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ed out of an alley and approached her shyly。 〃Peter is ing;〃 she announced。
This statement shook Jane。 She remembered that Catholic lore predicts that the final pope will be named Peter。
〃Why are you interested in our Mount?〃 the woman continued; then repeated; 〃Peter is ing very soon。〃
Next a large black Cadillac came down the street and stopped next to them。 It was 〃brand…new; very shiny and polished;〃 Jane recalled。 The driver was an olive…skinned man wearing wraparound sunglasses and dressed in a neat gray suit; apparently of the same material as the woman's clothes。 The rear door opened and a man climbed out with a big grin on his face。 He was about five feet eight inches tall; with dark skin and Oriental eyes。 Jane thought he looked like a Hawaiian。 He had the air of someone very important and was dressed in a well…cut; expensive…looking suit of the same gray material that was shiny like silk but was not silk。
He solemnly shook hands with the girl; 〃his hand was as cold as ice;〃 and stared at her steadily with his jet…black eyes; grinning all the while。
〃Do you know who I am?〃 he asked。 〃I am Apol 'pronounced Apple'。〃
The Cadillac〃 pulled away and drove off; leaving the three of them standing on the street。 Apol produced a piece of folded paper and handed it to Jane。
〃Wear this always;〃 he told her。 〃So 'they' will know who you are。〃
〃Who's they?〃 she asked。
〃They are the very good people;〃 he answered。
The paper; a piece of very old parchment; contained a small metal disc about the size of a quarter。 As they talked they walked slowly toward the center of town until they stood in front of the post office。 Jane impulsively announced she was going to mail the disc to someone。 She went into the post office; got an envelope; and sent the disc and parchment to me special delivery。 The two strangers smiled broadly at each other。
When she came out of the post office; Apol told her a number of things about her childhood that no one could have known and advised her to avoid iodine。 (She had a minor health problem which required her to avoid iodine in her diet。)
The car reappeared and the two people got into it and drove off。 〃I felt very strange while I was talking to them;〃 she recalled。 〃I was whoozy 。。。 like I was in a daze or something。〃
If it hadn't been for the metal disc I would have classified the entire episode as hallucinatory。 The next day I received the special delivery envelope and was very disappointed by the contents。 The disc looked like a blank identification tag similar to those that e with flea collars。 The parchment seemed to be the remnants of a very old envelope。 After examining it; I put the disc back into the paper exactly as I had received it; then placed the whole thing in a small envelope which I sealed with Scotch tape。 I put this into a larger manila envelope and mailed it back to Jane special delivery。
She phoned me the next day。
〃Why did you bend the disc and tear up the paper?〃 she demanded。
She had just received the envelope and found that the parchment in the sealed inner envelope had been ripped into three pieces。 The metal disc was bent; as if it had been folded double and then unfolded again。 It had also turned charcoal black and smelled like 〃rotten eggs。〃
The implication was clear。 Someone had the ability to intercept the U。S。 mails and tamper with things in sealed envelopes!
II
While Jane was holding clandestine meetings with Mr。 Apol and his mysterious lady friend; Jaye P。 Paro was being entertained by the redoubtable Princess Moon Owl; a character who would bee a legend on Long Island by the end of 1967。 At 3:30 P。M。 on June 11; 1967; Jaye entered the studios of WBAB and found a very weird woman waiting for her。 She was at least six feet tall; was very dark (Negroid); with large; glassy eyes; and wore a costume largely made up of feathers。 She was gasping and wheezing; having great difficulty breathing。 Jaye thought she was having a heart attack。
〃I am Princess Moon Owl;〃 she declared between wheezes。 〃I am from another planet。 I came here by flying saucer。〃
Jaye slapped a tape on a tape recorder and offered to interview her for the air。 The Princess was delighted; pulled herself together; and delivered a hilarious thirty…minute monologue about life on the planet Ceres in the asteroid belt。 She seemed to be familiar with all the New York/ Long Island UFO buffs and eccentrics; denouncing some as 〃phonies〃 and praising others。 As the interview progressed; Jaye became increasingly unfortable。 Cerians had a problem with body odor。 〃She stank like rotten eggs;〃 Jaye said afterward。 The smell was slight at first but gradually became overpowering。 The Princess admitted to being 〃Seven Ooongots〃 old 。。。 or about 350 Earth years。
While the interview was in progress; I was sitting in my New York apartment and my telephone was going crazy。 It rang several times but there was no one on the other end。 (Until this period I had had very few problems with my personal phone。) Later that afternoon I received a call from a middle…aged woman who said she was Princess Moon Owl and that I could reach her through 〃contactee Paro。〃 The woman's voice did not resemble the voice on Jaye's tape; which I heard later。
The taped Moon Owl sounded like a man faking an Aunt Jemima accent。 He was a very bad actor。 I accused Jaye of a hoax and advised her not to put the interview on the air。 If it was not a hoax; then Moon Owl was the victim of demonic possession (Jaye's description of the Princess's behavior certainly indicated this)。 Jaye aired the tape anyway and Long Island's lunatic fringe went wild with joy。 At last a genuine space person was in their midst。
Once she had established her credentials on WBAB; Moon Owl began to systematically telephone all of Long Island's prominent UFO enthusiasts。 They accepted her authenticity without question。 What troubled me was the fact that she managed to vector in on a number of unlisted numbers; and she obviously knew a great deal about the local personalities。 The most suspicious things of all were her transparent references to a major UFO convention scheduled to be held that June 24 in New York's Hotel modore。 James Moseley; publisher of Saucer News; had rented the hotel's auditorium and practically an entire floor for the event and was staging press conferences and radio and television appearances to promote his investment。 Princess Moon Owl seemed to fit too neatly into the publicity campaign。
Meanwhile; Jane's phantom friends were visiting her daily and helpfully giving her surprising information about my own 〃secret〃 investigations。 My interview with the Christiansens of Cape May; and the details of their pill…popping visitor; Tiny; was then known only to a few trusted people like Ivan Sanderson。 But on June 12; Mr。 Apol and his friends visited Jane when she was alone in her house and asked for water so they could take some pills。 Then they presented her with three of the same pills; told her to take one