Nancy Drew 1: Secrets Can Kill! (Remastered) Hints

How do I open the box under the chair?

  • 1 of 16: You won't be able to open this box until you've found all of the messages posted around the place --
  • 2 of 16: -- and escaped from the trap in the maintenance room --
  • 3 of 16: -- where you'll find the matchbook referred to in Jake's chemistry book, the one that was missing from one of the messages in the diner.
  • 4 of 16: Once you have all this in hand, it's time to put it all together. But ... how? The instructions are in the note in Jake's chemistry book. Read to the very end of these hints for step by step directions.
  • 5 of 16: First, he says, "A matchbook behind Maxine's schedule holds the first step." Look at the matchbook again; it looks a little like a Venus/female symbol with an extra line or two, and it's the symbol for Pluto. Find that symbol on the box and give it a push.
  • 6 of 16: Okay, we're on the way then. Jake's next note says, "My messages hold the remaining 18 steps." It's probably clear to you now that --
  • 7 of 16: -- those steps are in the letters and numbers found on every cipher message, the stuff Nancy has been writing down in her journal.
  • 8 of 16: The second half of every message gives a direction and a number. U is up, D is down, R is right, and L is lefts, so the U2 of He:U2, for example, is telling you to go up 2 spaces. And Jake's next message --
  • 9 of 16: -- which is "The elements tell the order," tells us what order to take those steps, since the first two letters of every message is the abbreviation for a different element. Um ... how does that help?
  • 10 of 16: On the wall above Jake's chair is a poster of the elements. Let's look for He, which is helium.
  • 11 of 16: When you find it (it's in the upper left corner of the chart), look for a number in that box. In the lower left corner of the box, you'll see a tiny little 2 (the element's atomic weight). Those numbers will determine the order we go in.
  • 12 of 16: So here's the process:
    1. Find all 18 messages and note the element abbreviation and direction on each one.
    2. Find each element on the table of the elements and note its number.
    3. Put the elements and directions in order, so that their atomic weights go from lowest to highest. (This isn't 1, 2, 3; it's more like 2, 6, 11.)
    4. Follow the directions in this new order.
  • 13 of 16: So first we click on the symbol from the matchbook. The next move is the element with the lowest number, which is helium. He:U2 was the direction, so we go up 2 spaces and click on the symbol that looks like a 7 and a 6 merged together.
  • 14 of 16: The next lowest number is carbon, which is 6. C:R1 is the direction; right one space takes us to a crescent moon. And we go on from there.
  • 15 of 16: The last button you click should be a circle with a dot inside it. There will still be some buttons you haven't clicked on, but that last one opens the box, and you're done.
  • 16 of 16: Nothing happened? Okay, back away from the box to reset the puzzle, then click on it again and start over, using these directions: