The Secret of the Old Clock - Carolyn Keene [0]
Title Page
Copyright Page
CHAPTER I - The Rescue
CHAPTER II - A Missing Will
CHAPTER III - An Unpleasant Meeting
CHAPTER IV - Racing the Storm
CHAPTER V - A Surprising Story
CHAPTER VI - An Exciting Appointment
CHAPTER VII - The Angry Dog
CHAPTER VIII - A Forgotten Secret
CHAPTER IX - Helpful Disclosures
CHAPTER X - Following a Clue
CHAPTER XI - An Unexpected Adventure
CHAPTER XII - A Desperate Situation
CHAPTER XIII - The Frustrating Wait
CHAPTER XIV - A Tense Chase
CHAPTER XV - Nancy’s Risky Undertaking
CHAPTER XVI - The Capture
CHAPTER XVII - Strange Instructions
CHAPTER XVIII - A Suspenseful Search
CHAPTER XIX - Startling Revelations
CHAPTER XX - A Happy Finale
“The Crowley clock at last!” Nancy exclaimed
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
Copyright © 1987, 1959, 1930 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., a member of The Putnam &
Grosset Group, New York. Published simultaneously in Canada. .S.A.
NANCY DREW MYSTERY STORIES® is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Grosset & Dunlap, Inc.
eISBN : 978-1-440-67364-1
2007 Printing
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CHAPTER I
The Rescue
NANCY DREW, an attractive girl of eighteen, was driving home along a country road in her new, dark-blue convertible. She had just delivered some legal papers for her father.
“It was sweet of Dad to give me this car for my birthday,” she thought. “And it’s fun to help him in his work.”
Her father, Carson Drew, a well-known lawyer in their home town of River Heights, frequently discussed puzzling aspects of cases with his blond, blue-eyed daughter.
Smiling, Nancy said to herself, “Dad depends on my intuition.”
An instant later she gasped in horror. From the lawn of a house just ahead of her a little girl about five years of age had darted into the roadway. A van, turning out of the driveway of the house, was barely fifty feet away from her. As the driver vigorously sounded the horn in warning, the child became confused and ran directly in front of the van. Miraculously, the little girl managed to cross the road safely and pull herself up onto a low wall, which formed one side of a bridge. But the next second, as the van sped away, the child lost her balance and toppled off the wall out of sight!
“Oh my goodness!” Nancy cried out, slamming on her brakes. She had visions of the child plunging into the water below, perhaps striking her head fatally on a rock!
Nancy leaped out of her car and dashed across the road. At the foot of the embankment, she could see the curly-haired little girl lying motionless, the right side of her body in the water.
“I hope—” Nancy dared not complete the harrowing thought as she climbed down the steep slope.
When she reached the child, she saw to her great relief that the little girl was breathing normally and no water had entered her nose or mouth. A quick examination showed that she had suffered no broken bones.
Gently Nancy lifted the little girl, and holding her firmly in both arms, struggled to the top of the embankment. Then she hurried across the road and up the driveway to the child’s house.
At this moment the front door flew open and an elderly woman rushed out, crying, “Judy! Judy!”
The next second, the child lost her balance
“I’m sure she’ll be all right,” said Nancy quickly.
The woman, seeing Nancy’s car, asked excitedly, “Did you run into her?”
“No, no. Judy fell off the bridge.” Nancy quickly explained what had taken place.
By this time another woman, slightly younger, had hurried from the house. “Our baby! What has happened to her?”
As the woman reached out to take Judy, Nancy said soothingly, “Judy’s going to be all right. I’ll carry her into the house and lay her on a couch.”
One of the women opened the screen door and the other directed, “This way.”
Nancy carried her little burden through a hallway and into a small, old-fashioned living room. As soon as she laid the child on the couch, Judy began to murmur and turn her head