"Single to Rio de Janeiro, please," says Judy.
"First class or tourist?"
"Oh, tourist, please."

Judy checks in and goes through the passport control to the departure gate. On the plane she finds a seat by the window. A young man comes and sits down by her. Judy looks at him. He is tall and dark, about 25, and very well dressed. Judy is not interested in him.

He has dark brown eyes, a straight nose, a wide humorous mouth, and strong brown hands with long sensitive fingers. He is incredibly handsome. Judy looks out of the window.

"Excuse me. Would you like a drink?"
"Oh, er, yes. Thank you very much. A whisky, please."
The young man gave Judy her drink and smiled at her. He had an incredibly attractive smile. He really looked very nice: calm, friendly and kind. "Perhaps he's a doctor," she thought - "a surgeon, with those strong sensitive hands. Or perhaps an artist, or a musician." Yes, he looked like an artist. She looked at him again and smiled.

"What time is it, please?" he asked.
Judy looked at her watch. "Two thirty-five."
"Thank you," he said, and smiled at her. She smiled back at him. He smiled again. He took a gun out of his pocket, stood up, and walked to the front of the plane.

"Good afternoon. This is your hijacker speaking. We are now flying at 550 miles per hour at a height of 29,000 feet. In approximately one and a half hours we will be over the north of Scotland. I wish you a pleasant flight."

Judy's head was going round and round. First Sam, then the police, and now the hijacker. Where would it all end? Life was really much too complicated. She drank her whisky. It didn't make any difference. She looked out of the window. The sky was full of big dark clouds. So was her head.

Some time later the plane started going down. The pilot's door opened, and the hijacker came out, still holding his gun. He walked up to her and smiled. "You know," he said, "you really are extremely beautiful. Come and put on your parachute." Judy fainted.

Judy opened her eyes. The sun was shining, and a cool wind was blowing on her face. She felt very light and happy. "Where am I?" she said. Behind her, a man's voice said "100 feet above Loch Ness. Can you swim?" Judy fainted again.

When she opened her eyes, she was lying on the bank of the loch, with her head on the parachute. "Allow me to introduce myself," said the handsome young man. "My name is Jasper MacDonald."
"Why did you hijack the plane?" asked Judy.
"It's my birthday," said Jasper. "Now let's go to my castle and find some dry clothes."

It didn’t take long to get to Jasper’s castle. It was an enormous building, about half a mile from Loch Ness, with tall towers, battlements and a moat, and at least 200 rooms.

“What a place!” said Judy.
“Well, it’s not much, but it’s home,” said Jasper. “Let me show you to your room. And I’ll see if I can find you some of my sister’s clothes.”

Judy’s room was about ten minutes’ walk from the main entrance, up a lot of stairs and along a lot of corridors. It was beautiful, decorated in light blue and lilac, wilt some wonderful pieces of antique furniture. There was a splendid view of loch and the mountains.

“This is lovely!” said Judy. “How many of you live here?”
“Just my sister and I,” said Jasper. “And the ghost, of course. See you later.”