This month fred flare’s Lulu and Keith discuss codes, cults and cows as Nancy’s
adventures lead her to the country.

Keith: Well, I know you weren’t so crazy about The Secret of Red Gate Farm but
I found it rather creative, almost edgy, as Nancy Drew mysteries go.

Lulu: I’ll admit this is not my favorite episode. I liked certain elements of the
story but felt there was very little fashion worth discussing. And no jewels at
all! I suppose the plot line is a little more developed but life on the farm ain’t
all that. Good thing there was a mystery to solve.

K: What are you talking about? The whole mystery starts because of fashion!
Nancy and her two best friends Bess and George are on a New York shopping
spree where they drop big money on hats, dresses, stockings, handbags and –
the jewel in the crown – a vial of exotic Blue Jade perfume.

L: Yeah, the girls really went to town! George, who is the tomboy of the group,
even had tons of packages on the train ride home. Bess is so excited about her
new perfume, extravagantly priced at $20 an ounce, that she rips open the
package to dab a couple drops behind each ear. Unfortunately, the train lurches
forward and she spills half the bottle on Nancy!

K: This is where the mystery really gets going. As Nancy attempts to contain
the scent of Blue Jade wafting through the car she notices a young girl faint in
her seat. Nancy races to help her and rushes to a nearby water cooler to get
her a glass of water. There she is approached by a strange man who says to
her, "Any word from the Chief?"

L: The perfume is some kind of code.

K: Exactly.

L: I’ll admit this element was exciting. The scent of Blue Jade follows us
throughout the mystery. The perfume is key! Nancy even uses it later in the
episode to sterilize a tiny pair of scissors as she prepares a tourniquet to save
George from a poisonous snake bite.

K: And then there’s that time where she’s given an urgent note from her father
pleading with her to return home immediately. The note mysteriously smells of
Blue Jade so Nancy knows it’s a fake. She won’t fall for that old trick!

L: That happens a lot to Nancy. She’s always getting these mysterious
telegrams from Dad demanding she return home. She usually does but then
it’s a trap!

K: Yeah, she’s on the ball in this episode. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves…
How do we end up at Red Gate Farm?

L: That girl that fainted on the train, Joanne Byrd, lives on Red Gate Farm with
her grandmother. In typical Nancy fashion she befriends the frail girl and
invites her home for a snack. Nancy and her friends learn that Joanne is only
in the city for a job interview to help raise money to pay the mortgage on the
troubled farm.

K: Nancy has a thing for helping out orphaned girls so she offers herself, Bess
and George as temporary rent-paying boarders at the farm to help ease the
load. She’s off on another vacation!

L: It’s a working vacation, though, and Nancy pitches in wherever she can. She
feeds the chickens, gathers eggs from the henhouse, picks cherries and gives
the horses hay. She even milks the cow, Primrose.

K: Don’t forget she also cares for Joanne’s pet goat, Chester.

L: They do all the household chores, too. See what I mean? Dullsville!

K: Okay, so maybe the farm isn’t as glamorous a setting as some of our other
episodes, but there is some intrigue. Near the farm there is a cave that is home
to a "nature cult" named The Black Snake Colony. When the moon is full the
members of the group wear white robes and dance around in the moonlight. I
think that’s terrifying. A cult? In Nancy Drew?

L: It is shocking!

K: Actually the Black Snake Colony is a cover for a gang of counterfeiters
named the Hale Syndicate. They print fake $20 bills. Apparently $20 was a lot
in Nancy’s heyday.

L: But our girl cracks the case.

K: Using her best weapon… Fashion!

L: You’re right. She purchases several yards of white muslin in town and makes
perfect replicas of the Colony’s robes and masks. Late one night Nancy and her
friends secretly infiltrate one of the moonlight rituals, which are actually secret
meetings of the Syndicate, and uncover their whole operation.

K: I love how at the end this Secret Service Agent named Horton praises Nancy
and tells her that her work has resulted in the solution of one of the most
baffling cases of counterfeiting the United States Government has ever had.
" How did you do it?" He asks. Nancy blushes and replies, "It was sort of a chain
reaction, I guess."

L: Nancy’s so modest. She never lets success go to her head!

K: Right. So she’s on to the next adventure…

L: And where Nancy goes, we follow. Tune in next month for The Clue in
the Diary!

K: Wait, Lutricia, before we go I have to tell you something.

L: What?

K: Well, I just wanted to say that this review completes the sixth episode. Now
we only have 50 more to go! Do you realize this is going to take us more than
four years to complete this project?

L: Thank goodness!

11/2002