Have you ever sat back and wondered – was the real secret “AT” Shadow Ranch, or was it “OF” Shadow Ranch? That is a mystery that has bewildered readers everywhere (okay, well, maybe just me and one or two other oddball individuals out there, but for the sake of the article, let’s say readers everywhere, since it sounds more dramatic that way) ever since the title of the book changed from The Secret AT Shadow Ranch to The Secret OF Shadow Ranch.

Now while both “AT” and “OF” are prepositions in the English language, they definitely have different meanings. “AT” is used to show an exact position or a particular place, while “OF” is used to show possession, belonging, or origin. Hence, to say that the secret is “AT” Shadow Ranch would mean the secret is located in that particular place and can be found in that area; however, to say the secret is “OF” Shadow Ranch would denote that the secret is owned by Shadow Ranch, or rather, that the ranch itself possesses the secret.

So which is it? What better way to find out than to take a stroll down memory lane (okay, so it’s not Larkspur Lane, but then again, we can’t all know the password and solve a mystery so easily, now can we? So don’t begrudge me my memory lane – just go with it!) and re-read both versions of Nancy Drew’s fifth mystery with a brand new perspective, in hopes of discovering whether the secret is “AT” or “OF” Shadow Ranch!

ORIGINAL TEXT

Nancy’s adventure begins with an enticing invitation from Nancy’s friends, George Fayne and Elizabeth, two cousins whose Aunt Nell was chaperoning them on a visit to Shadow Ranch out in Arizona. It seems Elizabeth and George’s Uncle Dick had come into ownership of this ranch in payment of a debt that was owed to him (hmmmm, and just what type of man would take a person’s ranch in payment of a debt? Nancy’s right to ask if that is not the very reason they call it “shadow” ranch!), and the ranch is in such bad repair, someone needs to see to it. Now, by the fifth book, we’ve already come to realize that any time Nancy is invited to go somewhere, it means there’s already a mystery out there waiting for her.

Nancy and her friends make the journey to Arizona with Aunt Nell, as well as Alice Regor, who is Uncle Dick’s niece (who, it is pointedly stated, is Dick’s niece, while Elizabeth and George are Nell’s nieces – apparently there was an undercurrent of jealousy, perhaps? – otherwise, why make such a distinction?). Along the way, the girls meet up with Ross Rogers, a friendly sort of gentleman who just happens to avoid any aspect of revealing anything about himself. Gee, can we see the stage is set for him to be part of the mystery?

The gang disembarks from the train in what appears to be the middle of nowhere! As luck would have it, Ross Rogers disembarked at the same spot, so he helps the ladies carry their luggage into the small train station to await their ride. And what a ride it is! Five women are all forced to fit into a dilapidated old auto driven by the Shadow Ranch hand, George Miller. And with that name, it’s easy to predict that he and George (Fayne, that is) end up sparring regarding her name (which she insists is NOT short for Georgia, but rather is her grandfather’s name). Of course, with five women and one man in the auto, George informs them that they will have to come back for the luggage! (Hmmm, don’t know that I’d be so ready to leave my luggage behind to come get later – boy, how times have changed!)

Finally arriving at Shadow Ranch (which takes twice as long to get to in the original text as in the revised text – talk about speeding things up for the revised version!), the girls find themselves excited about their vacation. Taking a couple of days to learn how to ride horses (well, all except Nancy, who, despite having only taken a few lessons, was an expert from the get-go – ahhhh, would it be that we could all be experts without formal training!), they set out for a ride up into the mountains to Big Bear Creek. As luck would have it (and with Nancy, that luck always starts out bad), a storm breaks loose, and they have to hurry back to the ranch – but in crossing the raging creek (apparently stopping for shelter somewhere until the storm passes just wouldn’t make as exciting a story), Bess suddenly finds herself and her pony being swept away! (of course, Bess had come to the ranch with hopes of being swept off her feet – this just wasn’t the manner in which she had dreamed it!)

Of course, Nancy’s horse is just as adventuresome and capable as its rider, and together they rescue Bess and her horse from being swept away. With the creek quickly rising, Nancy asks about a nearby shelter, and their guide hesitantly informs them of a cottage nearby owned by Martha Frank, who he describes as an “old woman who is sort of queer” (which, of course, would make sense, because who would want to read about a “young woman who is plain and normal”?). They make their way to the dilapidated shack (hmmmm, do I sense a pattern here) and after several knocks, are let inside to dry off. The woman says nary a word to them, but Nancy becomes suspicious when the woman quickly closes the bedroom door, only to have it open a crack a moment later. A young girl dressed in ugly rags and unwashed hair (an uncared for child in the custody of a queer old woman – no mystery there, eh?!) peers out, and when the woman sternly reprimands her, young Lucy takes off into the raining night!

Nancy learns all about Ms. Franks’ mistreatment of poor Lucy in the next chapter, and also manages to find Alice in a depressed mood! She is determined to help these two girls no matter what! (Yeah, I know, seven pages of not much more than background on Lucy and a pity party for Alice – but hey, with twenty-five chapters to fill, not every one can be exciting!)

From this point, we get a round-up, a quarrel, a picnic, a long tramp home, a visitor, an interlude, a stalking by a cougar (who Nancy expertly shoots – animal rights activists arise!), interference, a night of horror, a surprise, a moonlit night, an accident, and a telegram – all of which finally lead us (along with Nancy and her friends) to the conclusion to Shadow Ranch’s many secrets!

After everything is said and done, as Chapter XXV is so clearly titled, Nancy brings the mystery to “A Happy Ending” (as if there was ever any doubt!). Alice Regor is reunited with her father, Robert Ross Regor, who in reality the same “Ross Rogers” that the girls met on the train to Shadow Ranch (of course, we all knew that his appearance at the beginning of this book was a tell-tale clue that he would be somehow a part of this mystery!), and little Lucy (remember that girl in ugly rags and unwashed hair) turns out to be Louise Bowen, the daughter of a wealthy man who was kidnapped by Martha Frank’s brother many years ago and is now the recipient of her parents’ fortune (amazing how many people in this one book are running around with false names!). Of course, the greatest victory belongs to George who is finally rewarded when Shadow Ranch hand, George Miller, finally refers to her as “George” – it’s those small victories in life that mean so much!

REVISED TEXT

Nancy has already reached Arizona and is surprised when she arrives to find that her friends, George Fayne and Bess Marvin (yes, Elizabeth was dropped – in order to reduce the page count, it seemed wise to shorten her name so more words could fit on one page) are prepared to leave! Shadow Ranch is haunted, and their Uncle Edward and Aunt Elizabeth (now wait a minute – what happened to Uncle Dick and Aunt Nell? did they turn the ranch over to these other relatives?) do not want their nieces in danger. Well, Nancy’s ready to solve the mystery, and of course, a curious stranger sitting one table over is out to stop her right off the bat! (How convenient he was already at the same restaurant, eh?)

“Keep away from Shadow Ranch” – as if these villains never learn that warning Nancy to stay away from someplace is nothing more than an engraved invitation to come catch them! And as the girls drive on towards Shadow Ranch, not only do they face a sandstorm and a bone dry radiator, but Bess suddenly remembers to tell Nancy about 14 year old Alice Regor who is staying at Shadow Ranch. She also needs Nancy’s help in finding her father, Ross Regor (okay, pretend like we didn’t read the Original Text book for the time being, okay?), who has been missing for six months (which means the trail should be easier to follow than the 8-year cold trail from the Original Text, eh?)!

Stranded on a deserted road, the girls wait patiently for someone to come along. And wouldn’t you know it, the first person to arrive is none other than one of the ranch hands from Shadow Ranch, Dave Gregory. None too thrilled at having to come rescue the girls, he fills their radiator with water so they can follow him to the ranch. Bess and George’s aunt and uncle are thrilled to meet Nancy, and the girls are introduced to Alice Regor. When Nancy reports the suspicious events at the airport, Bess goes to Nancy’s purse to pull out the warning note – only to discover a second warning note – with a rattlesnake’s rattle! You’d have to think these villains are partially psychic to be giving such warnings without knowing for sure that Nancy will ultimately foil their plans! Ahh, but where would the fun be without the foibles, right? Night falls, and as everyone falls asleep, Nancy finds herself awakened by a noise in the kitchen! She sneaks into the dark room, only to hear a scream and be grabbed from behind! (Dare I turn to the page to the next chapter to find out how Nancy escapes?)

Nancy’s attacker turns out to be none other than the Shadow Ranch cook, who thought she heard a prowler in the kitchen. Nancy confirms that she heard someone as well, but of course, no one is found. It is later discovered that someone had sabotaged the electric generator and water pump, so that the only way for the Ranch to provide water would be from the well! Nancy notices some red dirt on the floor and also around the outside of the building that houses the generator (as usual, she’s the only one to pick up on this tale-tell clue), and figures that whomever sabotaged the generator and pump may still have the dirt on their shoes! Needless to say, more than one individual have that dirt on their shoes, so the clue doesn’t pan out (better luck next time, Nancy!). Going into town with George, Nancy turns over the two warnings to the local sheriff who wishes her luck with solving the mystery of who is causing the problems at Shadow Ranch (obviously the Sheriff is just like the River Heights Chief of Police – why try to solve a crime when you can allow a teenager to do it for you?!). As they are preparing to leave, Nancy notices a masked man robbing a store of jewelry! Since no one else is in sight (a ghost town, perhaps?), Nancy enters the store and orders the man to stop!

Acting quickly, Nancy knocks over a tower of baskets (located right there in the path of the oncoming thief – how nice of the store owner to put them there!) that causes the thief to trip and drop his bag of loot! Nancy cries out for the Sheriff, but the thief jumps up and takes off, leaving the loot behind. As a reward for recovering her stolen items, the store owner provides Nancy with an old-fashioned lady’s watch – that just so happens to have come from Shadow Ranch (will the coincidences never cease?). It was once owned by Dirk Valentine and given to his sweetheart, Frances Humber. Dirk allegedly left her a treasure in his will, but it was never found. Supposedly, the treasure was hidden somewhere on Shadow Ranch (gee, do we need to spell it out – a reason for the haunting of Shadow Ranch???). Nancy sets out to find the treasure, and her first night’s excursion brings her face to face (or is that snout?) with the phantom horse!

While the ranch-hands get prepared to follow the horse that has disappeared into the woods, Nancy recalls that every time the phantom horse appears, there is trouble somewhere else. Running back up to her room (utterly amazing that she knew that’s where the trouble was!), she finds it is in shambles, having been ransacked! She reports the incident to the Rawleys, and the next day sets out to follow the trail that the phantom may have taken. Shorty volunteers to lead their way, but when he takes them on a shortcut that is anything but short, Nancy’s suspicions are instantly raised! Is he deliberately leading them away from the true path of the phantom horse? Does the trail lead to the real solution to Shadow Ranch’s mystery? Is he looking for Frances Humber’s watch like everyone else seems to be? Will Nancy uncover the clues contained inside Frances’ watch before it is taken from her? Tune in next chapter – same Nancy time, same Nancy place! (Oops, sorry – kinda got away from myself there….)

The excitement just grows from here – with a rockslide, an escaped dog, a tack room prisoner, a hidden entrance, a rewarding search, a missing artist, a nettle trick, a perilous ride, the Sheriff’s quarry, an interrupted program, a black phantom, and the cliff’s secret (wait, I thought it was Shadow Ranch that had the secret?)! It’s non-stop action, excitement, and scares that lead Nancy and her gang (along with the rest of us) to a revised conclusion of the Shadow Ranch mystery!

After all the danger and cliffhangers, Nancy’s Shadow Ranch adventure reaches its thrilling revised conclusion in Chapter XX – which, in direct contrast to the easy-going, happy ending in the original text, now shows us Nancy’s “Daring Tactics” (aren’t her quick-thinking exploits always daring?). Kidnapped by Al Diamond and his gang (including Shorty and Brice – why is it crooks always seem to have the most unusual nicknames?), Nancy is thrown into a cliff-dwelling room where Bess and George, along with Alice Regor and her father (who, of course, have been reunited thanks to Nancy’s efforts). Dirk Valentine’s treasure is also in the room, but Nancy quickly outwits the crooks (as if there were ever any doubt?) by tossing a large stone through the prison door and down the side of the cliff (yeah, okay – I know I’d be fooled by a big rock being thrown out of the room!). While Shorty and Brice go after the “treasure,” Diamond gets ready to blow up his captives with dynamite – until Nancy reveals the real treasure that’s still in the room! Just as Diamond thinks he has won, Dave and Mr. Rawley show up with the Sheriff (such perfect timing!) to capture the crooks and take them away! Nancy, though, with one more mystery solved, is all set to start off on another adventure (which, we are told not-so-subtly, that she would soon become involved in the Secret of Red Gate Farm or is that “in” or “at” – oh, whatever!).

CONCLUSION

So, then, after comparing the two texts, what conclusions have we reached? Certainly, the original text is somewhat less action-oriented and more about the relationships of the characters, while the revised text is definitely more geared towards the action side of things, with Nancy facing a dangerous cliffhanger at every turn! So again, we beg the question – is the secret “AT” Shadow Ranch, or is it “OF” Shadow Ranch? I personally think they are both wrong! I believe the real secret to this Nancy Drew mystery is “IN” Shadow Ranch - IN the 203 pages of story (or 175 pages, if you prefer the revised text)!

So there you have it – one more mystery solved!

To sign up for a reminder-only(non-posting) service to remind you of when the latest issue is published online and when new ads are placed as well as any other important announcements, contests, etc., click on the following button:

Click to subscribe to TheSleuth