The official explanation may be imminent. When it is finally revealed,
I believe the elaborate preparation--even the wide deceit
involved--will be fully justified in the minds of the American people.

{p. 15}



CHAPTER II

IT HAS BEEN over two years since the puzzling death of Captain Thomas
Mantell.

Mantell died mysteriously in the skies south of Fort Knox. But before
his radio went silent, he sent a strange message to Godman Air Force
Base. The men who heard it will never forget it.

It was January 7, 1948.

Crowded into the Godman Field Tower, a group of Air Force officers
stared up at the afternoon sky. For just an instant, something gleamed
through the broken clouds south of the base.

High above the field, three P-51 fighters climbed with swift urgency.
Heading south, they quickly vanished.

The clock in the tower read 2:45.

Colonel Guy Hix, the C.O., slowly put down his binoculars. If the
thing was still there, the clouds now hid it. All they could do was