tones. Many times she walked up on a conversation only to have the participants still abruptly and look embarrassed or cover by suddenly being very interested in the weather.
Finally she could take it no longer. There was trouble coming and Tonio was directly involved. Whatever he was up to, she had to stop him. She had the sinking feeling that it had something to do with blowing something up. More than once she'd heard the men mention explosives. She remembered clearly the excited look in his eyes the day he'd set the charge in the Hole. She could almost still feel his heart thumping as he'd pressed her against him. She had to stop him. She prayed she'd be in time.
Angelina rose early the morning of the twenty-ninth, pacing and planning. She dressed with care and primped before the mirror. Her heart fluttered. She looked pretty but confident. Like a person to be taken seriously or at least she hoped. She wasn't sure whether to charm Tonio out of his plans with feminine wiles or to try and meet him as an equal and use reason on him. She was at a disadvantage not knowing exactly what his plans were. Should she bluff?
Al was scheduled to take the train to Burke and she intended to go with him. She would have to think on her feet when she met up with Tonio. May was already at work at the hotel by the time Angelina came downstairs and approached Al. May would never have permitted her to go to Burke, but Al was a soft touch. He readily agreed to take her along.
"I'm running a passenger car today, Angelina."
"That's nice, Al."
"So, you going to see your beau?"
"Al, you're a sentimental fool," she teased. The quiet man just smiled.
"May won't like me taking you."
"I'm worried about him, Al."
He nodded. "Might be you've got reason. Get your things and let's be gone."
She grabbed her purse and jacket. "I'm ready now, Al." She was halfway to the door when she stopped and turned back. "One minute. I've forgotten something."
In the bedroom she opened the bottom bureau drawer and reaching beneath the clothing she pulled out the small leather sheath with a strap. She pulled Tonio's stiletto from its holder and stared at it, shivering. She hated knives. Then she holstered it, and hiking up her skirts, strapped it to her thigh before rejoining Al.
Angelina fumed as the train steamed toward Burke. Al rode up ahead in the engine. She found herself alone in the passenger car with only a dark sense of foreboding for a companion. The town was too quiet. Why weren't there any other passengers?
Al's engine toted a passenger car and nine boxcars. Al let loose with his familiar whistle as they steamed past crossings. The trip to Burke should be quick and uneventful. She stared out the window, unseeing. The day outside was clear and beautiful.
As had been normal for the last few weeks, she felt like an outsider. Something was about to happen, something that she was not privy to. "Hurry, Al, hurry!" she silently willed. "Don't let me be too late!"
Al and his assistant Joe chatted about nothing as the train chugged along towards Burke. Both were experienced men who had run this route hundreds of times before. On a day like this the worst that could be expected would be that an animal would find its way onto the tracks. The tracks were clear and the day looked fine. As they approached Burke and the head of Canyon Creek, Al blew his distinctive whistle call, warning the local merchants to lift their awnings to let the train by. Their whistle was an unintentional battle call. Suddenly, out of nowhere the tracks ahead streamed with masked men wearing white armbands. Joe threw the brakes. "Shit!" he said.
"Looks like we're in for trouble," Al replied calmly. "Joe, go back and see to the safety of our passenger."
In the back Angelina bounced forward as the train lurched to a stop. Before she could grasp the situation, throngs of armed masked men boarded the train. She held back a scream. Everywhere she looked more men scrambled onboard, hundreds of angry unruly men.
"Al!" She rose, prepared to run for the engine.
A man from the crowd blocked her path. "What have we got here? Looks like a sweet little piece to me."
She recognized the insulting voice before she even turned to look at his masked face. Clell! Her hope fell.
"Of all the luck! Seems