Touch the Sky (Young Underground #8) (6 page)

             
Matthias held up his hand to silence her.
“
It would be different in Palestine,
”
he continued, sounding like a preacher warming up to a fiery sermon.
“
There we could raise our children as Jews, as we should. There would be no questions over Bar Mitzvahs, or anything else.
”

3

M
ystery
Cargo

             
In bed that night, Peter tried to make sense of the confusing day while Tiger lay purring at his feet.

             
“
So tell me, Tiger,
”
he whispered to his cat.
“
Are Mrs. Melchior and Matthias really going to get married?
”

             
Tiger only burrowed deeper between Peter
’
s ankles.

             
“
Huh, boy?
”

             
Peter wiggled his toes and tried to think, but the more he thought about it, the more confused he became. As he closed his eyes, his thoughts turned into a prayer.

             
I don
’
t get any of this, Lord
, he prayed in the dark.
I need some help
.

             
He reached down to the floor beside his bed and pulled out his well
-
worn pocket Bible. But even with a flashlight, he couldn
’
t make his eyes focus on the fine print. Finally, he gave up and let his eyes close.

             
Only for a minute to rest
, he told himself. Everyone else had already gone to bed, and the Andersen apartment was still. The next thing he knew, a bell was ringing next to his head.

             
“
What?
”
Peter snorted, waking suddenly. His room was still dark, and his Bible was resting on his face, open to the page he had been reading. Tiger tried to balance on his stomach. The bell tinkled again.

             
“
The bell.
”
He sat up in bed, and both Tiger and Peter
’
s Bible fell to the floor. When his mind cleared, he remembered he had hung a little brass bell from the metal crosspiece on top of his headboard. A kite string led out his almost
-
closed window and down to the street next to the downspout. He threw his covers aside and ran to the window to pull it open all the way.

             
“
Is that you, Henrik?
”
he whispered loudly down at the street. Someone was jumping up and down in the shadows.

             
“
No, it
’
s your mailman,
”
answered Henrik.
“
Special delivery.
”

             
“
What time is it?
”

             
“
Eleven, but come on. We have to catch up with Matthias.
”

             
“
Matthias?
”
Peter asked, still groggy from just waking up.

             
“
No time to explain. Just get down here fast.
”

             
Peter grabbed a sweater, and on his way out the front door, he shoved his bare feet into a pair of shoes in the entryway.

             
“
Hurry!
”
Henrik pulled Peter
’
s arm as he stepped out onto the street. Even though it had already been a warm June, the street was cold and clammy, and Peter thought for a moment about his warm bed. He looked down at his feet, surprised to see one big black leather shoe of his father
’
s and a much smaller one of his mother
’
s.

             
“
So did our new emergency alarm system work?
”
Henrik wanted to know.

             
“
Worked fine. Better than you always throwing pebbles at my window. But I thought it was only going to be for emergencies.
”

             
“
This
is
an emergency.
”
Henrik began to run.
“
My mom was on the phone with Matthias for almost an hour after you guys left. They were talking about getting married. Arguing, kind of. Then I heard her ask him where he had to go so late at night.
”

             
“
And what did he say?
”
Peter was starting to breathe harder, but he kept up with Henrik on the deserted cobblestone streets.

             
Henrik grunted.
“
I don
’
t know. So to make sure, I went over to the place where he
’
s staying,
higher uptown. He almost ran into me.
”

             
“
Really? Did he see you?
”

             
“
No. But he was going in the direction of the harbor.
”

             
“
I
’
ll bet he
’
s going down to his plane.
”
Peter slowed as they reached the last block before the shipyards. They looked around the corner of a waterfront warehouse.

             
“
He
’
s not there,
”
whispered Henrik.
“
I knew I should have stayed with him.
”

             
“
Yeah, but you didn
’
t want to follow him alone. What if
—”

             
“
Shh,
”
whispered Henrik.
“
Look over there.
”

             
Henrik pointed across the shipyard to where old ships were usually tied up before repairs. It was beyond where the Andersen fishing boat was docked, closer to the real working area of the harbor. Three rusty, old ships were tied with their sides to a long wooden pier that ran along the shore.

             
“
I don
’
t see anything.
”
Peter strained his eyes, but the few lights in the shipyard area were too dim.

             
“
Didn
’
t you eat your carrots?
”
joked Henrik.
“
Look over there on the deck of that second ship.
”

             
“
I still don
’
t see
...”
Peter began, and then he saw what Henrik was pointing at. Someone was climbing up a steep ramp next to the middle ship, maybe half a block away.

             
“
That
’
s Matthias!
”
hissed Henrik, slipping out of the safety of their hiding place.

             
“
I don
’
t know how you can tell,
”
began Peter, but he followed his friend, and they jogged quietly across the shipyard. They stopped for a moment to make sure no one had seen them, but by that time the man had disappeared somewhere into the dark ship.

             
“
This way.
”
Henrik stopped at the bottom of the boarding ramp and waved to Peter.

             
Peter craned his neck to see the dark ship above them. High up on the deck, huge cranes with crooked arms and tangled cables looked like giant, frozen dinosaurs guarding something terrible and silent in the cargo hold. Only a distant gurgle of pumping water came from somewhere deep inside the belly of the ancient ship, as if it had just eaten. Maybe it would have been fun to explore in the daytime, but now Peter could only shiver.

             
“
Are you sure you want to go up there, Henrik?
”

             
“
Sure I
’
m sure.
”
Henrik started up the swaying metal ramp, holding on to both sides of the rope railings.
“
Follow me. Tiptoe.
”

             
Peter tried to keep his mismatched shoes from flapping as the boys quietly slipped up the ramp. The ship, as far as he could tell, was an older freighter and probably a lot like many of the tired, old ships that came into
Helsingør
Harbor for repairs. A bare light bulb hanging at the top of the ramp cast a feeble yellow glow on the side of the ship, showing more rust than black paint. The rest of the ship was completely dark, except for one or two portholes, higher up on the second and third stories, that squinted lamely into the night. Somehow it didn
’
t look like the kind of place that would welcome two visiting boys.

             
“
Henrik,
”
whispered Peter, halfway up the ramp,
“
I really don
’
t think we should
—”

             
“
Shh. This is the only way we
’
re ever going to find out what Matthias is really up to.
”

             
“
I know, but
...”
Peter sighed and followed. The ship even smelled old, with a musty kind of dampness Peter could almost feel. Up on the deck, Henrik led them around to the opposite side. Peter tried not to touch anything, afraid it might be mossy or wet.

             
“
He came around here,
”
Henrik whispered into Peter
’
s ear as they rounded the corner. The words were barely out of his mouth when they both froze in their tracks. On the deck in front of them, they could see a sort of hallway with a row of oval doors, sheltered by a low
-
hanging ceiling and open to the ocean on the left. Most of the glass
-
covered overhead lights were out, but one gave enough light to show a man kneeling on the deck, his ear pressed against one of the doors. Peter
knew instantly that it was not Matthias, and that they did not want this person to see them.

             
As Peter backed up, he heard a wild yell from somewhere behind him. It sounded like a couple of loud men coming aboard the ship from the same direction they had just come.

             
Henrik grabbed Peter
’
s arm and pulled him to the side into a doorway, and Peter looked up just in time to see the kneeling man turn their direction in surprise. He was a dark man, but anyone looked dark at that time of night. His face hid behind a bushy black mustache, but Peter could make out a curiously twisted nose and a dark crop of black curly hair. Peter wasn
’
t sure if the man saw them, or what the man would have done if he had.

             
“
Move back,
”
Henrik whispered, and they crouched in the darkness of the doorway as the loud men who had boarded the ship staggered by them.

             
“
A
’
llos!
”
roared one of the men, and they both laughed before launching into a rowdy song. Peter wondered what kind of language they were speaking. It sounded Greek, but he wasn
’
t sure. In a moment, the men had disappeared down the passageway.

             
“
That was close,
”
whispered Peter.

             
Henrik peeked around the corner.
“
Not so close. I don
’
t think they were paying much attention. And they chased away that guy by the door in a hurry.
”

             
“
Who was that?
”
Peter asked.
“
Did you see what he was doing there?
”

             
“
All I saw was the back of his head,
”
answered Henrik.

             
“
I got a good look at him when he looked our way.
”
Peter almost wished he hadn
’
t.