The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene Page A

front of the van and clambered into the driver's seat. But there were no keys hanging from the ignition lock.
    Nancy's mind worked frantically. She must find the keys! Perhaps the men had not taken them into the inn but had concealed them in the truck. Suddenly she remembered that people sometimes hide automobile keys under the floor mat. It was barely possible that the thieves had done this.
    Hastily she pulled up a corner of the mat Her flashlight revealed a small ring of keys!
    "Luck was with me this time," she murmured, and quickly snatching up the ring, she ran back to the rear of the van.
    After trying several of the keys, she at last found one which fitted the lock. Turning it, she jerked open the door. Nancy flashed her light about inside the truck. To her joy she recognized the van's contents as the furniture stolen from the Topham cottage!
    "What will I do if the clock is on the bottom of the load?" Nancy wondered as she surveyed the pile of furniture. "I'll never find it."
    Dexterously she swung herself up into the truck and flashed the light slowly about on chairs, tables, rugs, and boxes. There was no sign of the Crowley clock.
    Then the beam rested for a moment on an object in a far corner. With a low cry of delight, Nancy saw that her search had been rewarded. Protected by a blanket, an old-fashioned mantel clock rested on top of a table in the very front of the van!
    The young sleuth scrambled over the pieces oŁ furniture as she tried to reach the clock. Her dress caught on something sharp and tore. Finally she arrived within arm's reach of the blanket. She grasped it and carefully pulled the clock toward her.
    One glance at the timepiece assured her that it fitted the description Abby Rowen had given her. It had a square face and the top was ornamented with a crescent.
    "The Crowley clock at last!" Nancy whispered almost unbelievingly.
    But as she stood staring at it, her keen ears detected the sound of voices. The thieves!
    "I'll be caught!" flashed through her mind. "And I won't be able to escape a second time!"
    Clutching the blanket and the clock tightly in her arms, Nancy scrambled over the piled-up furniture as she struggled to get out of the truck before it was too late.
    Reaching the door, she leaped lightly to the floor. She could now hear heavy footsteps coming closer and closer.
    Nancy shut the truck doors as quickly as possible, and searched wildly for the keys.
    "Oh, what did I do with them?" she thought frantically.
    She saw that they had fallen to the floor and snatched them up. Hurriedly inserting the correct key in the lock, she secured the doors.
    But as Nancy wheeled about she heard men's angry voices directly outside. Already someone was starting to slide back the barn door!
    "Oh, what shall I do?" Nancy thought in despair. "I'm cornered!"
    She realized instantly that she could not hope to run to the front of the car and place the keys under the mat where she had found them. "I'll just put them on the floor," she decided quickly. "Maybe the men will think they dropped them."
    Then, glancing frantically about for a hiding place, Nancy saw an empty grain bin. Running to it, still holding the clock, she climbed inside and dropped the blanket over her head just as one of the barn doors slid open.
    One of the men was speaking loudly. Nancy recognized the voice instantly. It belonged to Sid, the ringleader of the thieves.
    "You had enough to eat," he growled. "We're goin' to get out of here before we have the cops down on our heads."
    He climbed into the cab and turned on the headlights. Nancy held her breath. Would her hiding place be discovered? But the men apparently did not even look toward the bin.
    In a moment Sid cried out, "What did you do with those keys? Thought you put 'em under the floor mat."
    "I did."
    "Well, they ain't here."
    "Honest, boss, I—"
    "Then come and find 'em, and don't be all night about it either!"
    "All right. Get out of the way and give me a chance!"
    As Jake went