Bess's heart was beating fast. But she took a deep gulp of air and plunged after him.

The guard at the door stopped her. "Have you a pa.s.s?" he asked.

"No, I haven't."

"Then I'm afraid I cannot let you in. The building is closed to visitors today."

Bess flushed. "I wanted to find out about the red-haired man who came in here."

The guard eyed Bess a bit suspiciously. Then he said stiffly, "I cannot tell you anything about him except that he had a pa.s.s."

Chagrined, Bess turned away. She waited for several minutes, but the bearded stranger did not reappear. She was puzzled. Why had he been following the girls if he were on legitimate business? And if he were not, how did he happen to have a pa.s.s to the building?

Disappointed that her part in the sleuthing had brought no results, Bess started down the street and finally came to the grounds of Holyrood Palace. Nancy and George were waiting.

"Any luck?" George asked her cousin.

Bess shook her head and told what had happened. "If that man isn't honest, how did he obtain a pa.s.s?"

George sniffed. "I'll bet it was a phony-or stolen!"

Nancy was cudgeling her brain-wondering why the stranger seemed familiar. But she could arrive at no conclusion. "I guess there's nothing more we can do," she said finally.

The girls turned to gaze at the palace, built in 1128 as an abbey. The reddish-brown stone structure was still intact. It was surrounded by a large garden and a high iron picket fence.

A guide took them through the fabulous dwelling. Each room was exquisitely furnished, and the girls learned that the present royal family of Great Britain had a large apartment in the palace which they used when visiting Edinburgh.

When the girls reached the enormous, elegantly furnished dining room, Bess burst out, "Imagine eating here with your husband at one end of the table and you at the other. You couldn't even hear each other!"

The guide grinned. Then he told them a bit of Scottish history, highlighted by the final amalgamation of England and Scotland in 1603.

"This was the union of the crowns," he said, "which occurred upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England. At that time James VI was king of Scotland; thus he also became King James I of England."

"You mean he had both countries to run?" Bess asked, wide eyed.

"Yes. And, by the way, he had a very interesting start in life. When he was an infant, his mother had him lowered out of a high tower window in Edinburgh Castle to prevent her enemies from taking him for baptism in another faith. It was a dangerous descent."

"The poor baby!" Bess said sympathetically.

"He didn't do so badly," George remarked, "becoming king of two countries!"

Again the guide smiled, then presently escorted them back to the entrance. The girls thanked him for a most interesting tour, and a few minutes later found a taxi to take them back to their hotel. At the entrance they met Mr. Drew, who had just finished his work for the day. He and the girls went in to have tea.

The lawyer asked for an account of their day's sightseeing and frowned upon hearing about the red-bearded stranger following the girls. "If you ever see him again," he said, "I hope you can find out who he is."

"Next time I won't fail!" Nancy declared.

The lawyer reported that his conferences had been successful, but he must remain in Edinburgh a few days longer.

"I suggest that you three go on ahead of me to Douglas House. This afternoon while I was in one of the lawyer's offices I met a charming girl who comes from the Isle of Skye.

"I learned that she is about to start home and would love to catch a ride. I'm sure you girls will like her, so I invited her to have dinner with us. If you think you can all get along, she'd be glad to act as guide in Inverness-shire. Her name is Fiona Frazer, and she knows the area well."

Fiona Frazer proved to be all that Mr. Drew had prophesied. She was a beautiful girl-tall and slender, with rosy coloring, black hair, and big friendly blue eyes. After they had all met in the lobby, Fiona turned to Nancy. "Didn't I see your picture on the cover of PhotographieInternationale?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid you did. It has made me a rather conspicuous figure in your country," Nancy said, describing her recent experiences.

Fiona frowned. "Up in Inverness-shire there aren't so many people, and perhaps you won't have any trouble."

The group spent a delightful dinner hour. By the time they reached the dessert course, Nancy, Bess, and George had become very fond of Fiona. She, in turn, seemed to like them very much. It was arranged that the following morning the four girls would rent a car and start together for Douglas House.

Nancy told Fiona about the mystery they were trying to solve. "You can still change your mind about going along."

The Scottish girl laughed. "I love the sound of it and I like excitement! I'll go."

As they were eating dessert, a woman pa.s.sed their table. She waved her hand graciously to Fiona and said something in a language which the girls did not understand. When the woman went on, Fiona explained, "She was speaking in Gaelic."

"What a pretty language!" said Nancy. "Do you speak it fluently?"

"Oh, yes," Fiona answered.

Nancy was intrigued. "You must teach me some words while we're driving along."

Fiona laughed. "Let's start right now." She picked up a roll from a dish which had not been removed from the table and said, "This is aran. It is p.r.o.nounced a-rran."

"It means bread?"

"Yes." Fiona went on, "Tomorrow we shall go on a l-ang. It's spelled l-o-n-g, and means ship. Actually, what we're taking is a ferryboat."

Nancy blinked excitedly. She had suddenly recalled that the word long was in the mysterious note she had found in the bureau drawer! "Fiona, is m-a-l-l a word?" she asked.

"Yes. You p.r.o.nounce it ma-ool, and it means slow."

Hearing this, Nancy opened her purse, took out her notebook, and wrote out the strange words in the mysterious note. Fiona translated:

"'Highway ditch lock rod ship slow wife member without stamp.' Stamp means an impression."

George gave a groan. "That message is as unintelligible in English as it is in Gaelic!"

"I'm sure," said Nancy, "that the message is in code. 'Ship slow' could have meant that houseboat on Loch Lomond where the mysterious men were staying."

"You're right!" George exclaimed. "The note was left for Mr. Dewar. Maybe it means that if Nancy should show up, the occupants of the houseboat were to leave immediately with their possessions."

"It does look," said Mr. Drew, "as if the boxes which were removed contained stolen goods."

Nancy agreed, thinking this would tie in with her theory about a smuggling racket. Then she added grimly, "I'll bet Mr. Dewar was the driver who tried to run me off the road and cause an accident. When he failed, he went back and warned those men to get out."

Her father was thoughtful. "Nancy, if you girls are right in your theories, you have picked up one clue to many secrets that may be contained in the Gaelic code message!"