Q. I’d like to go back to the Mantell case a second. If Venus was so bright—remember Mantell thought it was a huge metallic object—why didn’t the pilot who made the search later on— A. Well, it was Venus, that’s positive. But I can’t remember all the details without the case books. Q. One more question, Major. Have any reports been received at Wright Field since Project “Saucer” closed? There was a case after that date, an airliner crew— At this point, Major Jesse Stay broke in. “It’s all up to the local commanders now. If they want to receive reports of anything unusual, all right. And if they want to investigate them, that’s up to each commander. But no Project ‘Saucer’ teams will check on reports. That’s all ended.” There at the last, it had been a little. like a courtroom scene, and I was glad the interview was over. Major Boggs was unruffled as ever. I apologized for the barrage of questions, and thanked him for being so decent about it. “It was interesting, getting your viewpoint,” he said. He smiled, still the courteous sphinx, and went on out. After Bogs had left, I talked with General Smith alone. I told him I was not convinced, “I’d like to see the complete files on these cases I mentioned,” I explained. “Also, I’d like to talk with the last commanding officer or senior Intelligence officer attached to Project ‘Saucer.’” “I’m not sure about the senior officer,” General Smith answered. “He may have been detached already. But I don’t see any reason why you can’t see those files. I’ll phone Wright Field and call you.” I was about to leave, but he motioned for me to sit down. “I can understand how you feel about the Mantell report,” General Smith said earnestly. “I knew Tommy Mantell very well. And Colonel Hix is a classmate of mine. I knew neither one was the kind to have hallucinations. That case got me, at first.” “You believe Venus is the true answer?” I asked him. He seemed surprised. “It must be, if Wright Field says so.” When I went back to the Press Branch, I asked Jack Shea for the case-report summaries that Boggs had mentioned, He got them for me—two collections of loose-leaf mimeographed sheets enclosed in black binders. So these were the “secret files”! Across the hall, in the press room, I opened one book at random. The first thing I saw was this: “A meteorologist should compute the approximate energy required to evaporate as much cloud as shown in the incident 26 photographs.” Photographs. Major Boggs had said there were no important pictures. I tucked the binders under my arm and went out to my car. Perhaps these books hinted at more than Boggs had realized. But that didn’t seem likely. As liaison man, he should know all the answers. I was almost positive that he did. But I was equally sure they weren’t the answers he had given me. CHAPTER XVIII That night I went through the Project “Saucer” summary of cases. It was a strange experience.