"Joe, what is on your mind? You bring me out here and all we do is sit in silence listening to the radio," Iola Morton finally said as she broke the silence. Then she sighed as she looked at her boyfriend’s face. "It is Amelia, right?"

Joe nodded. "I just hate wasting time. I have a feeling we are going to need every minute we can get to find Quincy. But Frank said that we needed to start with the post office and they will be closed until seven in the morning!"

Iola understood his frustration. She wanted to help Amelia too. She snuggled up closer to Joe, who wrapped his arms around her tightly. Feeling his frustration, Iola tried to think of a solution. Then she thought of it.

"Why don’t we go and talk to Mr. Ryan. I bet he might know who is over the Patriot post office. I know it is smaller ours and probably only has one person who runs it. They are sure to know each other. It is only seven-thirty so we will not be too late," Iola said, sitting up in her seat.

"That is right! They all should know each other since Patriot is only 30-40 miles from here. Why didn’t I think of that!" Joe said as he reached over and started the engine.

"Because that is what I am for," Iola said with a giggle. Joe was like that when he got too involved in something. His emotions would block his brain, but that is what made him special. That is what made Frank and Joe Hardy an incredible team.

Joe drove back into town slowly. The roads were still icy in places from the early morning flurries and a few flakes were starting to fall. He pulled the van up in front of the house that sat right beside the Bayport Post Office. Praying that Mr. Ryan, the postmaster for over 25 years, was home, Joe rang the doorbell. His prayers were answered when a short, but stout older gentleman answered the door.

"Hi! Mr. Ryan, I am Iola Morton. You know my dad," Iola said, holding out her hand and flashing her best smile.

"Of course I do! And this is one of Fenton’s boys. What brings you here? Something I can help you with?" Mr. Ryan said, motioning for the couple to come in out of the cold. "Don’t mind the mess now. The wife is out getting more tape to finish wrapping everything."

"That is quite alright. We are just glad that you are home," Joe said, sitting down on the couch across from the fire in the fireplace. Iola sat down beside him while Mr. Ryan took his usual spot in his recliner.

"So what can I do for you?" Mr. Ryan asked after offering the teenagers something. Joe relayed the story about Amelia and trying to locate Quincy. Mr. Ryan stated that he did indeed know the lady who attended to the Patriot Post Office. Looking in his Rolodex next to his phone, he spotted the number and immediately plugged in the numbers. Luckily, the lady was home. Mr. Ryan handed the phone to Joe.

"Hi there! Mr. Ryan said that you are looking for ol’ Quincy Jenson. Just saw him today as a matter of fact. He came in to mail out his usual letter and check to his sister, picked up his supplies and went out of town on his bicycle. Very gruff man, but he has warmed up to me in the past two years," the lady commented.

"Would you happen to know where I could find him? It is sort of an emergency. His sister is really sick and asked us to find him," Joe explained.

"Let me think, I do recall one time he had a huge stove delivered to the post office. I drove out to the dead end road that runs off of the state forest road. I don’t know how he got it to where he lived, but he told me he would pull it with a sled. And he must have done just that. I so remember him telling me he lived in a cave across the river near the old train trestle."

"Can you give me directions?"

"Sure can," the lady replied. She gave him the directions and promised to be on the lookout for Quincy in case for some reason he came back into town. Joe wrote everything down and gave her three different phone numbers on where she could reach him. The lady bid him well wishes and said farewell.

"Thank you Mr. Ryan. You don’t know what this means to us!" Joe said excitedly. It made Iola feel better to see the life back into her boyfriend’s eyes. The young teenagers left the postmaster’s house and decided to go to the Bayport Police Department for a map of the area around the state forest.

Ezra Collig was on duty and almost hid when he saw the familiar bond headed kid walk through the door.

"Joe Hardy, don’t you guys ever take a day off?" Ezra commented with a smirk. "What request do you have that I am going to have to deny this time?"

"Now, now, it is Christmas!" Joe shot back with an ornery grin. "Don’t be a Grinch!"

Ezra just made a face at him and started sign some papers in front of him.

"Actually, it is an easy request. I just need to borrow a map," Joe asked the older policeman. The Hardys and Ezra Collig went way back.

"Did you finally forget your way home? I knew all those hits to the head was going to catch up with you one day," the policeman laughed, taking every chance to get in a few jibs at Joe. Joe just smirked back, allowing the chief to have his day.

Joe explained about needing to find Quincy Jenson and the directions that the Patriot postmistress gave him. Ezra quickly went to a file cabinet and pulled out an older map. He went to the copier and made three copies and came back to his desk. He looked at the set of directions and used a highlighter to mark the roads for Joe. After highlighting all three maps, Ezra handed two of them to Joe.

"Thank you, sir! But why did you keep that one for?" Joe asked, noticing that he only handed Joe two copies.

"When there is a Hardy involved, one may never know what you will need. I made one for you boys to use, one for your parents and a back up," the old cop said slyly.

"You don’t trust my orienteering skills?" Joe laughed.

"It is just I know you boys. Trouble follows you every where. Also, it is easy country to get lost in. Miles of nothing. I just want to make my job easier for when I have to send someone out there for you. Just do me a favor, don’t do it over the holidays. I am hoping to spend this one with my family and not having to bail you two out of one of your cases," Ezra said with a smile. He might be hard on the boys, but Joe knew that he enjoyed every minute of it and he did care about the boys a lot.

It was then nine o’clock and Joe and Iola decided to take Amelia’s gift to the nursing home to put it under the tree. Joe was afraid that he would not see her on Christmas Eve day and miss the annual Christmas party. Taking the red package with the silver bow, Joe and Iola went to the nurse’s station to give them the present.

"Could you please put this under the tree for Amelia Jenson?" Iola asked the nurse at the nurse’s station.

"Sure honey. Isn’t this your night off?" the nurse asked, recognizing Iola.

"Yes, but Joe wanted to make sure Amelia got her gift in case he missed the Christmas party. He is going to find her brother tomorrow," Iola answered. The nurse looked up at the couple with a grim look. "What is wrong?"

"I don’t know if I can say anything, but I think I should. Amelia is really sick. The HOSPICE doctor said that she has three days at the very most," the nurse said softly. Joe could not believe what he was hearing. Not Amelia, not now!

"Are you sure? She seemed to be doing better this afternoon when we talked to her," Joe commented.

"True, but you didn’t see her legs. Her legs are starting to get blue. That is not a good sign because that is a sign that the body is starting to slow down. She has been sick for so long and she has really lived longer than anyone ever expected her to in the first place. Can you believe that she is just 67 years old?" the nurse said sadly. It was apparent that she also liked Amelia, but also knew the medical facts. "I would have you go in and see her, but she is asleep. We gave her some pain medication."

Joe thanked the nurse and went back out to the van. He dialed his home phone number.

His mother answered, but he did not really give her much of a chance to speak.

"Mom, I have to go and find Amelia’s brother. I will have Iola explain it when she gets back into the nursing home. I am leaving her a map of where I am going," Joe said without talking a breath. "Is Frank there yet?"

"No, but Joe. You can’t go out on a night like this by yourself."

"I can’t waste time tracking Frank down either. Just tell him where I went and that I am leaving a map with Iola. She is going to stay here with Amelia," Joe said urgently. He was getting the maps out and handing one to Iola.

"As soon as your father gets here, I will go over and sit with Iola," Laura said reluctantly, but she knew that nothing was going to stop her son. "Be careful and you keep us posted on what is going on. Don’t take any chances. We have a snow storm moving in tomorrow."

Promising to be careful, Joe handed Iola Amelia’s gift and kissed her good-bye. Then he jumped in the van and started on the forty-five minute trip to where Quincy was believed to be staying. He knew that he might now be able to find him, but he owed it to Amelia to try. If it were his brother, he would hope that someone would do the same for him.

Meanwhile, Iola had just called Laura and filled her in on what was happening. Worried about Joe’s safety, Laura called around looking for Frank. She did not like the idea of Joe going off by himself in the middle of the night in the woods. But Frank was nowhere to be found. Shortly after ten, Callie’s car pulled in the driveway.

Mrs. Hardy met her eldest son at the door. She quickly brought Frank up to date on the latest news. Frank’s face grew grim as he heard about his brother’s whereabouts.

"I have to go and find him," Frank said. "I take it you have not heard the latest warnings."

"Warnings?"

"Yeah, that snow storm out over the ocean picked up speed. It is set to hit tonight," Frank said with a worried tone. ‘Has Dad made it in yet?"

"Sam is bringing him from the airport as we speak. I will wait for him to get in and then go over to the nursing home," Laura said. Frank could tell that she was starting to feel uneasy.

"Okay, I will go over and pick up that map. I will call you," Frank replied as he kissed her on the cheek. "Everything is going to be fine. You should know that Joe can handle himself and I won’t come back without him in one piece. I am going to take Dad’s car with me." Laura nodded and walked her son to the door. She watched as he got into the old brown sedan and drove off in search of Joe. Saying a small prayer, she waited for her husband to return home.

The snow was just starting to come down when Joe pulled the Hardys’ van down the dead end road that led to the whereabouts of Quincy Jenson. The cell phone was now dead so Joe hoped that the van would keep going in the snow, even though it was not snowing too hard. Nearing the end of the road, Joe got out a flashlight and his gloves and scanned the area for a pathway and footprints. Luckily, Joe spotted a set of footprints that led into the deep woods.

Joe hiked on for about a mile, following the tracks faithfully. The snow was starting to pick up a little and it was growing colder. Clutching the flashlight, Joe went on, ignoring the cold. He had to find Quincy and bring him back for Amelia. Walking for another half mile, Joe found himself at the end of an old train trestle that crossed the Greenbow River. The rails had long been removed and all that could be seen was a set of footprints that went across the old wooden ties. Not liking the idea of crossing the bridge in the dark, Joe had to muster up all of the courage in his body to take the first step onto the old bridge.

But he was still nervous, especially hearing the sound of the river rushing below him. There must be a set of rapids down below the train trestle. The youngest Hardy pressed on; clutching the flashlight like it was his lifeline. Nearing the end of the bridge, Joe started to allow his lungs to breathe deep breaths. He took a few more steps and then he heard something that he was not prepared to hear--- the sound of splintering wood. Taking a gulp of air and trying to remain calm, he tried to jump to the next tie, but the tie gave way underneath his weight. He felt the trestle tie give way underneath him and quickly grabbed for anything that he could get his hands on to break his fall. He caught his break by catching a hold of a lower beam, bringing his body to an aching halt. His flashlight landed on the bridge and was shining out straight out over the side of the bridge. Joe could see the white from the freezing rapids below him. Trying to wiggle his way back up to the top of the bridge, he was able to swing his feet up to the next tie. Pulling himself up, Joe almost reached the top of the bridge to safety. But the second railroad tie gave way underneath him. Not being able to catch his balance and sense of position, Joe Hardy felt himself falling through the air to the freezing whitewater below.

At the same moment in time, Frank Hardy was making his way through the woods. He had found the boys’ van and spotted the two sets of prints that went into the forest. Armed with a cell phone, rope and a flashlight, the older Hardy boy crept cautiously through the forest. The snow had stopped for a short while and the moon was trying to shine through the dark clouds. Feeling relieved to see Joe’s footprints; he felt at ease that at least his brother was fine. He could not believe that Joe would go off by himself and not wait for him. But then, Joe had been doing a lot of things by himself the past few weeks. That same ping of guilt hit him in the side. He had not been totally available to Joe lately. For the first time in their lives, Frank could not recall how school was going or how his brother was spending his time. Resolving to not take his brother for granted anymore, Frank pressed on looking for any sign of Joe.

Soon Frank saw a light that seemed to hang in space. Breaking into a jog, Frank was excited because he figured that it just had to be Joe.

"Joe!" Frank yelled out as he ran towards the light. "It’s Frank!"

But there was no answer. Coming out of the woods and into the clearing, Frank spotted the old train trestle that the footprints led out onto and across the river. Frank stopped for a moment. He could see the light still holding its spot on the bridge.

Joe must be afraid to answer me. I will just get up there and join him. If he can do it, I can do it. Frank thought to himself. Eager to meet up with his younger brother, Frank walked out onto the bridge and made his way to the light. But the nearer he got to the light, the more his stomach began to quiver. In the moonlight, Frank could not see any sign of his brother’s shadow. The hairs started to stand up on his back.

"Joe? Where are you? It is Frank," he called out again. But there was no answer or any signs of his brother’s presence. Then Frank saw the hole in the bridge where a tie once was, like someone or something had fallen though the bridge. Frank’s heart sprang out of his chest. He quickly shined his flashlight over the side of the bridge, hoping to see his brother hanging there waiting to be rescued.

But that was not the case.

All Frank Hardy saw was the whitewater flowing below unmercifully with no sign of Joe Hardy to be found.

Frank refused to believe his own eyes, for he knew what it meant if he did believe them. The water was freezing and the air temperature was well into the teens. Even if Joe were to have survived the fifteen-foot fall in to the cold whitewater, he would freeze to death quickly in his wet clothes. Frank again pointed the flashlight along the beams of the bridge and along the shoreline, but his brother was not there.

He called out his name several times, but there was no answer except for the rustling of the wind through the dead leaves that still clung to the hibernating trees.

His head sunk in defeat.