"The Air Force and the C.A.A."

"If the C.A.A.'s in on it, it's a top-level deal," said Charley. "I
think it's more likely the companies--with or without a nudge from the
Air Force."

While we were talking, an official from another agency came in.
Because the lead he gave me was off the record, I'll call him Steve
Barrett. I knew Steve fairly well. We were both pilots with service
training; our paths had crossed during the war, and I saw him now and
then at airports around Washington.

When the saucer scare first broke, Steve had been disgusted. "Damn
fools trying to get publicity," he snorted. "The way Americans fall
for a gag! Even the Air Force has got the jitters."

So I was a little surprised to find he now thought the disks were
real.

"What sold you?" I asked.

"The radar reports," said Steve. "I know of half a dozen cases where
they've tracked the things. One was in Japan. The thing was climbing
so fast no one believed the radarmen at first. Then they got some more
reports. One was up in Canada. There was a case in New Mexico, and I
think a Navy destroyer tracked a saucer up in the North Atlantic."

"What did they find out?" said Charley Planck.

Steve shrugged. "I don't know all the answers. Whatever they are, the