Like Lisa said, that man in the rowboat certainly knew that Lois was in the lake. In fact, he probably was the one who tossed her in there. Lois was defending herself against that man when she came to, after Clark had rescued her.
Wow! Talk about intense. But before that, I loved the quiet introspection on Clark's part, such as when he felt that when Lana's hold on him had been broken, he had somehow had a narrow escape. That was great. And of course, his musings about how terrifying it had been to develop strange powers and being unable to control them were harrowing.
The little snippets you gave us of Lucy and, particularly, Ellen, served to enhance Lois's good qualities even more. No wonder that Clark is interested in her. Hmmm, she treats him like a brother - she loves him like a brother, perhaps? Well, that will do fine for now, as long as she doesn't fall for any Smallville versions of Lex Luthor.
Great chapter as always, Nan.
Ann
