While Fenton had dozed off, Frank was sitting there sorting out his thoughts. He wanted to desperately wake his father up and drive the van down into the valley on the abandoned road. However, he knew the van would never make the trip with the road conditions and his father was exhausted.  The older brother tried to rest, but he just couldn’t. He was too busy praying that Joe and Iola were alive and well He wanted the nightmare to stop. It was then that he heard a vehicle in the distance.  Frank got up and looked out the back windows of the van. He could see headlights coming in a distance.  Frank’s heart raced as the headlights came closer and closer until they were right behind them.  

“Dad! Get up! Mr. Morton is here,” Frank exclaimed as he unlocked the back door and got out to meet Mr. Morton, Chet and Biff. Fenton jumped up and was beside Frank by the time they got out of the truck.  

In the headlights, he could see the stress on Mr. Morton’s face. Chet was usually quiet, but he seemed ready to go. Biff was always ready to go on any mission, especially rescue missions.  

“Have you heard anything?” Mr. Morton asked.  

Mr. Hardy quickly got the rest of the search party caught up on the events of the day and their plan to search down the old abandoned road.  Frank was eager to go and was ready to make tracks.  

“What are we waiting for? Mr. Morton’s truck is a four wheel drive,” Frank eagerly pressed.  

“As much as I want to find them, I know that we are going to have to wait for daybreak.  It is going to be too hard to see tonight with all of the glare from the ice and such. We had a hard time just getting here,” Mr. Morton sadly replied. “As soon as we have light, we will go.”  

Reluctantly, they all agreed and piled into the van to get a little sleep before the sun rose.  As Frank started to nod off to sleep, his thoughts were with his brother and Iola.  

Just hang on for a little while longer. I am coming to get you brother and bring you home where you belong.  

 

As soon as a small trickle of light made it into the van’s windows, Frank was up and ready to go.  While the van was not the most comfortable place to sleep for the night, it was just good enough to keep the rescue team up to snuff. After quickly eating some cereal bars that were in the van, the group decided to split in two.  Mr. Morton and Mr. Hardy would remain at the van in case anyone found anything or needed help. They also wanted to make sure that if Joe and Iola found the road, that there would be someone to greet them at the van in case they needed immediate medical attention.  Biff, Chet and Frank piled into the truck and proceeded cautiously down the old road.  

The ice was very slick, but the truck seemed to gain a little traction from the terrain of the road. While it was still a very tedious drive, the boys pushed on hoping to find Joe and Iola.  

After a few miles, Chet asked, “Are you sure that there is something down this road?  It looks like no one has even been down this way in years.”  

“Sergeant Davies mentioned a hunter’s cabin down this way yesterday. I want to make sure that there is no one there and if there is someone there, they might know where we can look,” Frank explained as he scanned the countryside.  

“That is a slim chance you’re taking there Franklin,” Chet said, keeping his attention to the road as the truck dug for traction on the ice covered road.  

“It is a chance we have to take Chester,” Frank replied, not even taking his eyes off of their surroundings.  

Chet sighed.  “You’re right. I guess I am just afraid to even think that they are alive.”  

“Me too. But Chet, there is just something telling me that we are going to find them.”  

“Then we will find them,” Biff said with determination.  The rest of the ride was in silence. After traveling a few harrowing miles, slipping and sliding all over the road, Biff’s eyes spotted something.  

“Is that smoke up ahead?” Biff asked, straining his eyes to see in the early light of dawn.

Chet stopped the truck and studied the faint stream of gray that led up to the sky over the next horizon.  Frank felt his heart jump out of his chest.  

Without a word, Chet instantly drove on until they reached the next ridge line.  

“Look down there!  There is a cabin down there with smoke coming out of the chimney,” Chet exclaimed, his eyes wide open at the sight.  

“Well, let’s go see if they can help us,” Frank said, leaning forward to study the area more.

Slowly, but anxiously Chet steered the truck down the steep slope towards the cabin.  He was almost there when Frank told him to stop.  

“We had better leave the truck here. We don’t know who is down there and maybe we should check the situation out before we go possibly inviting trouble,” Frank stated in a calm, but nervous tone.  “Biff and I will...”  

But Chet cut in. “It is my sister and I am going too.”  

“But we need someone to stay here at the truck in case we need to make a quick getaway,” Frank replied, looking over at his friend in the driver’s seat.  

“Biff can take over. I need a break anyway,” Chet answered sternly. “Besides, I deserve to be able to go. My little sister might be down there you know.”  

Frank nodded. He knew Chet was right. While Iola was Joe’s old girlfriend, she was also Chet’s younger sister. Nothing would have stopped Frank from going down there.  Both boys got out of the truck as Biff slid behind the wheel.  They walked carefully and quietly to the cabin and peered in the window.  

“Do you see anything?” Chet whispered, trying to see through the ice covered window.  

Frank shook his head “no”.  Then he pointed towards the door and crept over to the door. Chet was right behind him as he turned the door knob and softly opened the door enough to peer in through the crack.  

Frank saw clothes on the floor along with a can of baked beans. Then he spotted what appeared to be a bed on the other side of the fireplace. His mouth ran dry when he realized that there was someone sleeping in it.  It had to be more than one person because there were two sets of sweatshirts and pants… unless they were both owned by the same person.  

Normally Frank would have been more careful, but his gut instinct was pushing him to go on inside.  Frank quietly walked into the cabin and over to the bed where there was a huge figure under the covers.  Chet closed the door and stood by it in case there was trouble. He could not believe that Frank was being so impetuous. Usually the oldest brother was more level-headed.  

Creeping slowly, but surely across the wooden floor Frank spotted blond hair sticking out of the top of the blanket.  His heart skipped a beat.  

“Joe? Is that you?” Frank called out in a whisper.  

There was no response. Just the sound of heavy breathing that comes from a deep slumber.  Standing beside the bed, Frank ever so slightly lifted the covers. He could not believe the sight that was before him. He jumped back as if he had seen a ghost.  It was then that the figure in the bed moved. Two heads popped out from under the covers. Chet was in such shock at what he saw that he could not move or even breathe. Voices started to pierce the silence.  

“Frank?”  

“Joe?”  

“CHET!” a female voice cried out and the figure ran to the unsuspecting boy and embraced him before he had a chance to even think.  

“FRANK!” Joe exclaimed as he finally had his prayers answered. There standing in front of him was his older brother.  “I knew you would find us.”  

At that, Frank raced forward and hugged his brother tightly. It was a long while before either set of siblings let go of each other. It was a long awaited reunion that was thought to never be possible.  Biff came down and stopped at the door. His smile said it all as he watched the Mortons and the Hardys together again.  

Iola then rushed over to Frank to hug him.  

“I am so happy to see you again,” She said as she hugged him fiercely.  

Chet came over and looked Joe in the eyes as he sat on the bed.  “Thank you for bringing my sister back. I knew that you would take care of her if you both were out here.”  

“Actually it was your sister who took care of me,” Joe acknowledged with a smile.  He quickly recalled the past events including his near drowning in the creek.  “I would not be alive if it was not for her.”  

Iola blushed and came over and kissed him.  

“Are you ready to go home?” Frank asked the weary couple with a smile.  

“Am I ever!” Iola responded tearfully. “I can’t wait to be home and in my own clothes, my own house with my family and of course, Joe.”  

Joe tried to stand up, but again once he stood up the pain from his ankle made him sit back down.  

“Its okay little brother,” Frank chided. “We’ll carry you.”  

Instead of making a remark or rolling his eyes, Joe just closed his eyes and wanted to make sure he was not dreaming. He had waited so long to hear those words. In fact, Joe wondered if he would ever hear them again at times. Now it was all over. He was going home…and bringing Iola with him.

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.