Trans America Flight Two was twenty minutes out of Lincoln International, and on course for Rome. It was flying above the storm, in a clear sky.

Inside the plane, a radio message was being received. Anson Harris, Cy Jordan and Vernon all laughed as they listened to the description of Mrs Ada Quonsett, the stowaway.

'I don't believe it!' Jordan said.

'I do!' Vernon laughed. 'It's so easy to get past those fools on the ground. Even an old grandmother is too clever for them!'

He asked Gwen to go and look for the old lady. When she came back she was laughing, too. 'She's all in black, and about eighty years old. A real threat to public safety! Shall I ask her to show me her ticket?'

'No,' Vernon said, 'don't do that.'

The others looked at him in surprise.

'Let her enjoy the flight. Give her a nice dinner and let her see the film. You can tell her that we know who she is just before we get to Rome.'

'Well, Vernon, you can be quite likeable sometimes!' Gwen said.

'I didn't know you liked old ladies, Vernon,' Harris said, when Gwen had gone.

Vernon laughed. 'I prefer young ones. I'm not like you, Anson!'

Everyone knew that Harris had never cheated on his wife. When he was away from home on flights, Vernon had seen him reading books or going to a film - alone.

'How many children have you got?' he asked.

'Seven. Four we intended to have, and three we didn't. But we're glad to have them all.'

'The ones you didn't intend to have. Did you ever consider doing anything about them? Before they were born?'

'Do you mean abortion?' Harris asked sharply.

'Yes.'

'Never. It's something I have very strong views about.'

'Because of your religion?'

'No. I'm not a very religious man.'

'Why then?'

'Do you really want to hear all about it?'

'Why not? We have all night.'

They would be able to hear any radio calls that might come in, and they were free to talk.

Harris told Vernon what he believed. He said that society had progressed by caring about people and by respecting their rights. Abortion refused a child the right to life, and to him this was as bad as murder.

This was not at all what Vernon wanted to hear.

'You should have been a lawyer, not a pilot,' he told Harris.

'I told you that I had strong feelings about this. You don't need to be religious to respect human life.'

'Or to have a lot of stupid ideas! Anyway, abortion is becoming easier all the time. Not many people agree with you.'

'Then our society is taking a step backwards.' Harris replied firmly.