The Secret Of The Old Mill (1927) - Plot & Excerpts
I must say I had a very different childhood from everyone else in the neighbourhood or even in the crappy school i went to. Cos, while all the other girls played with dolls and dreamed of an early marriage, I used to spend endless hours reading Hardy Boys mysteries. My dad was the one (as usual) who introduced me to these two fearless American brothers when I was 7 or 8. The Clue of the Screeching Owl (Hardy Boys who else) was the first real book that was presented to me at a special family event by my Dad. My older cousin who in those days was quite into taming me to be a perfect obedient wife, was a bit jealous when he took the book my dad had gifted on my special day, but smiled well with what he had wrote. (He's happily married now). I have chosen this book for my review cos I always liked its cover the best. The Hardy boys books were available at my local book store only, which was right round the corner. And the pictures were always different, I have a hard cover of this book and it looks exactly the same. So, my most memorable summers were when I would force all the males in the house (just my dad and my brother) to beg borrow and get every copy they could ever find from neighbours, even private collections from other lanes we used to visit in the old city. It was a crazy innocent time, I didn't know anything about where I lived or even who I lived with in the outside world. Just our playfriends and cousins and dreams and American books and movies. The secret of the old mill , is about Frank, Joe and all their girlfriends (just two) and their old friend Chet and his old car and how they sneak into an old mill and solve an exciting mystery. Their father is a famous detective and their mom is a perfect housewife, their Aunt Gertrude always comes over for a stay and bakes cakes and cookies for the boys and always fears they will die or something. Frank's girlfriend is Callie and Joe's girlfriend is Iola, we never get to know the girls and that is the best part, lol, but they are always around to help out the brave brothers. If you follow the series, we get introduced to several of their other friends, including Biff whose dad is a realtor, and they live in this small town called Bayport and even have their own boat. Oh man what I would do to go back to those old days. It got so bad, the bookstore guy used to smile everytime my dad went over and said, 'we didn't get the new book yet'. One of my girl cousins was so well girly but she liked my Hardy Boys book (the one i lent her) better than her nancy Drew one and our affection knew no bounds. Someone in school offered me their Nancy Drew, I did read some of those books, but somehow my heart will always be with the Hardys. I even told everyone how I had special feelings for Frank Hardy and just why, Franklin Dixon doesn't describe a lot, it's just like a small book but his stories painted images I will always remember as my very own special memories.
This book is the original story, written in 1927. It was also the third book in the series, and reading it in retrospect, it is easy to see that the long-term plot lines were just being developed. They are still very much portrayed as young boys, they complain about school and play absurd jokes on each other. Chet Morton is portrayed as a practical joker that simply will not let up. The story also has an interesting and absurd event that dates it. The Hardy boys, Chet Morton, Biff Hooper, Tony Prito and Jerry Gilroy are out walking on country roads en route to a picnic. Fed up with Chet’s practical jokes, they turn the tables. They capture Chet and “forcibly divested him of his hiking-boots, socks and necktie.” The idea that a sixteen-year-old boy would wear a necktie on a hike in the country is absurd now, yet not unusual in the 1920’s. The story itself is typical early Hardy boys, before they became fighters and were knocked unconscious on a regular basis. A gang of counterfeiters has moved into Bayport and the Hardy boys are among the many people who lost money. This is also the episode where they acquire their speedboat “The Sleuth” and it figures prominently in the solution of the case. The boys discover that the counterfeiters are producing the money in an old gristmill and wisely get their father and the police rather than challenge the criminals. The criminals are captured and the Hardy boys are once again praised for their intelligence and detecting ability. This is an old story that is probably of interest only to people who are interested in the development of the Hardy boys series from the start in the middle of the 1920’s to what it is today. This review also appears on Amazon
What do You think about The Secret Of The Old Mill (1927)?
The Hardy Boys may have been the first reading experience where a fellow school friend turned me on to it. So, this was last year. Kidding!But really, I remember going to my friend's house who was a couple of doors away from me, and he had the whole collection of Hardy Boys. Most of it were old, and I gather he got them used or his parents just hand them their copies which they saved for some reason.Nevertheless as a small teenie bopper, I went to many used bookstores and picked up the Hardy Boys books as well as Tom Swift Jr. Both titles had a strong effect on my reading tastes - even today.So yes, Frank and Joe Hardy and their detective Dad solved mysteries that took place in their neighborhood - or not far from their high school. And like Fantomas, it was remarkable that so much evil can be done right in the bright sunlight or next door to your house! I bet David Lynch is a fan of the Hardy Boys. There is a bit of Hardy Boys in Blue Velvet - and for sure in the new Thomas Pynchon novel as well. Right Chums!?
—Tosh
The Secret of the Old Mill is the third book in the original Hardy Boys Mystery Series which encompasses some 58 volumes and was published from 1927 to 1979. It was ghostwritten by Canadian journalist and filmmaker Leslie MacFarlane (1902-1977) who followed an outline supplied by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book packager of several children’s series including Nancy Drew, Tom Swift and the Bobbsey Twins series. As are the current Hardy Boys books, The Secret of the Old Mill was published under the penname Franklin W. Dixon.In the present book, the brothers go with their friend Chet Morton to pick up a microscope he’s been saving for. On the way, they prevent a younger boy on a bike, Ken Blake, from being run over by a car. He tells them about his Belgian bike. Though he’s proud to have a job, he’s evasive about what it is that he’s doing. The brothers notice that he’s carrying an envelope addressed to one Victor Peters.Much to his chagrin, Chet is informed while purchasing his microscope that one of his twenty dollar bills is a counterfeit!Please read the rest of the review here.
—Denise
I’m collecting both ‘Stratemeyer Syndicate’ series. By coincidence of reaching “Hardy Boys” #3 back-to-back with “Nancy Drew” #6: “The Secret Of Red Gate Farm”; I stumbled upon duplicated subject matter. It stands out because both volumes deal with counterfeiting and laundering currency and it strikes me as a crude subject for the youths targeted by these series. I’m an adult who didn’t mind this theme. Perhaps the all-age success may attribute partly to presenting topics worth warning audiences about and because each book’s adventures are rather bold.By now, we know the Hardy family and circle of friends very well. I sink better into novels past introductory stages. I’d like to see Laura Hardy more but at last, we have the pleasure of her name. I don’t find ‘Aunt Gertrude’ a necessary character but Fenton having a sister adds a dimension of reality. We acquaint Chet Morten’s parents better. My complaint is if the lad lost out on $20.00 as a result of counterfeiting; most parents would replace the sum rather than lend it with expectation of repayment. It’s much harder for him to earn it than his real estate Father. These novels already emphasize honest values and a sense of loyalty. That ensures their appeal too. At a moment’s notice any friend will help each other for any reason; heedlessly inserting themselves in dangerous situations. In fact I find their parents lackadaisical about that.Fenton is on a confidential case, as his sons investigate Chet’s forged money. Frequent encounters with a suspicious boy are coincidental but this story is mostly driven by dogged sleuthing. Keen observation must be credited for maximizing moments of happenstance. Most would be oblivious to the significance the Hardys glean. Additionally caves, cats, and secret rooms are forever guaranteed as sources of delight for me!
—C.
