Hardy Boys -2: Secret of the Old Mill

The Hidden Connection

The Hardys left their house not long after Trudy got back. After a quick explanation of where they were going, they were gone.

"What should we be doing once we get there?" asked Joe as the family left the house behind.

"Well, for one thing, your job is to keep an eye on your two men. Your mother and I will focus on this Peters fellow and look for the inside man. There may even be a fifth man in this plan, in which case Ezra will have to take care of that, but I think there is something missing in all of this."

"What do you mean?" asked Frank.

"Primarily the counterfeit part. Why were these men doing that? Are they doing it as a side job, or was it their primary job and were brought into the plot because they were doing the counterfeits?"

"You mean, like, blackmail?" asked Joe, wrinkling his nose.

"Well, that's one way to get them involved, but it's more than likely because they were already doing criminal activity that bringing them on board for more criminal activity, and for the right price, made the most sense." Fenton shrugged. "But that's if they were doing the counterfeits first. They could have started after they got their jobs at the mill."

"Speaking of," said Frank, "we still haven't found their base of operations. And I for one would like to find it."

"I thought you said it was for sure in the cave?"

"We walked down that cave towards the old mill," said Joe, "but it was a dead end, or so it seems. There's got to be a hidden door in there somewhere, we just have to find it."

"And we should have some guys stationed at the cave especially towards the other tunnel. We didn't check it out, but we suspect that tunnel might open up near a beach and they might have a boat moored there."

Fenton nodded. "I think we can have Ezra arrange that. And since we really don't need you and your friends to help us, maybe you can start looking for that hidden door."

"But, what if we can only get to it from the other side?" said Joe. "We'd have to look for the entrance to that. The cave just might be the back door."

"But see, that doesn't make sense. If they knew for certain you wouldn't be able to get in from the cave, they wouldn't have felt the need to attack you," Fenton said matter-of-factly. He shook his head. "No, there is a way in, and they don't want you to find it. Clearly they know if you two look long and hard enough, you will find it." He paused. "Hmm, maybe that is the best plan of action. We'll keep an eye on the guards and keep them distracted while you and your friends search the cave. And I mean really search it. Split up into two groups, one group checks the one tunnel while the other checks the other side. See where that other tunnel does come out at. And if it is at the beach, we might have to call in the Coast Guard, just to be on the safe side."

Laura nodded. "I like that plan."

"It has your seal of approval, then I guess it's a go," Fenton shot her a grin.

Laura chuckled. "Yes it does."

"Yes!" shouted Joe. "We can finally really explore that cave without any interference!"

"But we will still be timed," said Frank. He glanced at his watch. "If we get there at five-thirty and we're expecting the bomb anywhere between six and eight, we'd only have two hours really, to search."

"Hmm," said their mother. "We could drop you off at a location close to the cave, but far away enough that those guards wouldn't see you, hopefully."

"I was thinking the same thing, but I thought it best that we check to see if the guards are at their post before the boys start their exploration."