"............ Wow. That was quite a story, huh?" Laura complimented, closing the book with her gentle hand. She looked up at Penfold who didn't look interested, staring off to the side.

"Yes," Penfold replied with a yawn, "But it was boring."

Laura leered, "Yes, Penfold, you silly kid. You'd probably be more interested in stories about big purple dinosaurs."

"What?"

"Never mind."

Danger Mouse too sat in the library with Penfold and Laura. He slouched in a leather couch, spacing off into the distance from the book he was reading that was held loosely in his lap. Seemed he had been distracted from the book in a deep contemplation. Laura had given this some heed.

"DM. Is something wrong? You look sad." She asked.

At first he did not reply, as if he didn't hear Laura's question. But then he looked up swiftly and opened his mouth slightly before he spoke, "Oh. No, there isn't anything wrong. I'm just thinking about what you read."

"What about it?"

DM shook his head with one brow down, "I don't know, really. I know that I've been told stories about that, but I don't remember when it was, and who told me."

"Hm...." Laura too joined DM in deep thought.

Just then, the alarm went off in the living room. DM never told her that they had changed the sound of the alarm, so she panicked. It had a loud screaching noise that pierced Laura's ears like a needle. "AAAAAH! WHAT IS THAT?!?! Is that the FIRE ALARM?! AH!" Laura made a bee-line out the door in a wail, yelling: "FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!! FIRE!!!!!!" But when she stumbled into the living room, she stopped and looked around, sniffing the air.

"Hey. I don't see no fire. And I don't smell smoke. What............"

Penfold was laughing so hard he couldn't walk out the door. The way he laughed was similar to the sound of a turkey being choked. He crawled out, holding his side with one hand, and keeping himself up with the other. His glasses started to slide off his muzzle as his head slumped down, blaring his laughter at the floor.

"Why didn't anyone tell me that the alarm was changed!!!"

"Sorry Laura. Heeeheeee..." Danger Mouse came out grinning widely, but holding his head down as he tried not to laugh himself. However, the way he glanced up at Laura with his one eye seemed to give some scoff anyway. Laura crossed her arms and rolled her eyes in frustration. She tapped her foot, trying not to let herself burst back.

"Hee hee.....heeya! It's pretty funny isn't it?" She tried to find the humor in it, "Okay, the Colonel needs or attention. Stop laughing."

Danger Mouse and Penfold joined Laura as they confronted the video-phone with the Colonel. He seemed quite relaxed in his concerned manner. There he was, in his usual way, hunching over his desk, resting his big hands on the desktop.

"Ah. DM. Good show. Got an assignment for ya."

"We knew that," Laura replied with a yawn, "So what is it?"

"Is it Green Back again?" Penfold asked.

"Let the Colonel tell us, Penny!"

"'ear! Don't call me Penny! Penny's a girl's name!"

"Your assignment.... right.... well, I have been getting some reports from various sources of summer tourists who have been visiting the Scottish Isles. They say there are ghosts and such phenomena going on all over the place. My other agents have turned this case down, but you DM, you the non-superstitious agent are fit for the job."

"Ghosts? What nonsense!" DM chuckled.

"See what I mean. I've booked you three into the Celts Hotel in the Scottish Isles where most of the sources have come from."

"Yes, Colonel. We're on our way there now."

Laura and Penfold followed DM, plopping onto the seat. She laughed all the way down the lift excitedly. But before Danger Mouse took the steering wheel, Laura exclaimed loudly, "I want to drive!"

"What?"

"Oh, come on! I have to get the hang of this thing some time! Like, when you're not available to drive the Mach 3, I would need to be back up, right?"

DM paused and looked at her, "Well....... I guess I can let you take it for a spin."

"Cool," Laura and DM both hopped out of the car and swapped around. Laura leaped with a graceful pose, showing off, and landed herself upon the soft leather seat, "Seems strange to be on the opposite side of the car driving," She turned back the ignition and shifted it into gear, "Ever thought about getting an automatic shift, DM. The boffins should install it in here sometime."

With ease, Laura drove swiftly out of the garage and cruised down the streets of London. Danger Mouse and Penfold were scared out of their wits, and it showed in their faces. They looked at Laura nervously.

"Laura!!!"

"What's wrong?!"

"You're driving in the right lane!"

"So. Aren't I supposed to?"

"No! Your supposed to be in the left lane!!"

Laura looked from Danger Mouse to the road, in time to see the front of a gigantic semi-truck.

"AAH!" Laura shifted the car into flight gear and darted full speed into the great blue. But she couldn't control it in flight mode and it spun all over the skies. Danger Mouse and Penfold screamed bloody murder as the car just barely missed a group of migrating geese. They flapped away madly, squawking frantically, with feathers flying all over. The car still spun dizzily like a tumble dryer, until it stopped while upside down.

"O 'ECK!!! There go me 'umbugs again!!" Penfold said, watching them fall out of his pocket and to the ground many miles below. DM tried not to lose his cool, as he clenched tightly to the seat cushion and grit his teeth.

Laura finally got the car level and upright, and panted in exhaustion. Her hair was all frizzed and out of place.

"I think you better drive." She said faintly.

"Yes..." DM replied, still stunned.

They quickly traded seats and Danger Mouse began to drive to the Scottish Isles. He adjusted the strands of his hair and applied his hand back on the wheel. Laura felt so embarrassed.

"I almost got you killed. I'm sorry."

"YES! You'd BETTER be sorry, Laura! I lost me 'umbugs and almost lost me breakfast too!!" Penfold cried.

"Shush, Penfold," Danger Mouse scolded, "It's okay, Laura. Mistakes happen. And seriously, if I knew we would've been killed, I would've taken the steering wheel sooner."

"Cor'! So side the lady, why don'tcha!" Penfold argued.

DM didn't say anything more. He just glared at Penfold, and then fell silent the rest of the way to the isles.

The further up north they went, the more cold and misty it became. Laura shivered and crossed her arms over her chest. Penfold too was cold and rubbed his hands together to cause friction. Danger Mouse saw this and spoke again.

"There is a blanket in the trunk behind the seat."

Laura opened a compartment from behind them. She pulled out a green, cotton blanket, soft to the touch. She hogged it all and wrapped herself in like a caterpillar in its cocoon. Penfold glared.

"Hey! I'm cold too. Give me!"

Laura glanced over, concerned. She flapped loose a part of the blanket and volunteeringly helped Penfold tuck himself in with a smile.

"There y'go, kiddo."

While they shared the blanket, Lara noticed Danger Mouse, trying to stay idle and bold against the cold, still shivered. DM masked a serious expression to keep it from being obvious he was feeling the chilly air too. When DM caught her looking at him, she shyly looked away. She could not see the ground below them, with the mist blinding.

"Do you even know where you're going in this mist?" She asked him.

"There is a radar on the Mach III. That's how I'm getting through it."

Laura nodded and looked back out. But her head rose and ears twitched when she heard something. Against the sound of the gusting wind, a voice-like noise somehow made it's way in.

"Do you have the radio on, DM?" Laura asked.

"No. Why?"

"I hear something...... or someone...."

They fell silent, looking around suspiciously.

"I don't hear anything." Penfold said.

Laura rubbed her ear and froze, waiting for the sound to return.

"Maybe it was just my ears. It could be the wind blowing by too."

Only moments later, at the Celts Inn, the three walked into the lobby. A rather fancy display of a polished green marble floor, multiple ferns planted around, and the booth; a refine green glass.

Laura whistled. "Whiiio! This is a fancy place. The boffins have good taste."

"May I help you, people?" A woman asked at the desk.

"Yes," DM began, "I believe we have reservations for a three under the last name Mouse."

"We have two under Mouse. We have Mick, and Danger."

"We're Danger."

"Okay. Your room is #146 on the second floor."

"Thank you."

DM took the key from the desk and led the two to the elevator. It took them to the second floor, and when there, they walked through the narrow halls till they came upon the room.

"142.....143.....144...145..... here it is, 146." DM muttered.

His key turned in the door to a rather small room. His mouth dropped in shock. When the other two came in, they drew wide smiles.

"Yeah! Look at this place! It's fantastic!" Laura exclaimed with glee.

Everything had a green coloring to it. The sheets on all three of the beds, the carpet, the wallpaper, and even the furniture.

"Bless the boffins, what a room!"

"Yes. But remember, this isn't a holiday get away. We're supposed to get to the mystery of the ghost that is scaring away all the tourists."

Laura chuckled, "Well, to tellya the truth, Scotland needs less tourists anyway! Case solved! Well, guess we have the night to rest before we go home."

"Laura! You're beginning to sound like Penfold."

"Hea'! You make that sound like a bad thing!" Penfold remarked.

"Hey, I was kidding. Golly, when was the last time you ever had a good slap stick?"

"Once upon a time. Now lets get busy. The ghost, as sources say," DM said with his eyes rolling in skepticism, "comes out at night and is mostly heard in the fields out there."

"Do they hear it from here?"

"Yes. But we're not going to try to listen here. We're going to investigate out there where the source of that sound is supposed to be."

"Oh 'eck!" Penfold mumbled.

"Awesome." Laura grinned. Penfold gave her a sharp look.

Not too far away from the hotel, the detective and his two assistants wander through the hills in the dark of the night, awaiting the eerie sounds of the ghost to rise. They heard a noise, but it was more of a rattling sound than anything.

"I didn't know there were rattlesnakes in the Highlands of Scotland." Laura uttered.

"Th-th-those aren't r-r-rattlesnakes," Penfold replied, "Th-those are m-my teeth ch-ch-chattering."

"Yes, it is pretty cold outside tonight. We are near the shore where the ocean mist carries."

"N-not only that. S-s-scared."

"Oh," Laura said in a taunting way, "What's wrong, Ernest. Afraid there'll be a..... GHOST!!!" She jumped abruptly.

"AAAAAH," Penfold was jumped, "Co' rotten 'eck! You've got batty-nerve!"

"Hush you two," Danger Mouse scolded, "this is no time to joke around. We must be silent to be able to hear the ghost."

Laura and Penfold fell still, yet looking at one another with child-like impudence. They looked around and listened attentively, yet no sound or phenomenal occurrence took place.

"Well, no ghost. Let's go home." Penfold said, breaking the silence.

DM whispered, "No, Penfold. We are--"

DM stopped when a soft voice began to blend in with the wind. It grew louder and hovered over their heads. They turned upward to the sound, but they did not see anything. Just the dark clouds and the stars above them in the dark void of the sky. When the voice became clearer and a song was sung, the hair on their skin stood on end, and chills waved through their body.

A bright glow caught their eyes. They looked from the sky to the fields, where a faint figure of a gentle angelic presence. She looked up and saw the three, standing there idle in fright.

When she floated towards them, DM backed up in fear and guarded Penfold and Laura with his arms. Their eyes still locked with the blue eyes of the ghost. Her hair that swayed in a wave was a bright red. She wore a shining white garment and her skin was as white as snow. She stopped when she was face to face with the frightened three, with a gentle complexion.

"Ye hath no fear. I am a protector of those who reside amongst or islands. I know Ye hath come to seek me, to know if I be existent. And to know why they who come to temporarily stay fear me and flee. I seek the virtue of hearts, and to whom that disturb my land wear out their welcome. I seek Ye hearts and find a truth, Ye be welcomed into the land."

With one gentle smile, she drifted away swiftly and faded. Her song carried out further, sweeping into the wind and joining the chorus of the ocean shore. They still stared, petrified.

"Whu---what are we going to tell the Colonel?" Laura asked.

"The truth. The ghost is a Guardian spirit of the Celts."

"Wow, Chief," Penfold said, "You actually believe now."

"Yes," He nodded, "We might as well go back to the hotel and rest for the night before heading back to Mayfair."

And so ends the case of our three courageous heroes. Stay tuned for the nex tale!!

The End
Revamped: 5/11/02