"I never thought of that," Joe admitted. "It isn't a bad idea. I'm willing to try it." "It will be risky, of course. But I'm practically convinced that the old mill is where this counterfeit money is coming from. The only way we'll ever find out is to go there ourselves. If we told the town police what we suspected they would only laugh at us and probably they'd be so clumsy about taking any action that the counterfeiters would get wind of it. The only way is to keep it to ourselves and go out there quietly and see what we can find." "How can we get out to-night? Mother won't let us go. She'll be afraid we'll get hurt." "I hate to do anything underhand, but it's our only chance. We'll go out for a motorcycle trip this evening, and as soon as it gets dark we'll head for the mill. We should reach there about ten o'clock. We'll park the bikes a good distance away from the mill, so they won't hear us coming, and then we'll walk the rest of the way." "If we get the goods on the counterfeiters we'll be heroes. If we don't we'll catch a lecture for staying out late." "We'll just have to take our chance on that. But I think that if everything goes well we won't get any lecture." "How'll we get into the mill?" asked Joe. "We'll have to wait until we get there before we lay our plans. I've sort of forgotten the layout of the place. But if we work it right I think we should be able to get inside. I'd like to get into that mysterious stone room that Lester mentioned, and see what sort of machinery they have in there. I'll bet it's an engraving plant and a printing press instead of a patent breakfast food machine." "What if we're caught--" "That's a chance we're taking. We've got to risk it. What if we find that the place is really the headquarters of this counterfeit gang? Look at it that way." So for the rest of the evening the boys were conspicuously studious. They were occupied with their books until twilight fell, after which Frank yawned and murmured that he would like a breath of fresh air. "Think I'll go out for a little spin on the motorcycle," he said casually. "I'll go with you," observed Joe promptly. Fenton Hardy looked up. "Yes, you've been in the house all evening. Go ahead." "Don't be long," advised Mrs. Hardy. "We won't be any longer than we can help," said Frank mysteriously. With that, the Hardy boys left the house and went out to the garage for their motorcycles. They drove around the streets of Bayport for some time until at last it grew darker. Then they headed their machines out toward the shore road. The moon was just rising over the bay when they left the city, and they drove at good speed into the country. "Now to tackle the old mill!" exclaimed Frank. CHAPTER XXI AT THE MILL