Touch the Sky (Young Underground #8) (9 page)

             
Matthias gave Henrik
’
s mother a hopeful look, as if waiting for her to say something. She lowered her eyes and shifted from one foot to the other.

             
“
Matthias,
”
she began,
“
you know that the Andersens have asked me to join them in a few weeks.
”

             
“
At the sheep ranch, yes,
”
he replied.
“
That sounds like a lot of fun. I am sorry I cannot make it. But you are going?
”

             
She nodded.
“
Henrik really wants to, before we
...”
Her voice trailed off, and Matthias didn
’
t take his eyes off her.

             
“
Is this a yes to my earlier proposal?
”

             
Mrs. Melchior shook her head no and managed a gentle smile.
“
You have to give me a little more time,
”
she answered.
“
This is a big decision.
”

             
“
Of course it is,
”
agreed Matthias, taking her hand. He kissed it gently before turning back to his plane. While she turned pink, he climbed inside and straightened out a couple of maps.
“
So here
’
s what we
’
ll do. The ship is coming back from Germany and sailing south along the coast. I can have it stop long enough to pick up you and Henrik. Arne has given me directions. Captain Papanikolas can marry us
—
that is, like a justice of the peace
—
and we can all travel on the ship together. And when we get to Palestine, we can find a real rabbi to make it even more official, if that
’
s what you want to do.
”

             
Everyone except Henrik stared at Mrs. Melchior, waiting for her answer. In the distance, a tugboat whistle shattered the morning silence.

             
“
That might work,
”
she finally said.
“
I
...
I think so.
”

             
Satisfied with her
“
maybe,
”
Matthias smiled and clapped his hands together. Peter looked over at Henrik, who was standing still with his fists clenched. Peter
’
s father cleared his throat.

             
“
Ah, Matthias, there
’
s one more thing we need to tell you before you leave here. Something
Peter
wants to tell you.
”
He gave Peter a nudge.

             
“
Uh, right.
”
Peter knew he had no choice but to apologize, and he took a deep breath before he stepped up to the plane. Henrik was right beside him.

             
“
Um
...
we
’
re supposed to apologize
—
I mean, we apologize for spying on you.
”

             
“
Spying?
”
Matthias was still smiling.
“
What are you talking about?
”

             
“
We followed you last night,
”
explained Henrik, looking down.
“
When you went into that ship over there.
”
Henrik pointed toward the spot where the rusty, old
Acropolis
had been berthed the night before.

             
Peter looked twice, then he remembered what the Greek captain had been told about leaving in the morning. The ship was already gone.

             
“
Well, you know which ship,
”
continued Henrik.
“
We thought you were up to something funny, so we followed you. We heard through the door what you were planning.
”

             
Matthias raised his eyebrows.
“
Oh, you did?
”

             
“
Yeah,
”
agreed Peter.
“
And that other guy who was following you probably heard, too.
”

             
The smile that had been playing on Matthias
’
s lips suddenly disappeared, and his voice turned serious.

             
“
Wait a minute,
”
he told them, swinging out of the airplane to face them on the dock.
“
You boys can play secret agent if you like. But this I need to know about. What did you see? Who was
following me?
”

             
“
I didn
’
t see him close up,
”
Henrik explained.
“
There was just a man listening at the door when we got there. Then some sailors came along, and he disappeared.
”

             
“
I saw him,
”
Peter said.
“
I got a good look at his face.
”

             
“
Describe this man,
”
insisted Matthias, leaning forward.

             
“
We saw him again coming off the ship, following you back to your room,
”
Peter explained.
“
He was kind of dark looking. Mustache, I think, dark curly hair
...”

             
Matthias nodded.
“
That probably describes at least half a dozen crewmen on the
Acropolis
.
”

             
“
And his nose was really crooked, like it had been broken once.
”

             
Mr. Andersen ducked under the plane
’
s wing where they were standing.
“
Maybe you should explain all this for us, Matthias. What did the boys see?
”

             
Matthias sighed and scratched his head.
“
Arne, don
’
t be angry at the boys for a little detective work. I don
’
t blame them for being suspicious. The other day, Peter found my gun on the plane, and he
...”

             
“
You knew about that?
”
Peter asked.

             
Matthias smiled and nodded.
“
I carry it for extra protection. With some of the characters I have to deal with in my business
—
well, it requires this sort of thing.
”

             
Peter still wasn
’
t sure what Matthias was telling them, but he kept still and listened.

             
“
I
’
m sorry. You all deserve an explanation. This ship that the boys are talking about is going to be carrying a special cargo of Jews back to Palestine from Bremen, Germany.
”

             
“
That
’
s what all the sneaking around is about?
”
Henrik asked.

             
“
But what is your job, really?
”
Peter wanted to know.

             
Matthias smiled and put up his hands.
“
One at a time. I
’
m a shipping agent of sorts. But lately I
’
ve been arranging passage for Jewish immigrants from all over Europe who want to return to the Promised Land. And yes, Henrik, that
’
s what all the sneaking around is for. So I must ask you all not to pass along this information. Do I have your word, all of you? Right now I have a somewhat dangerous job.
”

             
“
Dangerous?
”
Mrs. Andersen looked nervous.

             
Matthias shrugged.
“
Well, there
’
s dangerous, and there
’
s
dangerous
. There are a lot of people who don
’
t want us to succeed.
”

             
“
Like who?
”
Peter asked.

             
Matthias stroked his beard thoughtfully.
“
You
’
ve read the papers. The British don
’
t want any trouble, and if they catch us they
’
ll either send us back or put us in detention camps. And the Arabs, well, they don
’
t want Jews to return to Palestine at all. That
’
s probably why someone was spying on me last night. And that
’
s why I need Peter
’
s help now to find out who this person is. He may be posing as a member of the ship
’
s crew.
”

             
“
Did you get a good look at him, Peter?
”
his father asked.
“
Could you identify him?
”

             
Peter gulped and nodded.
“
I saw his face for a second.
”

             
“
Then you must come with me out to the ship to identify this fellow,
”
Matthias said.
“
You
’
re the only one who can show me who he is. The ship isn
’
t too far away. It only just left at daybreak.
”

             
“
Peter?
”
Mrs. Andersen held her son protectively by the shoulders. Matthias jumped over to his plane and turned back for a moment.

             
“
We have to clear things up,
”
he said,
“
before something happens. Is there anything else I need to know?
”

             
Peter looked from Henrik to Elise, but they all shook their heads.

             
“
Good,
”
continued the pilot, sliding into his seat.
“
Now, I apologize for involving Peter, but
...
no one on the ship will even know what he
’
s up to. I
’
ll fly him right back after an hour or two.
Completely safe. You have my word.
”

             
“
Peter?
”
His father looked him straight in the eye.
“
You don
’
t have to do this.
”

             
Peter closed his eyes and nodded, silently hoping his father would have just said no. But if Matthias was telling the truth, then he really had no choice.

             
“
I
’
ll go.
”

             
Matthias smiled at the answer, then checked his controls by pulling the steering stick back and forth. The wing flaps that helped his little red plane turn up or down responded.

             
“
We
’
re off, then,
”
Matthias said, peering through the windshield to make sure the propeller was clear. He helped Peter slide in next to him.

             
Peter turned back to his parents and tried to smile.
“
I
’
ll be fine,
”
he told them, but his voice cracked, and he had to turn back quickly so they wouldn
’
t see his face.