Frank woke a while later. He felt a cold draft. He shifted in his seat slightly trying not to wake Callie. He glanced around the dining room and realized everyone was asleep except for him. He glanced around the table. He saw Nancy’s eyes were open as she leaned against Ned.

Frank asked quietly, “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Nancy said softly.

“You don’t sound fine.”

Nancy sat up slowly without disturbing Ned. She leaned her elbows on the table as she looked at him. “I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

“What about it?”

“I think you had the right idea. I think he was the same man.” She looked down at her hands. “The more I think about it, the more familiar he seems to be. It has to be the same man. He must have escaped from the police somehow.”

“It’s just a shame we weren’t able to capture him,” Frank said. “I’m just aggravated I wasn’t able to stop him.”

“You kept him from hurting everyone. That’s all that matters.” Nancy looked at the door as the sound of wind picked up. “I wonder if he made it to shelter.”

“Why?”

“I just can’t picture anyone suffering in this storm. Besides, we need to catch him so he can stand trial.”

“Who knows if he made it, but we can’t worry about that now. We’re not going anywhere.”

“You’re right,” Nancy said and tried to stifle a yawn.

“Get some sleep, Nancy. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night, Frank.”

“Night.”

* * * * *

Nancy wasn’t sure how long she slept. Her body felt stiff and she wanted to go back to sleep. She was beginning to drift off when she felt someone kissing her. She kept her eyes closed as she smiled. A moment later, she opened her eyes. Ned was leaning over her, smiling.

She sat up and rubbed her face. When she opened her eyes, she noticed Callie, Joe and Vanessa were still sleeping. Frank was coming from the kitchen carrying a pitcher.

As Frank put the pitcher on the table, Carson picked it up and poured four cups of coffee. Frank announced, “The weather isn’t letting up one bit.”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a storm like this,” Carson remarked quietly.

“I just wish we weren’t cooped up in here,” Nancy said with a sigh.

“At least we’re together,” Ned said putting his arm around her shoulder.

“That’s true,” Nancy agreed. “But still, I wish the storm would let up.”

“I did see the plow go by while I was in the kitchen. But it’s still snowing awfully hard. There’s a good two feet out there already,” Frank said.

Joe started to stir. He lifted his head. He yawned and they saw his jaw pop. Joe opened his eyes and asked, “Where’s breakfast? I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry,” Nancy said.

“Can I help it if I’m a growing boy?” Joe asked with a grin.

A short while later a buffet was set up for everyone. The host tried to reassure the customers that they would be able to leave once the storm let up. But the longer they were stuck inside, the more restless everyone became.

* * * * *

The storm finally broke late in the afternoon. Frank, Joe and Ned helped the waiters clear a path to the parking lot. A plow had arrived and was slowly clearing the way so cars could get out. They cleaned off the snow and the customers left the restaurant, heading home.

Nancy got into the driver’s seat and drove home after promising to call Ned later. Whey they reached the Drew house, they saw a path had been made to the front door by one of the neighbors. They went inside and changed into warmer clothes so they could clean the driveway.

As Nancy was about to head up to her room, she saw the message light on the hall answering machine blinking. She hit the playback button.

“Nancy, Carson, it’s Hannah. I was just wondering if both of you were all right. I heard about the storm. I’m worried, please call me at my sisters.”

Nancy smiled. She knew Hannah always worried about them when she was away. Hannah had worried about her since she was three years old.

“Nancy, this if Officers Stifflen. You need to call the station immediately. The man that attacked you at the carnival is loose. Call the station as soon as you get this message.”

That was the last message. Nancy couldn’t believe it. She turned to see Carson standing behind her in the doorway. Carson spoke first. “I don’t think we have to worry about him.”

“Are you sure?”

“The security system is working. Besides, I don’t think anyone will be hiking through this snow.”

Nancy was quiet for a moment. “I guess you’re right, Dad.”

“I know I am.”

Nancy quickly dialed the police station. The officer on duty promised to have someone call her since it wasn’t an emergency. When she got off the phone, she dialed Ned’s house and left a message for her to call him as soon as he could.

After getting off the phone, Nancy quickly changed into warm clothes. She went outside with Callie and Vanessa and started to shovel the driveway.

* * * * *

Two hours later, Carson called Nancy to the phone. Carson handed her the cordless phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, Nancy. I just got your message. What’s up?”

“There’s something you should know.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“The guy from the festival escaped from police custody.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. The police left a message on our machine. But they didn’t go into details.”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“All right. Just be careful. If you need something, call me. I’ll come right over.”

“I promise. But I think I’ll be all right.”

“Okay,” Ned said. “I’ll call you in the morning. “I love you, Drew.”

“I love you,” Nancy said and disconnected the call.

* * * * *

Frank watched as Ned put the phone back on the receiver. He and Joe heard the message on the machine. They wondered why it was so important that Ned needed to call Nancy.

Ned turned to them and said, “Nancy got a phone call from the police.”

“What’s wrong?” Joe asked.

“The guy from the festival escaped from the police.”

“You’re kidding,” Joe said.

“How long has he been on the loose?” Frank asked at the same time.

“I don’t know. Nancy said she was waiting on word from the police.” Ned looked at Frank and Joe. “I don’t like this. Depending on when this guy got loose, he could’ve been the one at the restaurant last night.”

“This isn’t good,” Frank admitted.

“I just don’t like it,” Ned said. “But there’s nothing we can do about it tonight. All the girls are safe. Mr. Drew has the top of the line security system. No one will bother them tonight.”

“I hope you’re right,” Frank said.

“Come on,” Joe said. “The girls will be fine with Mr. Drew.”

“I guess you’re right,” Frank said. He looked at Ned. “Let us help you clean out the driveway.”

“You don’t have to.”

“It’ll help us get our minds off the girls.”

“All right then. Let’s get changed so we can get to work,” Ned said leading the way upstairs.

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.