is startled by the attack; then one stone hits his collarbone, and another strikes the back of his head when he turns to swim toward deeper water.

The assault leaves Mike dazed in water too deep to stand in. He coughs and struggles to keep himself afloat as Devore and Whitmore follow along the shore, laughing and watching. When Mike moves toward land, Whitmore resumes throwing, drawing first on the rocks she carries and then on those in Devore’s lap. One stone hits Mike’s arm and scratches it. Each attempt to reach safety brings him back within range, while swimming farther out costs him strength and makes the shore less accessible.

The attempted drowning

After Mike retreats beyond Whitmore’s range, Devore and Whitmore continue pacing him along The Street: Devore in his wheelchair and Whitmore on foot, stopping to gather more stones. Whitmore says they want to see how long Mike can swim, confirming that the attack is not merely an effort to drive him away. Mike understands that they mean to kill him and fears that, given the TR’s silence, they may escape accountability.

A swimming float becomes Mike’s best chance of getting out of the water. He dog-paddles toward it, repeatedly stopping to tread water and steady himself as his arms grow heavy and the fading light drains the lake’s color. Before he reaches it, a cramp seizes his left leg. He goes under while trying to reach the cramped muscle, swallowing water and recognizing that he is drowning.

Mike is pulled back to the surface when unseen hands seize him by the nape of the neck and leg; the cramp releases, and he manages to swim to the float’s ladder. He climbs out and catches his breath. When he turns toward the shore, Devore and Whitmore are gone. Mike waits on the float until moonrise, watching for movement, then returns to shore quietly. The attack ends without an explanation for their disappearance, but its immediate outcome is clear: Mike survives, badly shaken by a deliberate attempt to drown him.

The attempted drowning

After Mike retreats beyond Rogette Whitmore’s range, Devore and Whitmore continue pacing him along The Street: Devore in his wheelchair and Whitmore on foot, pausing to gather more stones. Whitmore says they want to see how long Mike can swim, making clear that the assault is not simply an effort to drive him away. Mike realizes they mean to kill him and fears that, given the TR’s silence, they may escape accountability.

A swimming float becomes Mike’s best chance of getting out of the water. He dog-paddles toward it, stopping repeatedly to tread water and steady himself as his arms grow heavy and the fading light drains color from the lake. Before he reaches it, a cramp seizes his left leg. He rolls sideways trying to reach the muscle, goes under, and recognizes that he is drowning.

Unseen hands seize Mike by the nape of the neck and leg; the cramp releases, and he manages to swim to the float’s ladder. He climbs out and catches his breath. When he turns toward shore, Devore and Whitmore are gone. Mike waits on the float until moonrise, watching for movement, then returns to shore quietly. The attack ends without an explanation for their disappearance, but its immediate outcome is clear: Mike survives a deliberate attempt to drown him.

Aftermath and significance

The assault leaves Mike with no ordinary explanation for his survival or for the attackers’ sudden absence. After reaching the swimming float, he waits until moonrise, then swims back to shore quietly. The incident is a decisive escalation: Devore and Whitmore have moved from obstruction and threats to a coordinated attempt to kill him, while the aid that saves him comes from an unseen presence. The episode therefore joins the custody conflict’s physical violence to the novel’s supernatural pattern, without resolving what happened to the assailants after they disappeared.