I said I hadn’t decided. Actually, I planned a trip to the coast, to interview pilots who had sighted flying disks.
“What would you do if you found it wasn’t a Soviet missile?” said Steele. He sounded almost too casual.
“If security was involved, I’d keep still. But the Air Force and the Navy swear they haven’t any such things.”
Steele looked at me thoughtfully.
“You know, True might force something into the open that would be better left secret.” He smiled ironically. “I realize that sounds peculiar, since I suggested the Russian angle. But if it isn’t Russian—though I still think it is—then we have nothing to worry about.”
I was almost sure now that he was a plant. During the rest of the luncheon, I tried to draw him out, but Steele was through talking. When we parted, he gave me a sober warning.
“You and True should consider your moral responsibility, no matter what you find. Even if it’s not actual security, there may be reasons to keep still.”
After he left me, I tried to figure it out. If the Air Force was back of this, they must not think much of my intelligence. Or else they had been in such a hurry to get a line on True’s investigation that they had no choice but to use Steele. Of course, it was still possible he was doing this on his own.
Either way, his purpose was obvious. He hoped to have us swallow the Soviet-missile answer. If we did, then we would have to keep still, even though we found absolute proof. Obviously, it would be dangerous to print that story.
Thinking back, I recalled Steele’s apparent attempt to dismiss the Mantell case. I was convinced now. The Godman Field affair must hold an important clue that I had overlooked. It might even be the key to the whole flying saucer riddle.