parent reason, a
sudden increase of radiation was indicated. The radiation remained
high for a few seconds, then dropped back to normal. The increase
over normal was not sufficient to be dangerous, but it definitely was
unusual. All indications pointed to equipment malfunction as the most
probable explanation. A quick check revealed no obvious trouble with
the gear, and the two scientists were about to start a more detailed
check when a third member of the radiation crew came rushing into the
lab.

Before they could tell the newcomer about the unexplained radiation
they had just picked up, he blurted out a story of his own. He had
driven to a nearby town, and on his return trip, as he approached the
research lab, something in the sky suddenly caught his eye. High in
the cloudless blue he saw three silvery objects moving in a V
formation. They appeared to be spherical in shape, but he wasn't
sure. The first fact that had hit him was that the objects were
traveling too fast to be conventional aircraft. He jammed on the
brakes, stopped his car, and shut off the engine. No sound. All he
could hear was the quiet whir of a generator in the research lab. In
a few seconds the objects had disappeared from sight.

After the first two scientists had briefed their excited colleague
on the unusual radiation they had detected, the three men asked each
other the $64 question: Was there any connection between the two
incidents? Had the UFO's caused the excessive radiation?

They checked the time. Knowing almost exactly when the instruments
had registered the increased radiation, they checked on how long it
took to drive to the lab from the point where the three silver
objects had been seen. The times correlated within a minute or two.
The three men proceeded to check their radiation equipment
thoroughly. Nothing was wrong.

The rumor stopped here. Nothing that I or anyone else on Project
Blue Book could find out shed any further light on the source of the
story. People associated with projects similar to the research lab
that was mentioned in the rumor were sought out and questioned. Many
of them had heard the story, but no one could add any new details.
The three unknown scientists, at the unnamed lab, in an unknown part
of the United States, might as well never have existed. Maybe they
hadn't.

Almost a year after I had first heard the UFO-radiation story I got
a long-distance call from a friend on the west coast. I had seen h