“No!” Frank screamed through the hand as he began struggling.  A blow to the side of his head ceased his movements.  

“We can’t get him out of here now,” Tim complained looking at the slumping form held vaguely upright by Hamby and Stevens.  “There are still too many people around.”  

“Get some rope and duct tape,” Jennings ordered his son.  “We’ll leave him here until later.  For now, we have another kid to deal with.”  

“Can’t we wait until we take this one?” Hamby whined.  “It’s a long hike from the road to the cabin.”  

“You’re just out of shape,” Stevens told him snidely.  

“Wait if you like,” Jennings said.  “As a matter of fact, let this one watch you finish the other one off,” he decided.  “Then he can tell his father we don’t bluff.”  

***  

“Fenton, I’m glad you called,” Chief Collig said when he picked up the phone from the end table beside his sofa.  

“Sorry to call you at home,” Fenton apologized.  “But this is the first opportunity I have had to call.”  

“Don’t worry about it,” the chief told him.  “The agents all checked out,” he said.  “Billings was the agent who was on duty both times the envelopes were delivered but his only crime was negligence.  He kept slipping off for a smoke.”  

“Peachy,” grumbled Fenton.  

“I talked with Blaine,” Collig continued.  “Billings will be reprimanded.  As for the others, they all have exemplary  records and none of them have had any contact with Stevens or Hamby that we could discover.  For that matter, except for Kappan, this is the first time any of the men have been in this part of the country in over a year.  Kappan has family in New York City,” Collig explained.  

“Have you heard from Frank?” Fenton inquired.  

“No,” Collig informed the worried father.  “But I did hear from one of his friends.  Phil Cohen called because he was worried.  Apparently, Frank learned  that Hamby and Stevens have a contact at the mall and he was going to search that person out.  I had Riley check the tapes in mall security and he saw Frank going into the hardware store right before they closed.  He probably left by their private entrance.”  

“Or not,” Fenton said, a horrifying thought coming to him.  “Can you run a background check on Jennings?” he requested.  

“Sure,” Collig agreed.  “But why?”  

“Just a feeling,” Fenton said.  “It is possible he was in on Joe’s kidnapping and if that’s the case then they may have Frank too.”  

“If that were the case then Frank would still be in the mall,” Collig told him.  “After Phil told me about the reason Frank was going to the mall I set up sentries at each entry.  If they show up, or if anyone tries to leave after hours, then we will know about it.”  

“Thank you,” Fenton said.  “One more favor?” he asked.  “I need a check on Anthony Ferguson.  He’s part of hotel security.”  

“Give me thirty minutes,” Collig said.  

“Thanks again,” Fenton said before hanging up.  

When Fenton called back thirty minutes later there was no answer.  His brow wrinkling in concern, he called the police station and requested to be put in touch with the chief.  

“Fenton,” Ezra’s voice came over the line.  “Ferguson and Jennings are first cousins.  Hamby, Stevens and Jennings’ son arrived at the mall five minutes ago.”  

“Don’t apprehend them,” Fenton said.  “They probably do have Frank and if so they will take him to wherever they are holding Joe.”  

“Way ahead of you,” Collig said.  “I’ve given orders for surveillance only.  If they leave, they will be followed in unmarked cars.”  

“Where are you?” Fenton inquired.  

“On my way to headquarters,” Collig replied.  “I intend to stay on top of this.”  

“I’ll meet you there,” Fenton said.  “But first I’m going to feed Ferguson a little false information.”  

***  

“Let’s go,” Tim said, pulling Frank to his feet.  

“Where is your dad?” Stevens asked.  “I thought he was going to meet us here.”  

“He went to see Anthony,” Tim said with a shake of his head.  “Then he was going straight to the cabin.”  

***  

Joe’s eyes opened slowly.  The room was dark with only a hint of light shining around the cracks of the cellar door.  He shut his eyes tight as a wave of pain rocked him.  His side hurt and he was hot and oh so very thirsty.  Not a good sign, he knew.  

He had to get free.  If he didn’t get help soon he knew he would die.  He jerked his hands only to feel the ropes constrict his throat.  How was he supposed to get out of these?  He took a deep breath and began twisting his wrists.   

He was burning up and sweating and the sweat provided some measure of resistance to the ropes.  Every sixty seconds he would stop moving and relax.  Then he would breathe and cough before taking another breath and starting again.  It was a tedious task and surely took a good hour to accomplish but he did manage to get the ropes off of his wrists.   

He gingerly removed the balance of his restraints and got to his hands and knees.  He got shakily to his feet and made his way to the steps.  He was lucky the door hadn’t been locked.  Breathing heavily, his gaze wandered to the kitchen where a jug of water sat on the countertop.  Resisting the urge to go after it he moved to the front door.  He stopped and rested his body briefly against the doorframe, listening.  Nothing but the normal sounds of the woods.  

He untwisted the feeble lock on the door and opened it wide. With a shaky hand, he pulled it closed, forgetting about the lock because they would know he was gone soon enough anyway.   Holding his swollen side, he began the long, arduous journey from the cabin to the road.  

Several times he had to stop and lean against a tree for support but he always started his trek again.  By the time he reached the road his head was swimming and his vision was blurred.  He fell to his knees as a car screeched to a halt inches from him.  He fell to the hard ground as the vehicle’s occupant came to stand over him.  The last thing Joe could make out was grim satisfaction registering on the face of a stranger.

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.