Saucer in the Dunes

6. Who Were They Kidding?

Who did the army think they were kidding? A C-130 would rattle the eardrums of anyone minutes before you saw it. You could hear them buzzing for miles. There was no way people didn't know what a C-130 was. I listened for another call or two, trying to hear where they were when I heard the name Kingston.

I ran back inside, screaming at my dad, who calmly held up his hand, a sign I recognized for years to be quiet. He and mom had the same channel on the big radio in the kitchen. Mom had pulled a chair up and was sitting close to dad, listening.

"That's here!" I whispered excitedly.

"Not too far," dad replied.

"Listen."

"I hope no one is hurt," mom said for the first time, sounding alarmed to me.

"I'm going back outside to see," I insisted.

Mom grabbed my arm before I could dash away. I pleaded with her, but this time dad was on her side.

"Better stay in, son. We'll follow along here. I don't think there's much to see out there anyway, too many trees."

When dad said no, he meant no. I dropped to the floor next to them, directly in front of the yellow glow of the radio dial, and listened to the staticky voice of a farmer describing what he had seen only minutes before.

Suddenly we heard sirens. They started from a long way off, at first seeming like they were coming from the radio. As they neared, the dogs next door began to howl. It sounded as if they turned onto the main street in town, only a couple of blocks away. I was sure they turned off and had gone down the old Seven Forks Road, which eventually crossed under the highway. The sirens began to fade out little by little.

Dynamite Don announced that witnesses in several communities had reported a band of State Police officers in pursuit of the UFO, last seen in the Kingston area and heading east. The fuzz on my arms stood on end.

"Dad, that was them! That was them, dad. Let's go see!"

Mom had moved to the front window.

"It looks like the Farnhams are listening too," she said, looking back at dad.

"Mr. Farnahm is outside, and so are Mr. and Mrs. Bell next door."

"Well, maybe we ought to have a look ourselves," he agreed.

I ran, and they walked out onto the front porch. I carried with me my transistor. The Bells came right over and talked to mom and dad, and soon so did Mr. Farnham and his oldest son. He was 19 and was about to leave for college out west somewhere. He only stayed a few minutes because he was going to pick up one of his buddies, and they were going to see what they could find out, a prospect that excited me greatly.

In a few more minutes, other neighbors were also on the sidewalk in front of our house. They were talking among themselves about the UFO and how they had heard about it. Dynamite Don was not the only one talking about it. They talked about our move down to their town too. Most of that did not concern me, so it was easy to sneak over to the steps so I could still hear Don and not bother anyone.