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'Thank you' She fiddled with the ared—a safety barrier between them

'Again—my pleasure, mademoiselle' With a simple riht position, all thuard He ell named, she decided He was as watchful as a hawk

'You don’t see much luck today, do you?' he commented when she finally succeeded in her task She frowned at hie, and he added suavely, 'We're coh the clouds noould you like to swap seats so you can watch the landing?'

'I'd rather not,' she said uneasily, noting the tilt of the wing and the ragged sweep of wispy cloud which suddenly cleared to reveal a ly below

'There's no need to be afraid—'

'I'm not afraid!' Unconsciously her hand had clenched on the arm-rest

'Is this your first flight?'

'Yes' She felt hopelessly naive ad it

'First time out of New Zealand?'

Now she felt even more naïve 'Yes But I'm not afraid,' she reaffirmed, more to herself than to him

'Just nervous, h Even seasoned travellers like s'

Elizabeth hardly heard his soothing aze was riveted out of theThey see but n of any flat or in­habited land The plane wheeled even further and now she could see the sea where it o on forever She had known that New Caledonia was the third largest island in the South Pacific after New Guinea and New Zealand, but still she had soined a flat coral atoll surrounded by sea Instead she was seeing a bush-covered volcanic terrain that looked like the edge of a huge con­tinent The occasional dwelling dotted the landscape but still she could see no sign of an airport and they were co her teeth on edge Surely they had been circling far too long?

'I hope the pilot's not lost,' sheher ears pop 'I thought the airport was at Nouméa but I don’t see any city'

'Tontouta is only a very snposted' The faint ravity would have been A war it with a fir some of her tension 'It's also about forty-fivethe city for a while yet The travel agents who handle our bookings are sup­posed to provide a travel package with all that kind of inforet one?'

Elizabeth bristled at the hint of criticish he would realise why she had been unable to anticipate her holiday with any real enthusiasm! 'Yes, but I haven’t read it in detail,' she said coolly, her galloping heartbeat slowing a little as she saind-sock waving in the wind below and a segment of wide black tarmac