it with the best food available. He was the son of a wealthy Italian aristocrat, he was used to the best or so many believed. They didn't know about the modest fare he ate during his years in the monastery, his wartime in Ethiopia, the years he barely survived as a miner in South America, or his years on the railroad crew??/p>
As Tonio walked into the dining room, Colonel Steward Fuller, the colorful owner of the establishment, looked up from his cup of coffee. "Tonio!" he called out. "You're back. How was New York?"
"Excellent, as usual, Colonel."
"You didn't run into any of the Fuller clan while you were back there, did you?"
"Colonel, you know better. I run with a different crowd. A decidedly foreign crowd in Little Italy. We're all blackguards you know. We have nothing to do with the elite of the upper city."
The Colonel smiled. He claimed Mayflower ancestry and great military renown, maintaining that many of his relatives remained in the East as the upper crust of society.
"Well, son, it's good to have you back just the same."
"Have you seen Nokes?" Tonio asked.
"Should be here anytime." The Colonel signaled to a waitress who escorted Tonio to the best table in the house.
Moments later, Nokes walked in and spied him. "Tonio, you son of a bitch, you're back!" he called out as he made his way to the table and seated himself opposite his friend. "How was my hometown?"
Charles "Charley" Nokes was from a wealthy New York family.
"Same as always." Tonio signaled a waitress and they ordered.
The waitress drifted off to the kitchen. Charley's eyes followed the girl until she disappeared. "I must be getting desperate; that girl is definitely not a looker, but she is single. We bachelors have a sorry plight; what we need out here is more women."
"You could go back to New York. I'm sure there are plenty of society beauties out there just dying for your return."
"Go to hell, Tonio. The last thing I'm going to do is go back and rot in some stuffy old bank."
"Tell me what's gone on in my absence, Nokes. Anyone strike it rich?"
Nokes shook his head. "No, but the miners are ready for blood, my boy. Word is they will strike, but first, they'll give the mine owners something to think about."
Several hours later, completely briefed by Nokes, Tonio caught the last train to Burke, determined to stay out of trouble by avoiding the union chiefs, determined to forget Angelina by working night and day in the Hole. He clenched his fist until his knuckles bulged white. He had the nearly uncontrollable urge to blow something up. To have the satisfaction of witnessing the utter surge of power and total destruction, anything to relieve the frustration at not being able to have Angelina. Anything to blot out the thoughts of her with another man, an older man who did not deserve her.
May's husband, Al Hall, turned out to be a thin, kind man. May seemed inordinately fond and proud of him. "Al's an engineer for the railroad." May's smile reflected her love for him.
"You'll get to recognize Al's train when it drives through town soon enough. He's modified his whistle to have a sound all its own and he toots in his own distinctive way." May gave Al a pat on the arm as he drove them to Bunker Hill Mine offices the day after Angelina's arrival.
The mine offices were located in the town of Kellogg, a few miles west of Wallace. The sun shone and a mild breeze blew in from the west as they pulled up to the office. Al waited with the horses as May led the way into the office. May, bold and friendly, quickly found a clerk willing to help them, explained the situation and inquired about Mr. Allessandro.
"Allessandro, you say? Let me check the log book." The clerk disappeared into a back room. When he returned, he brought another man with him, introducing him as his boss.
The man extended his hand. "Mrs. Allessandro, I'm Jacob White, personnel manager for the Bunker. Won't you step into my office where we can talk in private?"
Angelina turned to May.
"Mrs. Allessandro is new to this country, Mr. White. I'm here to look out for her interests and help her understand the situation. I'd like to come in with her."
Mr. White ushered them into his office and shut the door. Angelina's heart pounded in her ears. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Mr. White seemed too somber,