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Zoe peered out of the train window at 

the late afternoon sunshine pouring over 

the huge, granite-grey shape of a big 

old house. “Are we there yet?” moaned 

her brother Andrew beside her.

“It’s been ages and ages!” grumbled his twin 

Antony, who was sitting beside Andrew with his 

arms folded and looking grumpy.

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“Not far now,” answered Zoe, feeling quite the 

little mother to her nine-year-old brothers, even 

though she was only 11 herself. Not taking her 

eyes off the huge house which was so close 

now that she could see its grimy windows, she 

felt a nervous fluttering in her stomach. Andrew 

and Antony stared out of the train window.

That can’t be where we’re going, can 

it?” asked Andrew, looking in disgust 

at the building with its little turrets 

and rounded corners, a cross between a 

house and a castle.

“No, I don’t think so. Mum said 

Sligachan was quite a big house, but I 

didn’t think it was going to be as big 

as that,” explained Zoe. She thought 

back to the day her parents had told 

them the three children were to have a 

special treat, to go to stay with Miss 

McDougal at Sligachan House.

It had all sounded wonderful then, to leave 

their home in Newcastle to go to the Scottish 

house where her mother had stayed as a child. 

But it didn’t sound as good when she heard that 

her parents would not be going too. They had 

to visit Granny in London who wasn’t very well 

and Mum said it would be very boring for the 

children.

But now the dark, gloomy mansion had come 

into view around the corner of the railway 

track, she wasn’t so sure. She hoped that 

wasn’t where they were going. Yet there were 

no other buildings to be seen and an 

announcement over the carriage speaker said 

their stop was fast approaching. It was in just 

the right place, as her mother had described, at 

the foot of a mountain, a wood behind and the 

railway track just in front.

Suddenly, Antony cried out, “Look, look! 

There’s somebody at the window 

watching us, all pale and strange.” But 

when the other two looked towards 

where he was pointing, there was 

nothing to be seen.

“Stop pulling our legs,” said Zoe, 

angrily, for she was already starting 

to worry about how menacing Sligachan 

House appeared.

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