Renaldo (9 page)

gloves and bandages with a noticeable spring in his step.

Despite the severe condition of his hands, he completed his first week as

a common laborer by keeping his mouth shut, his eyes and ears open, and his

shovel constantly moving. Many of his co-workers were not as fortunate, often

being physically expelled from the job site with harsh words or even a beating

by Tucho and his underlings. The conditions were barely above slave labor, but

there were always men anxious to take the place of anyone who fell into Tucho’s

disfavor.

They worked six days a week and rested on Sunday. Lonfranco had been

asked by one of the married workers he had befriended to come for Sunday

dinner, and he spent his most enjoyable evening to date in his new country at

the small flat of Luigi Monza and his family.

Monza had been an immigrant laborer for almost three years, since

arriving from southern Italy. His wife worked as a seamstress, and with their

combined income, they were able to maintain a modest lifestyle. They were a

fountain of knowledge for young Lonfranco, outlining local customs and habits,

as well as recommending where to get cheap food, clothing, and lodging. The

boy had found a good friend in the older, more worldly Monza, and he began

to feel more secure and at ease about fulfilling his father’s wishes than at any

time since he had left Italy.

By the start of his fourth week on the job site, his hands had become tough

and callused, his back strong and tanned. The foundation of the mammoth

home was being formed with concrete, and the work was proceeding at a frantic

pace.

Tucho was ever-present, but he never bothered Lonfranco. As a matter of

fact, the boy became one of the crew’s most able workers, catching the eye of

not only Shaunaker, but his peers as well.

The home that they labored on was being built for one ‘General Figueroa

San Marco,’ a hero of the Indian wars whose victories had opened up the rich

agricultural hinterland known as the Pampas for settlement.

General San Marco was by now the preeminent figure within both military

and political circles in Buenos Aires. It was the ongoing use of his wide-ranging

influence that allowed the current regime to stay in political power these last

several years. Without support of a united military, no president had ever stayed

in office more than a few months. San Marco’s enormous popularity with the

soldiers serving under him, as well as the romanticized folklore surrounding

his combat heroics, made him exulted by the masses.

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RENALDO

Figueroa San Marco, it could be said, was the most influential man in all

of Argentina.

General San Marco would often visit the sight of his new home to make

inspections and update or change architectural plans. There were no beatings

or dressing downs when he was on the job site. Tucho and Shaunaker were on

their best subservient behavior.

If the general was pleased with the progress, he would sometimes

speak directly to the assembled workers, thanking them and giving them

encouragement.

He is a man of regal bearing
, Lonfranco thought.

Perhaps fifty years of age, the general was not an overly tall man, rather

more bowlegged in posture from too many years of cavalry service. He was

barrel-chested and powerfully built, however, with a large, hawk-like nose,

piercing eyes, and a shock of full, grey hair.

More than anything, it was his voice that inspired respect. One could just

imagine the booming baritone imploring his troop to ‘push on, push on to

glory!’ in the face of overwhelming enemy odds. His talks always left the men

with uplifted spirits. Even Tucho would be in a good mood for a few hours after

the general’s departure.

On the few occasions that work had fallen behind schedule due to excessive

rains or the unavailability of certain material, the general would quietly walk

off the sight. He would simply say to Shaunaker that he was sure that the

foreman would have the building timetable back on track soon.

This mild reprimand was translated into escalated proddings and beatings

by Tucho’s bullies. They would drive the men incessantly, often late into the

night. There was some talk among the workers of revolt on these occasions, but

each man needed this work, and no one was willing to actually put his job on

the line.

It was during one of Tucho’s foul moods that Luigi Monza accidentally

overturned a wheelbarrow of cement when its front wheel became bogged

down in the mud. Tucho was there in an instant, flailing away at Monza with

his baton while screaming insults and kicking the legs out from under the

startled, apologetic Italian. The cruel man’s gang now joined in, and Monza

was picked up and passed from bully to bully, pelted, beaten, and insulted.

Lonfranco’s blood was boiling. There was a ringing in his ears that he had

never experienced before, and he stood, shaking with rage.

Unable to control himself, the youth lunged at Tucho, knocking him into

the wheelbarrow and stumbling on into the mud. As the line boss tried to

regain his balance and composure, three well-placed punches to the face sent

the Argentine reeling backwards again, this time covered in his own blood.

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JAMES McCREATH

Lonfranco turned to face the other tormentors. As they came at him one

by one, he was able to dispatch each, in turn, into the muck. His co-workers

cheered him on heartily, but offered no assistance. Even Monza was too stunned

to come to Lonfranco’s aid.

Tucho, now brandishing a knife as well as his ever-present baton, had

maneuvered behind the boy and was about to strike a telling blow to his head

when a pistol shot exploded a few feet away. The combatants stopped dead in

their tracks.

There on a scaffold propped against cement blocks stood General Figueroa

San Marco. He motioned for Tucho to drop the knife, but the overseer was

so incensed at the loss of face he had suffered that he hesitated momentarily,

gesturing at Lonfranco to continue their dance of death.

A second shot struck the gleaming blade just inches above the handle,

carrying it out of the Tucho’s grasp. San Marco ordered the bully and his

followers off of his property at once, for he had witnessed the entire episode.

Loud cheers from the workers greeted this news, and they ran to congratulate

Lonfranco. They were silenced by the general’s booming voice.

“Be still, you men! You there, the fighter. Come up here. I want to have a

word with you.” Lonfranco was now filled with dread, fearing the same fate as

Tucho. Slowly he made his way to the scaffold.

“Hurry up, boy, I don’t bite. Not unless I’m hungry, and luckily for you,

I’ve just had my lunch.”

Finally, the worker stood only a few feet from the general, and he launched

into a course of humble apologies.

“Be quiet, young man! Is it your habit to always think with your fists, or

do you have a brain in that handsome head of yours?”

Lonfranco stood there dumbfounded, unable to answer.

“That was a fine bit of work you just did there, trying to help your friend

and all, but it would seem that you have left me without a line boss to finish

my home. What do you expect me to do now?”

Lonfranco found his tongue instantly.

“The men will work better with that ogre gone, Señor General. We do

not have to be beaten and insulted to work hard. It is for every one of us a

great honor to work on the general’s residence, and we will prove to you that

Tucho and his likes will not be missed. Besides, Señor General, those men were

stealing supplies from you. Back in Livorno where I come from, I used to help

the dock foremen count cargo containers as they came off the ships. When I

started to work here, I noticed that every morning there was less material on the

site than the evening before. So I started to count stacks of lumber and cement

blocks. I am very good with numbers, Señor General. Tucho and his men were

thieves, as well as tyrants. They will not be missed here, believe me.”

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RENALDO

“Well, Mister Shaunaker, what do you think? Should we give them a

chance to see if they can do it their way?” the general queried. “It’s your neck

on the line as well!”

“The boy is a good worker to be sure, General, and the other men all like

him,” Shaunaker confirmed. “Why don’t we let him be the line boss for a few

days and see what happens. In any event, it will take me some time to round

up another group of overseers.”

“Very well. You have five days, young man. Let’s see if you and the others

can pull things together and stay on schedule. I will be back for your report at

that time, but from now on, my visits will be unannounced and spontaneous.

Things seem to be much more revealing that way.”

With that, he abruptly turned about-face and was gone. The men stood in

silence, the image of the general in his crisp military uniform, polished knee-

high boots, and ostrich-plumed kepi etched in their minds.

Shaunaker addressed them all, indicating that he would go along with the

plan only if he could see progress. The men were more than glad to be rid of

Tucho and his gang, and a new spirit was born on the job site that afternoon.

Lonfranco continued to do his share of the physical work, but he also

encouraged and reassured the others in their toil. Not wanting to see the return

of the likes of Tucho, each man seemed to find new enthusiasm and pride in

his work. When General San Marco appeared on the site five days later, he was

full of praise for Shaunaker and his ‘lads.’ He specifically asked about the young

prize fighter whom he had promoted on his last visit.

“The boy seems to have a handle on things,” the big Irishman assured

the general. “The men are working harder than ever, probably out of fear of

Tucho’s return. Nevertheless, all is running smoothly, so I see no need to make

a change. By the way, the boy was right about the stealing. I was about to

make a report to you myself when the topic came up unexpectedly that day. I

have placed an armed night guard on the site. There will be no further theft,

General.”

“Good, I will save some money not having to pay the likes of that rabble

to steal from me. Get the boy. I want to talk to him.”

Lonfranco had awaited the general’s arrival with trepidation. If things

were not to San Marco’s liking, he felt sure that the burden would rest on his

shoulders, and it would cost him his job.

“So what do they call you, young man?” the general inquired of the boy.

“Lonfranco Guissepe De Seta, Señor General.”

“Shaunaker says that the men are working better than ever before, but do

they not resent you for being so young? You have the face of an angel, but the

body of prize fighter.”

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JAMES McCREATH

“They fear the return of the line bosses more than anything else, Señor

General, and I think they are willing to accept any leader that does not use a

baton on them for inspiration.”

“You were the only one willing to stand up for your friend. You are a man

of action, they saw that. Where do you come from? Is your family with you?”

“Livorno, Italy, Señor General. My family is all still there. They do plan to

join me in Argentina as soon as possible though, within the year, I hope.”

“Well, Lonfranco Guissepe De Seta, you have a way of attracting attention

to yourself, it seems. You have caught my eye now, and I would hate to have you

disappoint me. There will be no more line bosses for the time being, but both

Shaunaker and I will be watching you! And my wife will be watching me, so

make all possible haste to finish this damned house. She is extremely anxious

to move here, and she is driving me crazy! So off you go, and keep your men

working smoothly. Prove that you can do this for me, Lonfranco Guissepe De

Seta.”

The boy’s feet hardly seemed to touch the ground as he walked back to

the site where his co-workers waited for the news.

“No more Tucho!” he said with a broad grin as the men broke out into

spontaneous celebration. “But it is up to us to keep it that way. We will be

watched all the time, and every man must pull his weight. Does anyone have a

problem with that?” Silence was all that could be heard in the cluster of men.

“Good, now let’s show them what we can do!”

Over the next few months, the Casa San Marco took shape in record time.

Other contractors from all over the city came not only to inspect the beautiful

structure, but also to see for themselves the unheard of process of building

without strong-armed line bosses.

When most of the physical labor had been completed on the exterior, the

majority of the workers were released in favor of skilled interior craftsmen. The

general continued to employ Lonfranco as Shaunaker’s assistant as a reward for

his diligence in completing his tasks so efficiently. San Marco would frequently