Mystery on the Isle of Skye

Winging over the ocean on her way from America to Scotland and the Misty Isle of Skye, Cathy MacLeod finds the events of the past few weeks hard to believe. An orphan, Cathy has been brought up by a beloved grandmother. But now her grandmother is ill and Cathy has to get used to the idea of making her home with another relative -- probably her Aunt Bertha, a well-intentioned but rather formidable woman -- and Cathy tries hard not to feel sorry for herself. In the meantime other relatives, the Corbins, have made plans to visit the Isle of Skye, where the MacLeods came from, and of which Cathy has heard tales all her life. The Corbins represent two old Scottish families, for Cathy's uncle is of the MacLeods, and her aunt is a MacDonald. On the flight Cathy carries a special box from her grandmother, full of fascinating "surprises" to open in the course of the trip. The two young Corbins, Don (Cathy's own age), and Punch, a warmhearted, lively little boy, are drawn into a search for the answers to a series of mysteries connected with these surprises. And the visit to the Isle of Skye becomes doubly thrilling as new puzzles are added to the bewildering problems they have set out to solve. New friends and strange surroundings wait for Cathy on the Isle of Skye, but the greatest surprise comes when she least expects it. The colorful, authentic background for this story adds immeasurably to its flavor and excitement -- ancient Dunvegan Castle, the old traditions, the pipers, the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the woman who hid him from his enemies, the age-old feud of the MacLeods and the MacDonalds.