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lot of work to do.”
    Otto ran over to his bike, which was leaning against a tree. Then he remembered the envelope. He ripped in open and found a five-dollar bill inside. It was more money than he had ever held in his life. He would have to write Mr. Wilson a thank-you note. Wow! Wait until Mata saw this! Maybe he could buy a commercial balsa model to put together, one that would really fly.
    He pedaled off toward home, his mind filled with thoughts and expectations for the next day.
    ***
    The next day was rainy and his papa said it had “set in for the day.” Otto hurried through his chores. Hans had gone back into the kitchen for a cup of coffee and sat at the table, watching Otto tear back and forth across the barnyard.
    “Do you think Otto is sick?” he asked Maria.
    “Sick?” answered Maria from the sink where she was washing dishes. Mata stood by with a dish towel to dry.
    “Ja. He is running around like there is something wrong with him. I have never seen him move so fast.”
    “He’s excited about the airport,” Mata said quietly. “Having one so close is like a dream come true for him.”
    “Humph,” grunted Hans, and went back to his newspaper.
    Otto burst into the kitchen. “I’m all done with my chores,” he exclaimed. “May I go to the airport now?”
    Hans looked up from the paper. “If you are done with your chores. Be back by four.”
    “I will, Papa, thank you!” Otto grabbed the bag with his lunch in it from the counter, and dashed back through the door. Maria shook her head and Mata smiled as she wiped a plate.
    Otto leaped on his bike and pedaled hard for the field. He skidded to a halt in front of the small office building. Wilson came out.
    “Hey, there, kid, you ready to work?”
    “I’m always ready to work,” Otto answered.
    Wilson chuckled. “I know that. C’mon, I’ll show you what to do.”
    Wilson explained Otto’s duties to him. He was to greet any visiting aviators, fuel their craft if they asked for it and wipe the outside down and be sure the windscreen was clear. When locals brought their aircraft to the field, he would wash them and help move them and tie them down. It didn’t seem hard at all to Otto, especially as compared to farming.
    “I’ll pay you five bucks a week,” Wilson offered. “And you can start by washing my plane. It’s dusty as hell.”
    “Yessir!” Otto exclaimed. He ran for the bucket and rags that Wilson showed him and took them over to the water pump at the end of the hangar. He filled the bucket and carried it to Wilson’s aircraft. He carefully washed every square inch of the fuselage and used a ladder he found in the hangar to reach the wings. The airplane was covered with a fabric which was tightened by the silver coating. Otto felt as if he were in heaven, touching an airplane, making it shiny and clean.
    Wilson came in to inspect his work and grunted with satisfaction. “You do good work, kid. Come on in the office and sit a spell.”
    “Yessir,” Otto said, and thought, Life just can’t get any better.
    ***
    Otto was describing his day at the dinner table that evening. The family listened in silence, then his father spoke.
    “Vat do you know about this Wilson?”
    “He’s very nice to me, and he has an expensive car and a beautiful airplane and he gave me a job—“
    “I vant you to be careful around him, Otto.”
    “Careful? Why?”
    “Vat I am hearing is that he is involved with bad things in Milwaukee. That he is a gangster into all sorts of crime.”
    “That’s not possible.”
    “Mit people, everything is possible, Otto. I saw it in Germany before and during the war. It is here, too. You be careful.”
    Otto sighed. “I will, Papa. I will.”

Chapter 5
High School Days—November, 1935
    Otto began high school, which in Pioneer Lake sat right beside the elementary school. He had several classes with Betty and sat behind her when he could. Classes where the teacher placed them alphabetically were the