The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene (April 1930, revised 1959, 1987) Part 2

Dedication is something many strive for in their lives, even though Nancy has shown herself being dedicated to helping these family members effected by Josiah Crowley's will. Nancy would be the first role model within a fictional sense that I would have been impacted by to influence my choices to show dedication in what I do. To this day I put a lot of dedication into my work, to serve and help others. Not everyone is comfortable helping people they do not know. I see new faces everyday at work, and even talk to people on the phone. Yes, at times its a little uneasy for me being an introvert, but being able to help others, it pushes me to get past the uncertainty by reminding myself that they are asking me for help and I am there to help meet their needs to the best of my ability.

In the previous chapter, Nancy had discovered that the Topham girls' were talking of Josiah's Crowley's will. And they thought it was possible there was a second will. She decides to go and talk with the two aunt's to see if they knew of anyone else who might remember details about Josiah's will. While speaking them she plays badminton with Judy and stays with them for lunch. They tell her of an elderly woman named Mrs. Rowen and two brothers, the Mathews

Upon arriving on their property Nancy is attacked by a dog. She is not harmed and has a chance to speak to the Mathews brothers but they didn't give her any helpful information. The next day she calls on Mrs. Rowen. Nancy has to end up helping her with some things since she lives by herself and and never gets many visitors. Her memory was not the greatest but she was getting bits of memory back when the clocked chimed. From this Nancy learned that she must look for Josiah Crowley's mantel clock, as it may have a clue as to where his will might be.

Knowing that the Topham's ended up with all of Josiah's belongings, Nancy would have to find someway to talk to them and find out where that clock was. She runs into a friend of hers, Helen Corning. She is selling tickets to a charity ball in town. Nancy decides to use this as an excuse to enter the home of the Topham's. Through this sneaky plan she makes her way into the home, manages to sell the tickets and discovers that the Topham's have the clock at their cabin on the shore of moon lake.

Helen just so happened to be at moon lake for a girl's camp at Camp Avondale. So Nancy visits her out there as an excuse to get a chance to get to the Topham's cabin. She is able to get away from camp activities and tries to cross the lake in a motor boat, but it has motor trouble and she has to go back to the camp. After leaving the camp, she decides to go by car and follow the road around the lake to get to the cabin.

When she arrives at the cabin, there are items out on the lawn and the doors are open on the cabin. She hears some voices outside and recognizes the moving van that almost hit Judy. In attempts to hide from the men, she is caught by them and locked inside a stuffy closet. Running out air she tries desperately to escape, and hears a man's voice. Not one of the men's voices, it was someone else. It was the caretaker of the property. The men had locked him outside in a shed and started loading items on their truck but got interrupted by Nancy. After looking around they both notice the clock is gone. So they attempt to pursue the men in Nancy's car.

This section gives great examples of Nancy's resourcefulness. I don't think I have met an 18 year old in this day and age that would be willing to care for someone that they barely even know. She also creates a diversion to enter a home and girl's camp on false pretenses to gain information. Has experience with cars and boats, and attempts to unlock a closet with a bobby pin. Sometimes she has little to work with in her surroundings and yet Nancy always seems to make use of what she is given and it works out quite well. She also has a good amount of bravery, I have never been in a hostage situation and I cannot image that I would be as calm and collective as

her, but I would make the same attempts as her to escape on my own. People certainly underestimate women when it comes to bravery and using our brains. I can honestly say that I have indeed picked a lock with a pair of tweezers and a bobby pin. It is extremely difficult. The only reason why I happened to have those items with me was because I followed Nancy Drew's List of must-have sleuthing Supplies listed in The Lost Files of Nancy Drew.

I still keep most of these items on me at all times. I didn't have a car until after I was 18, but once I did, I have always kept these items in my car. I have yet to use them, but they will come in handy someday. If I have learned anything from following what Nancy Drew does, it's prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

They don't ever give a description of Camp Avondale as to how it is placed in Titusville in the book. But one interpretation from the video game by the same name by Her Interactive published in 2005, gives their idea on this. They show that it is not a very large town. It is not indicated in the game that this is in fact moon lake. That is because they released an entire game based around moon lake itself, but it certainly would be cool to have that universe inside secret of the clock. From this map it also shows that they take use of the Turner's name and turn it into a children's home in the town. This change from the book I really enjoyed in the game. The children are quite hilarious acting like squirrels and would have been great in the original book. In the game we only see a glimpse of Camp Avondale and never get to go boating as Nancy did in the book. Even though the game pertains some elements as in the book, it does miss others that would have made it better.

I love how this books brings out more reasons that Nancy Drew is a great role model for young girls. Such as dedication, caring for others, bravery and resourcefulness. She has been giving this example since 1930, impacting me 76 years later. To think something this old is still holding through the decades as a great classic that never seems to go out of style and can give a positive impact on someone's life for generations to come.