by Robert Elmer
“This way,” Henrik finally pointed over the side.
For a moment, Peter thought Henrik was going to jump into the harbor, and he dug in his heels.
“No!” Peter replied as Henrik disappeared over the side. Peter looked over to see his friend sliding down a thick rope toward the pier. He followed, holding tightly to the rope like a fireman sliding down a pole. In the process, though, one of his shoes slipped off and clattered to the pier below. The rope was slippery, and Peter lost his grip for a second and ran into Henrik. The next moment, they were tumbling down, landing in a heap on the dock.
“Do you think they heard us?” asked Peter under his breath.
Henrik handed Peter his lost shoe as they rolled behind a small tractorlike truck. “Of course they heard us. Your parents heard us all the way back home.”
Peter looked around Henrik’s shoulder to see two men at the top of the boarding ramp. One of them, he was sure, was Matthias. The other was much shorter and much rounder.
“If this old tub gets us where we’re going, it will be miracle enough,” said Matthias. The men both laughed as Matthias walked quickly down the ramp.
“We’re off at dawn, then, as you say,” replied the round man. He pushed a captain’s cap off his forehead and looked down from the deck, then turned around and disappeared back into his ship.
For several minutes, the only sound Peter could hear was the water below the pier and his own breathing. And from where they were hiding, Peter and Henrik could barely make out the faded lettering on the stern.
“A‑C‑R,” Peter began to read.
“O‑P‑O‑L‑I‑S,” finished Henrik. “Acropolis. It says it’s from Athens.”
“Greek. That’s what I thought.” Peter was about to stand up when another man slipped down the boarding ramp and hurried off in the same direction as Matthias. Peter caught sight of the man’s curly black hair.
“That’s the guy we saw spying on Matthias!” Peter whispered once the man disappeared.
“You mean the one who was listening through the door when we first walked up?”
Peter nodded as they slipped away from the pier. “I wonder what he heard.”
“I’m not sure, but I think we heard enough.”
“Did you understand what that was all about?”
“Simple,” replied Henrik. He led the way back through the harbor to the city streets. “I hate to say it, but you were right about him. It has to be some kind of smuggling operation, the way they were talking about cargoes and payment and all that.”
“And eleven o’clock at night.” Peter shook his head. “People don’t do regular business this late. The only thing is—”
“I know. Matthias. It’s like he’s two different people. And we just saw the other side of him that no one else knows about.”
“What are you going to tell your mom?”
“I’m going to tell her the truth.” Henrik hurried along with his hands in his pockets and his head down. “But I might need your help.”
Peter wondered for a moment what he could do. “Tomorrow,” he finally replied, “we can both tell her. Maybe she’ll listen to both of us.”
“Yeah,” agreed Henrik, stopping at the corner of St. Anne’s Street, where he usually cut off to get to his apartment. “First thing tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” Peter said. “See you.”
Peter hurried home, half jogging, half walking the last two blocks to his apartment. He felt in his pocket for his key, then felt the other pocket.
No, he told himself silently. I didn’t lock myself out without a key!
Peter gave a sigh of relief when he thought back to how he had left, less than an hour before. The deadbolt on their front door could only be locked with a key or from the inside, which he knew he hadn’t done. He tried the door, knowing it would be unlocked.
What? He turned the knob again. It’s locked!
Quietly but firmly, he pushed the door, but it wouldn’t budge. It was definitely locked, and he had definitely not locked it.
Great! he sighed. What do I do now? Sleep on the doorstep?
Peter took a step back and looked up at his second‑story window. There was another way up, but he hadn’t ever dared to climb up the downspout. The pipe that drained rainwater from the roof ran right by his window and to the street, but it hardly seemed strong enough to hold his weight. But it was either that, or...
He gave the downspout a tug. Maybe.
Peter rubbed his hands on his pants, crouched, and tried to get a flying start. But the pipe was slippery, and he struggled to get up a few feet.
Come on, keep going.
He dug in his knees and gripped with his fingertips, but the pipe was too slippery. And five feet up, the pipe started to creak and groan, swaying away from the outside wall of their apartment building.
“Peter!” someone whispered from the sidewalk.
Peter looked down over his shoulder to see Elise, wrapped in a robe and leaning out the front door.
“Peter, get down from there. It’s going to break!”
Peter gladly let go of the downspout and jumped back down to the sidewalk.
“Boy, am I glad to see you,” he whispered. “I thought I was never going to get back in. Did you lock the front door after I left?”
She nodded as they walked back inside together. Tiger was waiting inside the doorway.
“I heard you leaving,” she whispered. “What were you doing sneaking around?”
“Listen, I had to. It was an emergency.”
“I don’t think Mom and Dad are going to like this.”
Peter shuffled slowly up the stairs, thinking for the first time what his parents might do if they found out about his late‑night wandering. He stopped by the living room couch.
“Henrik and I followed Matthias to a rusty, old ship out in the harbor,” he told his sister quietly. “And we think we know what’s going on with him.”
“Oh?” Elise still didn’t sound convinced.
“He was talking to some other guy in English, and he called him ‘captain.’ ”
“You heard what he said?”
Peter repeated as much as he could remember, filling in his story with the details of the dark man with the twisted nose who had followed Matthias.
“Well, then, if Matthias is really a smuggler of some sort, the way you say, who was that man?”
“That’s the part I can’t figure out. I have no idea who would be spying on Matthias.”
“Besides two kids.”
“Right. Besides two kids.” Peter grinned and nodded in the darkness of their living room.
“Well, Peter,” said Elise, “I’m still not so sure that you and Henrik are right about this. But you have to tell Mom and Dad everything in the morning.”
Peter paused and took a deep breath. He hadn’t yet heard a sound from the direction of his parents’ room.
“Peter?” she asked once more. “You’ve got to promise, or else I’m going to tell them myself. You can’t keep all this a secret.”
“Okay, I promise. In the morning.” Somehow Peter couldn’t imagine himself telling his parents everything he had just told his sister. But he knew she was right, the way she usually was.
Elise padded slowly down the hallway in her slippers. Peter slipped off his mismatched pair of shoes and returned to his room. Before he dove back under the covers, he pulled up the string from the emergency bell ringer.
“Tomorrow,” he whispered to himself. “Tomorrow I have to figure out how to tell them.”
4
Secret Agent Ship
The next time Peter awoke, another bell was ringing somewhere in the apartment, only different from the bell next to his bed. His room was light, and he raised his head to check the time on his clock.
“Who’s calling us at six‑thirty?” he wondered aloud. The telephone rang twice more before someone out in the living room answered.
“Karen, it’s Ruth,” Peter’s fathe
r called out. “She wants to talk to you. She sounds upset.”
Peter stuck his head out of his door at the same time Elise did, and they watched their mother whisk by them in the hallway. Why would Henrik’s mom be calling so early?
“Hello, Ruth?” Their mother didn’t sound completely awake, but she listened for a long time.
“That’s quite all right,” she said, her voice soft.
Peter looked over at Elise in her doorway, but she could only shrug.
“Please don’t apologize. I’m glad you felt free to call. Uh‑huh. Yes, I know....”
Peter pulled on his green bathrobe and stepped out into the hall with his sister while their mother kept talking. They could tell the conversation was about Matthias, and it was serious. But there were too many long periods of silence to know exactly what was going on.
“Well, if you’re not sure about marrying him,” continued their mother in a serious tone. “I know it’s a big decision.... Yes, that does seem like it could be rushing things. Oh... I don’t know what to tell you about that, Ruth.”
Peter and Elise stepped closer, out into the kitchen where their father was waiting. Tiger was just finishing up a bowl of milk.
“Well, sure, we’ll come with you.” Mrs. Andersen looked out the window as she talked. “If that will make you feel more comfortable. I understand. We’ll see you in half an hour.”
She hung up the phone gently and gave her husband a worried look.
“What is it, Mom?” Peter quizzed her. “What’s going on?”
Peter’s father waved him off. “Don’t be so nosey, now. The phone call wasn’t for you.”
“That’s all right,” Mrs. Andersen said, pulling her bathrobe more tightly around her waist. “It concerns them.” She paused for a moment, looked down at the phone, then back at Peter, Elise, and Mr. Andersen.
“She’s been up all night, upset,” Mrs. Andersen explained. “I guess she just had to talk to someone.”
“Upset about what?” Peter asked, even though he was pretty sure he already knew. His mother frowned.
“She’s upset at the way Matthias embarrassed her in front of everyone last night by making it sound as if they’re getting married. Apparently she’s very fond of the man, but it seems he’s rushing her into a decision.”
“It is a little soon for him to be talking about that sort of thing,” agreed Mr. Andersen. “Maybe she thinks this is her only opportunity to get married again.”
Peter’s mother nodded and continued. “She sounds so confused, but she thinks she may grow to love him. It’s hard for a widow....”
“He wants an answer right now?” asked Elise. Her mother nodded once more.
“He wants to know right away because he’s leaving in his plane this morning to make arrangements for a ship that’s heading to Palestine in a few weeks.”
“And he wants them to go on the ship?”
“Apparently, he’s in charge of getting all the passengers on board, so he wants Ruth and Henrik to be on it, which means they would get married before they left.”
“Palestine!” Peter clenched his fists. “They can’t go to Palestine! What about Henrik?”
“I don’t like the idea any more than you do, son.” Mr. Andersen put his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “But it’s their business. A lot of Jewish people from all over Europe are trying to go to Palestine. They feel it’s their country.”
“But it’s not like going to Sweden, Dad.”
“It’s dangerous, but people are still going.”
“I know that, but, Dad, what if we know something bad about Matthias that no one else knows?”
“Such as?”
“Such as he’s a smuggler, and that he has a gun, and—”
“Wait a minute, Peter,” Mr. Andersen interrupted. “This sounds like another one of your stories.”
“I’m not making it up,” Peter insisted. “It sounded pretty bad last night on this old ship.”
“Last night on the ship?” asked Mrs. Andersen. “What ship are you talking about, and what were you doing on it last night?”
Peter glanced at Elise, and she nodded. In a few minutes, he had spilled out the entire story about how he and Henrik had followed Matthias to the ship, and what they heard him say to the Greek captain. He even threw in a few details about finding the gun on Matthias’s plane.
“But he never actually saw it,” Elise added for good measure.
“That’s not the point,” Mr. Andersen said, crossing his arms.
“You don’t understand, Dad.” Peter started talking faster and louder, trying to convince his parents that Matthias was not what he appeared to be. “Henrik’s mom can’t marry this guy. He’s—”
“Mrs. Melchior can do whatever she likes,” interrupted Mrs. Andersen. “You haven’t actually told us anything we don’t already know. He’s a shipping agent, after all. Talking to captains about cargoes and such is what he does for a living.”
“I know that, Mom, but what about the gun?” Peter wasn’t going to give up so easily.
“Matthias is a fine man,” Mr. Andersen insisted. “In spite of what two boy detectives think. You don’t know everything about him. I’m not happy about you sneaking around. And you’re going to apologize to him for spying.”
“I told Ruth we would be there in half an hour,” their mother added. “That was ten minutes ago. I think it would mean a lot to her, the way she’s feeling, if someone else were there with her when he leaves.”
“Does that mean us, too?” asked Elise.
Their parents looked at each other briefly, and Mr. Andersen nodded.
“You’ll have a chance to apologize to Matthias before he leaves.” Peter’s father made the pronouncement as if he were passing a law. Peter turned back to his room to get dressed.
Outside it was a bright, gentle morning, with the early mist burning off quickly. It would be the kind of day that made June part of summer. Peter and Elise walked quietly behind their parents to the harbor.
Down by the red airplane, Matthias was busy checking his engine. Mrs. Melchior stood nervously on the dock, her arms crossed. Next to her, Henrik didn’t look much happier.
“Hey there, you two,” said Peter’s father as soon as they were close enough. “Is this the going‑away party?”
Mrs. Melchior flashed them a small smile when they joined her, while Matthias carefully closed the accordion‑like cover to the airplane’s engine.
“Say, I didn’t know everyone was coming to see me off.” He wiped his hands on an oily rag and tossed it under the seat through the open door of his airplane. “I’m honored.”
“Well, we just wanted to see you before you left for...” Mr. Andersen paused. “Wherever it is you’re going.”
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.”
