Joe’s head was throbbing. He put his hand to his forehead keeping his eyes closed. He tried to figure out why his head hurt. He had no clue what happened. He knew they had gone to the apartment building. They had entered the room on the 13^th floor. Nancy was with him.  

He quickly opened his eyes. He wondered where Nancy was. He had to know if she was okay. As he looked around, he realized he was outside. He realized he was in his backyard.  

All of a sudden, he saw Nancy lying on the porch under the window. She was facing the house. He rolled onto his knees and crawled over to her. He reached her and gently shook her shoulder.  

Joe rolled Nancy onto her back. He gently tapped her face. “Come on, Nancy. Wake up.” Her eyes began to flutter. He continued calling her name.  

After a few minutes, Nancy opened her eyes. Joe could tell she was still out of it as she blinked a few times. She said, “Joe.”  

“How are you feeling?”  

“Lousy,” Nancy admitted. “What happened?”  

“What do you remember?”  

“We went into the room. I fell to the floor and saw two people.” Nancy closed her eyes.  

“What two people?” Joe asked softly.  

“One was Frank.”  

“Are you sure?”  

Nancy opened her eyes. “I’m sure.”  

Nancy struggled to sit up. Joe put his hands on her shoulders and helped her to a sitting position. He could see how pale her face was.  

"We should go inside,” Joe said.  

Nancy nodded slowly. Joe wrapped his arm around her shoulder and helped her to her feet. They made their way inside. They went through the kitchen into the living room. He could tell Nancy was more out of it and he originally thought when she stumbled along the way and clung to him to keep from falling down.  

They stepped into the living room and stopped quickly. Frank was sitting in the armchair. All of a sudden, Frank’s head turned quickly. Joe was surprised to see Frank there.  

Frank hurried over and took Nancy’s arm. He helped her over to the couch. They sat down together.  

“Where have you two been?” Frank asked. “I’ve been worried.”  

“How long have you been here?” Joe asked.  

“All night,” Frank answered. “I was worried when you didn’t come home.”  

Joe sat down keeping his eye on Frank. He couldn’t understand his brother. He knew Nancy had seen Frank at the apartment building. He knew she wouldn’t lie about something like that. Joe was confused.  

“Hey,” Frank said, breaking into Joe’s thoughts. “Are you all right?”  

Joe blinked. “I think so.”  

“I don’t believe you. You both look terrible.”  

Joe looked at Nancy. She was leaning back against the couch with her eyes closed. Her face was still pale. He looked back at Frank.  

“What happened?” Frank asked.  

“We both got knocked out,” Joe said, not willing to go into detail. “We woke up on the porch.”  

“You both should get checked by a doctor.”  

Nancy opened her eyes. “There’s no need for a doctor. We’ll be fine.”  

“I don’t believe you.”  

“We’ll both be fine.”  

“I think you should call Ned. He should know what happened.”  

“He doesn’t need to know. There’s nothing to tell him.”  

“I still think you should call Ned,” Frank said. “He might be concerned.”  

Joe stared at Frank. He couldn’t believe Frank was insisting Nancy call Ned. This wasn’t Frank’s normal behavior. Frank usually encouraged Nancy to do things on her own. I know Nancy is strong, Joe thought, and she doesn’t rung to Ned. I know Nancy can see the change in Fran. I can see she is as confused as I am.  

“I’ll talk to Ned.”  

Frank looked at Joe as he got to his feet. “I’ll make you both something to eat. You both need something in your stomachs.”  

Frank left the living room. Joe looked at Nancy. He said, “Frank needs help.”  

“He sure does. He’s trying to distract us. He doesn’t want us to investigate.”  

“You’re right, Nancy. We need to solve this soon.”  

At that moment, the telephone rang. Joe grabbed the extension in the living room. “Hello?”  

“Hey, Joe. It’s Ned.”  

Joe looked at Nancy. “Hang on. Nancy is right here.”  

He took the phone away from his ear and placed his hand over the receiver. Before he tossed the phone to Nancy, he said, “It’s Ned.”  

Nancy caught the phone and put it to her ear as Joe went into the kitchen. Joe saw Frank standing at the stove. Frank turned and asked, “Who is on the phone.”  

“Ned,” Joe said, sitting down at the table. He watched Frank. He had this feeling Frank had called Ned to call back and check up on Nancy. He knew he had no way to prove it though.  

A few minutes later, Nancy stepped into the kitchen. She sat down at the table across from Joe. Joe asked, “What did Ned want?”  

“He was checking on me. He was worried. He missed me.”  

“Why don’t you call Ned back and see if he wants to come to Bayport and join us for the Halloween party on Saturday?”  

“I don’t know,” Nancy said.  

“It’ll be fun,” Joe said.  

Frank turned away from the stove. “You don’t have to go to the party. You’ll probably be heading home soon anyway.”  

Joe looked at Nancy. He was shocked Frank was trying to get Nancy to leave. The phone rang again. Frank grabbed it first. Frank said, “Hello?”  

Frank left the kitchen, leaving them alone. Joe asked, “Why did Ned call?”  

“He was worried. He’s flying in tonight. He’ll be here around midnight.”  

“We need to solve this. Things are getting worse for Frank.”  

“You’re right. We need to get into the apartment. That’s the only way to find out what’s going on.”  

At that moment, Frank came back into the kitchen. Joe asked, “Who was on the phone?”  

“Callie.”  

“What did she want?”  

“She’s bugging me about the party. She wants me to go as Prince Charming. I want something more interesting as my costume.”  

“What will your costume be?” Nancy asked.  

“It’s going to be a surprise.”  

“What about you, Joe? What are you going as?”  

“Vanessa is picking out a costume. She’s going to drop it off later. Our costumes will go together.”  

Frank put a plate of eggs in front of both of them. Joe looked at the eggs. He felt his stomach drop. He knew he was feeling the effects of the gas. He looked at Nancy. Her face was turning green.  

“Thanks, Frank,” Joe said. “But I’m not hungry.”  

“Me either,” Nancy said.  

“You know, you don’t look good,” Frank said.  

“I’m going to go lie down. I don’t feel good.”  

“Let me help,” Frank said. He helped Nancy out of the kitchen.  

Joe watched as Frank helped Nancy. He knew she was feeling the after effects of the gas. He hoped she was going to be all right. He knew he needed her help to solve this. He hoped they could get through it.

 

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.