# The Secret of the Old Clock — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene.

- [The Lost Will](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/i-the-lost-will.md): Nancy Drew learns from her father, Carson Drew, about the suspicious circumstances surrounding Josiah Crowley's will, which left his entire fortune to the snobbish Topham family. Nancy suspects a missing second will and 
- [II: A Chance Meeting](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/ii-a-chance-meeting.md): Nancy Drew learns from a luncheon with her father and Mr. Rolsted that Josiah Crowley may have drawn up a second will cutting out the Tophams. Despite lacking clues, she becomes determined to find the missing will. Later
- [III: Racing the Storm](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/iii-racing-the-storm.md): Nancy Drew agrees to deliver legal documents to Judge Hartgrave in Masonville for her father. After completing the errand and having lunch with the judge, she decides to take the scenic River Road home despite threatenin
- [An Interesting Story](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/iv-an-interesting-story.md): Nancy Drew meets the Horner sisters, Grace and Allie, during a storm and learns about their connection to Josiah Crowley. The sisters share their belief that Crowley intended to leave them an inheritance, but the Tophams
- [V: A Conference](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/v-a-conference.md): Nancy and her father, Carson Drew, meet with the Horner sisters to discuss the missing will of Josiah Crowley. The sisters reveal that Crowley hinted at hiding a second will, possibly in the Topham house. Carson Drew agr
- [VI: An Unpleasant Encounter](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/vi-an-unpleasant-encounter.md): Nancy Drew, troubled by her inability to help the Horner sisters, takes her father's advice to go shopping. In a department store, she witnesses Ada Topham knock over and break an expensive imported vase, then falsely ac
- [VII: Nancy Turns Sleuth](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/vii-nancy-turns-sleuth.md): Nancy overhears Ada and Isabel Topham discussing the possibility of a second will and their hostility toward her involvement with the Horner sisters. Encouraged that the will may not have been destroyed, she resolves to 
- [VIII: A Discouraging Day](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/viii-a-discouraging-day.md): Nancy visits the Horner sisters, then the Mathews brothers and Turner sisters, seeking information about Josiah Crowley's missing will. She learns little concrete evidence but gains leads about Abigail Rowen. Despite dis
- [IX: Vital Information](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/ix-vital-information.md): Nancy Drew visits the dilapidated home of Abigail Rowen, who has fallen and injured herself. Nancy tends to her needs, buys groceries and bandages, and learns that Abigail knew Josiah Crowley and believes he made a secon
- [X: Abigail's Disclosure](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/x-abigail-s-disclosure.md): Nancy Drew visits Abigail Rowen, who reveals that Josiah Crowley hid a notebook containing the location of his second will. Abigail recalls that the notebook was hidden in a family clock, which likely went to the Tophams
- [Visiting the Tophams](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xi-visiting-the-tophams.md): Nancy Drew visits the Topham residence under the pretense of selling charity dance tickets. She endures the rudeness of Mrs. Topham and her daughters, Ada and Isabel, but cleverly extracts the information that the Crowle
- [XII: Following a Clue](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xii-following-a-clue.md): Nancy Drew devises a plan to visit Moon Lake to investigate the Topham bungalow and the old Crowley clock. She uses a friend's camp as a cover, stops to comfort the Horner sisters who are facing financial hardship, and u
- [An Adventure](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xiii-an-adventure.md): Nancy Drew plans to visit the Topham cottage but is delayed by social obligations with Helen Corning and friends. She finally escapes to take a launch across the lake, but the engine fails, stranding her for hours. After
- [An Exciting Discovery](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xiv-an-exciting-discovery.md): Nancy Drew abruptly leaves camp to investigate the Topham bungalow, only to find it ransacked by robbers. She deduces that a moving van was used to strip the house of valuables, including the Crowley clock, and fears the
- [XV: A Desperate Situation](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xv-a-desperate-situation.md): Nancy Drew, investigating the Topham bungalow, realizes the Crowley clock has been stolen. She decides to report the robbery but is trapped when a robber arrives. She hides in a closet, watching the gang strip the house.
- [Left to Starve](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xvi-left-to-starve.md): Nancy Drew is locked in a closet by a robber and left to starve. After initial panic, she tries to pick the lock with a hairpin, then uses a wooden rod to pry the hinges. As she nearly escapes, she is startled by footste
- [XVII: Jeff Tucker’s Story](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xvii-jeff-tucker-s-story.md): Nancy is freed from the closet by Jeff Tucker, the Tophams' caretaker, who reveals he was lured away by a mysterious white man in a sedan and plied with drink, allowing robbers to steal the furniture—including the old Cr
- [Notifying the Police](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xviii-notifying-the-police.md): Nancy Drew races to Melbourne to report the Topham bungalow robbery to the marshal. With Jeff Tucker's corroboration, she leads the police in pursuit, but at a fork in the road she splits off toward Garwin. After losing 
- [XIX: A Risky Undertaking](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xix-a-risky-undertaking.md): Nancy spots the three robbers and decides to retrieve the Crowley clock from their van before notifying the marshal. She finds the van locked in a barn behind the inn, locates the keys under the seat, and discovers the c
- [XX: What Nancy Found](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xx-what-nancy-found.md): Nancy Drew hides in a manger as three robbers return to the barn, narrowly escaping detection. After they leave, she retrieves the Crowley clock and flees to her roadster. Driven by curiosity, she examines the clock and 
- [Capturing the Robbers](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xxi-capturing-the-robbers.md): Nancy retrieves Josiah Crowley's notebook from the clock, then races to alert the marshal. A high-speed chase ensues, the robbers' van overturns, and the criminals are captured. Nancy identifies the leader as the man who
- [XXII: What the Notebook Revealed](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xxii-what-the-notebook-revealed.md): Nancy returns home with the Crowley clock and discovers a hidden notebook inside it. The notebook reveals that Josiah Crowley's last will is in a safety deposit box under the name Josiah Harkston at the Masonville Nation
- [Looking for the Will](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xxiii-looking-for-the-will.md): Nancy oversleeps and hurries to meet her father, who has obtained a court order to search for Josiah Crowley's will. They travel to Masonville and, after some difficulty with the bank, access a safety deposit box rented 
- [The Coup de Grâce](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xxiv-the-coup-de-gr-ce.md): The second will of Josiah Crowley is read at the Drew home, revealing that the Horner sisters and Abigail Rowen receive substantial inheritances while the Tophams are cut off entirely. The Tophams react with fury and thr
- [A Reward](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters/xxv-a-reward.md): Months after the Crowley will reading, Nancy learns the Tophams are bankrupt and moving to a small house. She visits the Horner sisters, who have transformed their farm into a thriving chicken business. They offer her a 

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_of_the_old_clock_se/chapters