Let’s Read Nancy Drew: pg.58
Page 58: The Will to Go On
So when last we left them, our intrepid investigator Nancy had been sitting at breakfast with her father when out of nowhere he told her she should take a break from the investigation, because “an inspiration about the case might come to you.”
She agreed and decided to stop and smell some roses. As I mentioned before, this is not meant metaphorically; she is quite literally going to the park to smell some roses.
Okay, so the scene is set: Nancy Drew is taking a well-earned afternoon off from the case. It's a beautiful day, the park is pretty choice, and “she had gone only a short distance along one of the paths when she caught sight of Isabel and Ada Topham seated on a bench not far ahead.”
Carolyn Keene is a cruel taskmaster and clearly Nancy is allowed no rest until she's cracked the case...or died trying!
“They're the last people in the world I want to see right now,” Nancy thought. “They'll probably say something mean to me and I'll lose my temper.”
I don't know about you, dear readers, but I'm hoping that that is EXACTLY what happens.
Nancy decides she's not gonna let those girls ruin her rose-scented excursion. No, sir! She's merely going to let them cause her to try and sneak past them off to a back part of the park.
Nancy made her way along quietly, with no intention of eavesdropping on the two girls.
Yes, of course. You'll remember that Nancy Drew never gossips or drops any eaves. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not her style AT ALL. But when you just happen to hear someone say “the will” you can't just NOT continue to listen.
In a flash Nancy's detective instincts were aroused and her heart pounded excitedly. “It must be Josiah Crowley's will they're talking about.”
Okay, so first of all “detective instincts” is a pretty gracious way of describing Nancy's Dirk Gently-esque method of holistic detection. As if someone without such natural instincts would walk by two of the key figures in the case of a missing will, hear them mention something about “the will,” and then keep on walking.
And secondly, "It must be..." isn't really true. It PROBABLY is, but not necessarily. After all it is quite possible to use the term “the will” in other contexts. They could be talking about “The Will” of God. Or “The Will”power to overcome one's faults. Or even “The Will” to live. For instance...
-an excerpt from- THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK: A Potential Stage Play (A work-in-progress) [First Draft]
Ada: Isabel, I don't think I can do it anymore. Nancy Drew is forever sticking her nose in our business and embarrassing us in front of every one! -sobs-
Isabel: Ada, I know it's hard. But she can't keep it up forever can she?
Ada: Of course she can! She never stops...she'll always find a way to weasel her way into our business. I...I think I'm losing the will to go on....
-Nancy Drew pops up from behind the park bench-
Nancy: Did someone say “will!?”
[End of Chapter 6]
