Touch the Sky (Young Underground #8) (4 page)

             
Everyone stopped talking when Matthias mentioned the word
“
wedding,
”
and all eyes turned to Mrs. Melchior. Her face turned bright red, but she said nothing, while the smile on Matthias
’
s face faded to an embarrassed grin.

             
“
Ah, that
’
s in case anyone
is
getting married....
”
He looked around nervously.
“
Say, Elise, are you planning to get married in the next few weeks?
”

             
Elise looked at her mother and giggled, and Henrik choked on the piece of meat he was chewing. Peter slapped him on the back.

             
“
Are you okay?
”
asked Peter.
“
You
’
re supposed to eat the meat, not breathe it in.
”

             
Henrik nodded, trying to catch his breath. With his eyes watering, he looked up at his mother.
“
Mother, may I be excused, please?
”
He coughed once more.
“
I
’
m not feeling so good.
”

             
By that time, Mrs. Melchior had recovered from her embarrassment, and she appeared to be working hard at finishing up the food on her plate.

             
“
What
’
s wrong, Henrik?
”
she asked.

             
“
Stomachache.
”

             
“
From eating too quickly?
”

             
Henrik shook his head, and Matthias jumped up.
“
I have some really good Swedish medicine for air sickness in the plane. It should help stomachaches. I
’
d be happy to
—”

             
“
I
’
ll get it!
”
Peter volunteered, pushing his chair back and stuffing the last of his potatoes into one bite. His mother gave him a stern look but said nothing.

             
“
Ah no,
”
began Matthias,
“
it
’
s no trouble.
”

             
“
I
’
ll go with Peter,
”
put in Elise. She was already finished eating.

             
Outvoted, Matthias reached into his pocket for the keys to the airplane.
“
Okay, just go ahead and bring back the entire first
-
aid kit. It
’
s in the back of the plane, where you were sitting, Peter.
”

             
Peter nodded and took the keys.

             
“
Thank you for the dinner, Mrs. Melchior,
”
Elise said politely.

             
“
Yeah, thank you,
”
repeated Peter, heading for the door.
“
We
’
ll be back in a couple of minutes, Henrik.
”

             
The early evening air was still warm, but a cool breeze was starting to pick up from the ocean. Peter quickened his step through the narrow streets.

             
“
Slow down, Peter. What
’
s your rush?
”

             
“
It was getting a little tense in there,
”
said Peter.
“
Now I can prove to you what I saw in the plane. I
’
ll show you it wasn
’
t a flare gun.
”

             
“
That
’
s what I thought you were doing. You looked pretty eager, the way you jumped up from the table.
”

             
Peter didn
’
t say anything, just quickened his stride. When he reached the dock, he pulled the small ring of keys out of his pocket and began trying to open the side door to the plane.

             
“
None of these keys seems to fit,
”
he said after the last key.

             
“
Here, let me try,
”
she said, taking the key ring from her brother.

             
Peter frowned but let her take the keys. The first one she tried in the little lock fit perfectly, and she pulled open the door with a grin.

             
“
See? Some things just need a woman
’
s touch.
”

             
“
Where
’
s the woman?
”
asked Peter, climbing into the plane after her.

             
“
Matthias said his first
-
aid kit was right there,
”
she replied.
“
Behind the seat.
”

             
Peter climbed over the pilot
’
s seat and hung over to reach back where he had seen the leather pouch.
“
Let me show you.
”

             
But the pouch wasn
’
t there. Peter leaned even farther and reached behind the seat.

             
“
It
’
s not here,
”
he told Elise.
“
It was right here before.
”

             
“
Are you sure?
”
Elise sounded doubtful, but she helped him look.

             
Peter checked under the seat and next to the seat, under a blanket, and even in a small box with tools in it.

             
“
I
’
m telling you, Elise, when we were up flying, there was a gun in this airplane. But there aren
’
t too many places it could be hiding. Now it
’
s gone. Matthias must have taken it.
”

             
Without warning, the plane rocked from someone else
’
s weight. Matthias was looking in at them.

             
“
Did you find the first
-
aid kit?
”
he asked in a friendly tone.

             
“
Yah!
”
Peter jerked in fright out of his hiding place.

             
“
Oh, sorry, Peter,
”
Matthias apologized.
“
I didn
’
t mean to startle you. I had wanted to come down here and check on the plane anyway.
”

             
Elise, who looked as if she hadn
’
t heard Matthias coming, either, backed out of the plane and jumped onto the dock.

             
“
Sure,
”
said Peter, recovering quickly. He looked down at the floor of the plane behind the passenger seat to see a little metal box, painted white with a red cross.
“
We found the kit. It must have fallen to the floor.
”

             
He heard me talking about the gun
, Peter thought as he followed Elise onto the dock, clutching the box.
He knows I know
.

             
“
We
’
ll just run this back up to the house,
”
said Elise, scurrying ahead of Peter.

             
“
Tell Henrik to just take a little,
”
Matthias told them.

             
As they jogged up the street, Peter was afraid to look back at Matthias or the airplane until he felt the keys in his pocket.

             
“
Wait a minute.
”
He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.
“
I forgot to give the keys back to Matthias.
”

             
Peter stood still for a moment, wondering what was the worst thing that could happen to him if he went back to the plane. He took a deep breath, turned around, and ran toward the harbor.

             
“
Call the police if I
’
m not back in three minutes,
”
he called over his shoulder.

             
“
Peter, don
’
t be silly! I
’
ll meet you back at the Melchiors
’
apartment.
”

             
“
Great, Elise,
”
Peter mumbled to himself as he ran.
“
Leave me to face the man with the gun all by myself. By the time the police come to rescue me, it
’
ll be too late.
”

             
Peter didn
’
t stop running until he stood next to the airplane once more. Matthias was inspecting the propeller, running his hand along one of the edges. He looked up with surprise.

             
“
Forget something?
”
he asked.

             
Peter reached into his pocket and held out the keys.
“
I forgot to give you these.
”

             
“
Oh, the keys.
”
Matthias smiled and stretched out his hand to take them.
“
Thanks.
”

             
Peter nodded and turned to go, but Matthias held him with a hand on his shoulder.

             
“
Peter? Wait a minute. There
’
s something I need to tell you.
”

             
Peter froze, then somehow managed to turn around and face the man. Matthias looked worried as he fingered his keys.

             
“
It
’
s about
...”
he began, then stopped in midsentence as someone came stomping down the dock in their direction. It was one of the shipyard workers, a friend of Uncle Morten
’
s. Peter didn
’
t know his name, but he was short and round and always smiling.

             
“
Hey, nice plane,
”
said the little man, strutting up to the plane.
“
Is this what they call a Stinson?
”

             
Matthias shook his head, smiled politely, and let go of Peter
’
s shoulder.
“
It
’
s a De Havilland. Hundred
-
and
-
twenty
-
horsepower Gipsy engine. I had those floats mounted by a couple of fellows
in Finland, the Karhumaki brothers....
”

             
Peter slipped away gratefully and started up the gangplank as the men continued to talk about Matthias
’
s airplane.

             
“
Peter, would you tell Henrik
’
s mother I
’
ll be right there?
”
Matthias called after him.
“
And I
’
ll
...
ah, I
’
ll talk to you again later.
”