seen to change direction twice, maneuvering at an unbelievable speed.

Then on June 24 came Kenneth Arnold's famous report, which set off the
saucer scare. The rest of the story I now knew almost by heart.

When the DC-6 landed at Washington, I had made one decision. Since it
was impossible to check up on most of the old sightings, I would
concentrate on certain recent reports--cases in which the objects had
been described as space ships.

As I waited for a taxi, I looked up at the sky. It was a clear summer
night, without a single cloud. Beyond the low hill to the west I could
see the stars.

I can still remember thinking, If it's true, then the stars will never
again seem the same.

{p. 67}



CHAPTER VIII

NEXT MORNING, in the broad light of day, the idea of space visitors
somehow had lost its menace. If the disks were space ships, at least
they had shown no sign of hostility, so far as I knew. Of course,
there was Mantell; but if he had been downed by some weapon on the
disk, it could have been self-defense. In most cases, the saucers
retreated at the first sign of pursuit.