There was no sign of Frank Hardy anywhere in the house.

“I think we’d better wake Mrs. Hardy,” Jack Wayne hesitantly suggested. No one really wanted to tell the distraught young mother that her other child was now missing, too.

“Wait,” Officer Con Riley said. “What are the chances that Frank might have heard about the drop-off at the park?”

“Frankie’s been very worried about Joey,” Esther responded. “Maybe he came downstairs and no one even noticed him.”

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Riley nodded. Knowing how close the Hardy brothers were, Frank would jump at a chance to help find his missing brother. “Maybe he hid in Detective Hardy’s car or possibly with one of the other officers.”

“Or with Sam,” Gertrude offered. She looked at Riley, “Sam Radley left before anyone else. He wanted to be there for Fenton.

“Sam has a bad habit of leaving his car unlocked and both Frank and Joe know about it,” she concluded.

“I’ll radio the van again,” the police officer stated. “Captain Hardy can check our theory out before we put any more stress on Mrs. Hardy.”

* * *

Frank Hardy was tired of walking, but didn’t dare slow down. The moon was now hiding behind a thick cloud cover and the dark pine forest on either side of the road filled with spooky sounds and ominous shadows.

He almost cried out loud when he saw the old house at the end of the road. It was dark and creepy looking, but that might make it a good hiding place for bad guys.

He was on the front porch before he realized he knew this house. He’d come here once with Pap Pap to visit the old man that lived here. The man had been nice and had given Frank a package of chewing gum.

The seven-year-old knocked on the front door. “Mr. Hill! Mr. Hill, are you in there?”

Frowning, the little boy tried to peer in the front window, but it was too high. He walked around to the back of the house and saw the back door open. Smiling, Frank dashed up the steps to the door and called Mr. Hill’s name several times.

“Maybe he’s inside and he got hurt,” Frank wondered as he looked into the gloomy kitchen beyond the doorframe. He tentatively stepped inside.

Taking a deep breath to gather his courage, the dark-haired child moved into the house in search of the owner.

* * *

Fenton Hardy ran toward the sound of Sam Radley’s voice. If Sam had cried out, then something had gone wrong and Conley was most likely on the run.

Seeing Sam and a police officer running for the road, Fenton pressed on even harder and quickly caught up to his partner.

“What…happened?” Fenton panted.

“Conley…saw Greene,” Sam replied between gulps of breath. “He...took off…this way. My car’s…just up…the road.”

When they reached the road, Conley was no where in sight. Sam and Fenton started for Sam’s car. Just as they reached the vehicle, Sam remembered about Frank.

“Ah, Fent? Don’t be too hard on him, okay? He just wanted to help.”

“What are you talking about?” Fenton asked, totally perplexed by Sam’s sudden demeanor.

Sam opened the door. “Frank, your Dad’s here. Come on out.”

Stunned, Fenton glanced in the backseat. No one was there.

“What’s going on Sam?” Fenton asked, feeling a tumultuous blend of emotions running through his mind.

Sam quickly scanned the backseat, floor and under the old blanket. He looked back at his partner and realized there was no easy way to tell him what he needed to know.

Sam explained what had happened when he’d arrived as rapidly as the words would come, praying that his partner and best friend would one day be able to forgive him.

“Let’s go,” Fenton stated grimly after a moments hesitation. “Frank would head north, out of town, if he decided to go look for Joe. That’s the same direction Conley’s heading.”

“We’ll get to Frank before Conley does,” Sam said firmly. He pulled away from the pine woods onto the highway. 

“We’d better,” was Fenton’s only response.

* * *

Joe Hardy heard a voice and cringed deeper into the corner of the closet. He didn’t want the bad men to hurt him any more. His eyes grew wide with terror as footsteps approached the closet.

‘No, please, no!’ Joe silently pleaded.

“Mr. Mills! Are you here?” Frank called out.

Suddenly, Joe recognized the voice just outside the closet door. Ignoring the intense pain in his arm and shoulder, the spunky six-year-old kicked at the door with both feet.

Frank jumped away from the door in the hallway, nearly wetting himself from fright. He glared wide-eyed at the door for several seconds.

Getting his nerve again, he bravely pulled open the door, but quickly moved back out of range, should anything leap out at him.

Instead of some ferocious monster sounds, he heard a muffled cry for help. Frank peered into the closet from behind the door. His small features broke into a wide grin when he recognized his brother’s deep, blue eyes were staring back at him.

Frank patiently pulled the tape away from Joe’s mouth, but when his brother still couldn’t talk, the perceptive boy dashed to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water for the younger child.

Finally, as Joe recovered his voice, he told Frank about the bad men as he watched his older brother work feverishly to unwind the sticky tape that secured Joe’s wrists and ankles.

“We better hurry and get away, Joe,” Frank ordered as he helped his brother get painfully to his feet. “They could come back.”

The two boys were just out the back door and off the porch, when Joe let out a terrified scream. Frank looked to where his brother was staring and involuntarily took a step back.

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.