Nancy and Joe, having escaped their bonds, snuck back up to the main deck. They quickly spotted the bad guy and hid behind a large crate that was just sitting there for no apparent reason. Joe then risked a glance and determined that the man was occupied with eating dinner.

"Okay Nancy," he whispered, "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I spotted a boat headed in our direction. The bad news is that if he looks up from his tuna salad, he will surely spot it and speed this boat up so that they can't catch us."

"Well then, there is only one thing that we can do."

Nancy stood up and threw the crowbar that was lying next to the crate at the man. It hit his shin and he stood up, cursing like the sailor that he was. Nancy and Joe then ran as the irate Russian hopped angrily towards them. The ensuing chase lasted long enough for the other boat to catch up to them and Frank, Chet, Bess and George scrambled onto the boat.

Upon facing a fight that was five to one (even he could tell that Bess was less than useless) the man surrendered, "I give up. I give up! Did you have to tie me up so tight? I'm losing circulation."

"Well, this is what you get for stealing all those Christmas trees!" Joe declared as Chet called the authorities.

"You get this all wrong. We smuggle Christams trees into US."

Joe cocked his head, "Say what now?"

The Russian rolled his eyes, "My nephew, Vladmir, he is very thick. I say to him, 'Vladmir, we need to find something new to smuggle in our guns with. The police are knowing about the crates of fish trick.' To this he says, 'Ah, uncle, I know the perfect thing. I will take care of everything.' How do I know that he means to hide our weapons in among crates of trees? I know how to sell hundreds of fish, how do I sell hundreds of Christmas trees? I do not imagine that any of you fine children would like to buy some, yes?"

"From you?"

"Who else?"

"After we've tied you up, called the police and are awaiting their arrival?"

"Da."

"In July?"

"Well…they are wonderful trees, last all the way until December, no problem!"

"Yeah, I think we'll pass on that offer," Frank frowned.

"For you, 50% off. In truth, we make most of our money from the illegal guns."

"Still, no."

"Ah, you want to bargain! 75% off. This is my final offer."

George raised her eyebrows, "No, means no. We aren't interested in your Christmas trees."

"Yeah," Chet chimed in. "Why don't you just open up a stand by the side of the road and sell them like a normal mafia henchman who imported fir trees from Russia along with a small arsenal on the advice of his unintelligent relative."

The man sighed, "You need a permit for that."

A few minutes later the police arrived on the scene. The teens pointed to the bad guy and then to the docks just visible in the distance. The police nodded and dragged the criminal away.

Nancy turned to Frank, "Well I guess this is it then."

Frank smiled, "Maybe we could get some coffee before I go?"

"Did someone say coffee?" Joe interrupted.

"Oh, I know this great place," Bess added.

"Paulo's over on main street?" George asked.

"They have the best pizza ever." Chet's eyes gleamed.

It was Nancy's turn to smile, "Yes, let's all go get something to eat. I'm starving."

Here ends the mystery of the stolen Christmas. Will any of our heroes need to testify in court about this sometime in the future? Will the police question them extensively instead of just taking their word for it? The answer to these questions is yes. Will you, the reader, ever hear more about this? No, I'm afraid not.