The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes Read Online Free PDF Page B

ye’d been in his room!”
    Bess laughed. “I suppose he thought we’d dropped face powder all over the place!”
    Nancy doubted that this was the cause of his annoyance. She could not get the strange note out of her mind. Had Mr. Dewar’s anger been caused by fear that the girls had seen it? The note might be a secret message meant only for him! Later she discussed this theory with her father at the luncheon table.
    “That’s possible,” the lawyer agreed. “But even in perfectly legitimate business deals, codes are often used, so this may not indicate that anything is wrong.”
    Nancy was not convinced. “The note that was left in our mailbox in River Heights said ‘Drew is going to bomb you.’ Do you suppose that the person who tried to warn us got Dewar and Drew mixed up?”
    “My goodness, Nancy!” said George. “Your theories certainly are way out today!”
    Bess leaned forward. “There’s one person who is mighty interested in what you’re saying. That man at the table near us—the one who’s alone. He has been trying hard to hear every word.”
    Nancy turned to get a look at the stranger. He was about forty years of age, well built, and had a noticeably reddish complexion. Now he quickly averted his gaze, hastily signed his check, and left the table.
    Nancy’s group had practically finished eating and she asked to be excused. Before the waitress could pick up the check on the stranger’s table, Nancy sidled past and took a look at the check. The man had scribbled on it the number of the room which the girls had just vacated!
    “He must be Mr. Dewar,” Nancy thought. The others met her in the lobby and she told them of her discovery. The stranger was not around.
    “You may be on a completely wrong trail, Nancy,” Mr. Drew said. “I advise you not to jump to conclusions about this man. I’m going to start on my business conferences this afternoon. Why don’t you girls rent a car and do some sightseeing?”
    “All right,” Nancy agreed. “Where do you suggest that we go?”
    “How about asking the head porter? He’ll know the interesting spots and can give you the name of a rental agency. Perhaps he’ll even engage a car for you and have it brought to the door.”
    After her father had left, Nancy approached the porter’s desk. She made her request and the man said he would be very glad to make the arrangements. He asked Nancy to wait while he telephoned about hiring a small car.
    “Do you have an international driver’s license?” the porter asked.
    “Yes.”
    He telephoned to an agency which promised to deliver a small car to the hotel within half an hour.
    “Have you ever been to Loch Lomond?” the porter asked the girls. Learning that they had not, he said he would recommend visiting the loch as a highlight of their tour. “On the way,” the man added, “I suggest a stop at the University of Glasgow, which is old and famous. And take your raincoats. Scotland’s weather is apt to change quickly.”
    The porter brought out a map and penciled directions before handing it to Nancy.
    “I hope you have a good time,” he said. “And don’t forget the left-side-of-the-road driving.”
    Nancy assured him she would be very careful. Half an hour later the three girls were in the car and setting off for the university. The campus was extensive and the gray stone buildings impressive. They were very symmetrical, with a fine balance of towers.
    Nancy finally drove out of the city and found the road to Loch Lomond. When they reached the country area, Bess exclaimed, “What a lovely landscape! Don’t you adore those bushy hedges? Nancy, stop! I want to see what they are.”
    Nancy pulled to the side of the road. “They’re rose brier and hawthorn,” she said. “They must be beautiful when they’re in bloom.”
    She drove on and presently George noticed some monkey puzzle trees and remarked on their twisted, interwoven limbs. “How sparse their foliage is, compared to the oaks