The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene Page A

and though heavy mist lay over the landscape, Nancy was sure the music had come from a hill in the distance.
    She decided to sit down on a bench near the doorway of the croft and listen. Just then she heard a truck speeding along the road toward the house. As the big closed vehicle passed by, Nancy was aware of a plaintive bleat from within, like that of a lamb.
    Lambs! Sheep! Trucks! The story Ned had told Nancy of the stealing of sheep in the Highlands of Scotland flashed into the young sleuth’s mind.
    Could this truck, by any chance, belong to one of the gang?

CHAPTER XII
    Strange Midnight Whistle
     
     
     
    NANCY ran forward and strained her eyes to catch the license number and make of the mysterious truck. But just then two swiftly running figures dashed up, obscuring her view.
    Bess and George!
    “Nancy, you scared us silly!” Bess complained. “We heard you leave your room and not come back. Why are you out here?”
    The young sleuth quickly explained.
    “Stolen sheep!” George exclaimed.
    Just as she spoke, the girls heard a whistling sound in the distance. With intermittent stops, it continued for nearly a minute.
    “What in the world is that?” Bess queried.
    Nancy said she thought it was being made on bagpipes.
    “I didn’t know you could whistle on bagpipes,” said Bess.
    “I suppose you’re going to tell us it’s some kind of a signal!” George guessed.
    “I wish I knew,” Nancy said thoughtfully, and led the way back into the house.
    Neither Mrs. Drummond nor Fiona had awakened, so it was not until morning that Nancy could tell about the playing of the bagpipes and the truck with a bleating lamb inside. At once Fiona said that the reed for a chanter could be split to make any kind of sound one wished. “But I don’t see why anyone would want to go to the trouble of having it whistle.”
    Nancy did not reply but felt that there might indeed be a very good reason. If it were a sinister one, she certainly hoped to find out what it was!
    Mrs. Drummond was very much concerned about the possibility of the truck having contained stolen sheep. She hurried to the telephone and called several of her neighbors to report her suspicions. When she rejoined the girls, the woman said:
    “Shepherds will go out at once with their dogs to make an investigation. Perhaps you girls would like to hike around to watch.”
    “Indeed we would!” said Nancy. “And do you think we should notify the police?”
    Mrs. Drummond said she supposed so, but added, “You know, thieves, like lightning, rarely strike in the same place twice. Besides, since we have no good description of the truck, there isn’t much for the authorities to go on.”
    George added, “Nancy, you heard only one bleating lamb. Maybe there weren’t any others inside.” Nancy agreed, admitting they had no real evidence.
    As soon as breakfast was over, Mrs. Drummond told the girls which direction to take to watch the shepherds and their dogs. After hiking to a hillside, they saw a shepherd dressed in clothes much like a hunter’s, working with a black-and-white collie. It was rounding up sheep and bringing them to the man’s side. Fiona said this was called shedding.
    The Americans found it particularly fascinating to watch the strays, especially those with baby lambs. Once, an argumentative ewe was trying to keep her lamb from obeying the dog. She and her baby were pure white except for their black noses and feet. The girls laughed as the dog won out and succeeded in leading mother and daughter to the shepherd.
    Bess, noticing a small daub of red paint just in front of the sheeps’ tails, asked Fiona what this was for.
    “It identifies the flock, which wanders all over,” the Scottish girl replied. “Another farmer will use blue.”
    They talked for a few minutes with the shepherd, who said his dog was one of the best in the country. “He has won prizes in contests of cutting out sheep. Would you like to see him do it?” the man