A few minutes later, Nancy slowly lifted her head. She realized Joe, Callie and Vanessa were still under the table. Joe had shielded them both with his body. She slowly got to her feet and looked around.

There was a large hole in the wall. The front end of the car was in the dining room. Snow was blowing in. She glanced in the other direction and saw the rest of the restaurant patrons were shaken, but unhurt.

“Is everyone all right?” a voice asked behind her.

She quickly turned and saw Frank standing there. He looked stunned. She responded, “I think we’re okay.”

“Joe? Callie? Vanessa?”

“We’re fine,” Callie said shakily as she stood up slowly. She slowly hurried to Frank and gave him a hug. “What about you?”

“I’m okay, but the man got away.”

“He won’t get far,” Nancy said as Ned stood up beside her. “This storm is bad. If he’s out there, he’ll be lucky to survive the night.”

At that moment, the host came over to see of everyone was all right. He calmly instructed everyone to move into the private dining room while the staff boarded up the broken window.

Nancy went back to the table and pulled her engagement ring out from under her napkin. She slid the ring back on her finger and look at her dad. He had a rather dazed expression on his face and she then saw a deep gash on his forehead. “Dad, you’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing,” Carson said pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and pressing it against his forehead.

“Come on. Let’s go into the other room.” She helped Carson to his feet and they followed the others.

As they sat down in the private dining room, waiters came in with towels for those who had been cut by flying glass. They also brought out a first aid kit. Nancy cleaned out the wound on Carson’s forehead. She had just finished when the host stepped into the room. The host said, “May I have everyone’s attention?” The room grew quiet. “I have contacted the police, but it seems it will be a while. River Heights is in the midst of a severe snowstorm. We may not see an officer until morning at the earliest.”

Vanessa looked at the others and asked, “Does this mean we’ll be stuck here all night?”

“I think so,” Joe said. “We might as well find a spot to crash for the night.”

* * * * *

Half an hour later, the power went out in the restaurant. Waiters came into the room and placed oil lamps and candles on all the tables. They returned a few minutes later bringing the patrons their coats.

Nancy sat with her back to the wall with Ned on one side and Carson on the other. From where she was sitting, she could see the entire dining room. Callie and Frank were seated beside Ned. Callie said, “I can’t believe that guy got away.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Frank said. “The good thing is no one was hurt.”

“Frank’s right,” Nancy said.

“I don’t understand why you confronted the guy,” Vanessa said.

“He seemed like he wanted to use Nancy as a shield. I couldn’t see him doing that.”

“Luckily he’s gone and we’re all safe,” Nancy said.

As they sat there, Frank began to think about the man. He had this feeling they’d met before, but he couldn’t place it. He knew the man needed to be caught. He leaned back in his chair and glanced around the table. He realized Nancy was staring at him. “Frank, what’s wrong? You seem miles away.”

“There was something about that guy that seemed familiar.”

“What do you mean?” Nancy asked putting her elbows on the table.

“There’s something about the guy that’s been bothering me. I just can’t put my finger on it.”

“There has to be a reason.”

“Well,” Frank began. “There was something about his voice.” All of a sudden he realized the voice. “Nancy, that voice belonged to the guy that held the knife to you yesterday.”

“Who held a knife to you?” Carson asked.

“Sorry,” Frank said, realizing Nancy had not told her father about the incident.

“It’s all right.” Nancy turned to Carson and told him what happened the previous day at the festival.

When she finished, Carson was quiet for a moment. Carson finally said, “So, you think the man who was here tonight was the same one you ran into yesterday.”

“It’s a possibility,” Frank said. “The voice seemed familiar. He was also the same build, but he’s supposed to be in police custody.”

“The only way to know for sure is to check with the police to see of he’s still there,” Carson said.

“That’ll have to wait,” Nancy said. “We won’t be able to do anything until the storm breaks.”

“At least we’re not stuck out in the storm,” Ned said putting his arm on the back of Nancy’s chair.

“I just can’t believe this happened now,” Nancy said leaning back.

“Don’t worry about it,” Joe said.

“At least this storm happened now instead of at your wedding,” Frank said.

“You’re right,” Nancy said as Ned nodded his head in agreement.

* * * * *

As the night wore on, the dining room grew quiet. Everyone tried to get some sleep since they were unsure how long they would be stuck in the restaurant. As Nancy leaned against Ned, she felt him wrap his arms around her and pull her close. She could hear the wind blowing outside.

She glanced at the others. Her father was asleep with his head on the table. Joe and Vanessa had their heads the same way. Frank was leaning back with Callie’s head on his shoulder.

Nancy said quietly to Ned, “I wonder how long we’ll be stuck.”

“I don’t know,” Ned said. “From the sounds of it, the storm is still going strong.”

Nancy shivered. She felt Ned pull her even closer. She felt Ned drape his coat over her shoulders and hold her tight. She knew things were all right. She things would be just fine and she drifted to sleep.

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.