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by Sandro Dariosto (Author)
A telegram arrives from Sicily. "Come quickly," is all it reads, and names the Hotel Domus Mariae on the island of Ortigia. When Will reaches there, a packet is waiting for him from his brother Rob. Inside it on a yellowed scrap of paper is a letter to "Mia Rafaella Carissima," explaining some strange orders for a firing squad. It is signed by one "Burtoni." It can't be him, Will thinks. It has been fifteen years of searching. Rob arrives the next day, bearing with him an old, leather bound journal. When Will objects that this is all too long ago to be their Jack Burton. Il Rosso. Who is this "Burtoni"? "Read it." is all Rob says. The journal begins on 27 March 1860 and tells the story of three men: Count Rosalino Pilo, Giovanni Corrao and one Gianni Burtoni, who is keeping the journal. Under cover of night they set sail from Quarto into the Tyrrenhian Sea, headed for Sicily with a hold full of old rusty muskets. Il Generale is asleep on his island dreaming of revolution, but he has lost all faith in the spirit of the people. So Pilo and his little crew intend to land near Messina and travel over the Nebrodi and across the north of Sicily, announcing in every little village that Il Generale is on his way. And at every stop, Pilo sends a letter back the North, proclaiming that the people of Sicily are rising in revolt. By lying to both sides, Rosalino Pilo believes they can start the revolution. "But if this is our Jack Burton, it means he's a hundred and fifty years old!" Will complains. "And who is this Rafaella? This "Carissima Mia"? "Read it," is all Rob will say.
