Señor Zorro urged his horse down the treacherous slope of the hill, where there was loose gravel and a misstep would spell disaster, and where the troopers were slow to follow. Sergeant Gonzales possessed courage enough, and some of the men followed him, while others galloped off to right and left, planning to intercept the fugitive when he reached the bottom and turned.
Señor Zorro, however, was before them, and took the trail toward San Gabriel at a furious gallop, while the troopers dashed along behind, calling to one another, and now and then discharging a pistol with a great waste of powder and ball and no result so far as capturing or wounding the highwayman was concerned.
Soon the moon came up. Señor Zorro had been anticipating that, and knew that it would make his escape more difficult. But his horse was fresh and strong, while those ridden by the troopers had covered many miles during the day, and so hope was not gone.
Now he could be seen plainly by those who pursued, and he could hear Sergeant Gonzales crying upon his men to urge their beasts to the utmost and effect a capture. He glanced behind him as he rode,and observed that the troopers were scattering out in a long line, the stronger and fresher horses gaining on the others.
So they rode for some five miles, the troopers holding the distance, but not making any gain, and Señor Zorro knew that soon their horses would weaken, and that the good steed he bestrode, which gave no signs of fatigue as yet, would outdistance them. Only one thing bothered him—he wanted to be traveling in the opposite direction.
Here the hills rose abruptly on either side of the highway, and it was not possible for him to turn aside and make a great circle, nor were there any trails he could follow; and if he attempted to have his horse climb, he would have to make slow progress, and the troopers would come near enough to fire their pistols, and mayhap wound him.
So he rode straight ahead, gaining a bit now, knowing that two miles further up the valley there was a trail that swung off to the right, and that by following it he would come to higher ground and so could double back on his tracks.
He had covered one of the two miles before he remembered that it had been noised abroad that a landslide had been caused by the recent torrential rain and had blocked this higher trail. So he could not use that even when he reached it; and now a bold thought came to his mind.
As he topped a slight rise in the terrain, he glanced behind once more and saw that no two of the troopers were riding side by side. They werewell scattered, and there was some distance between each two of them. It would help his plan.
He dashed around a bend in the highway, and pulled up his horse. He turned the animal's head back toward whence he had come, and bent forward in the saddle to listen. When he could hear the hoof-beats of his nearest pursuer's horse, he drew his blade, took a turn of the reins around his left wrist, and suddenly struck his beast in the flanks cruelly with his sharp rowels.
The animal he rode was not used to such treatment, never having felt the spurs except when in a gallop and his master wished greater speed. Now he sprang forward like a thunderbolt, dashed around the curve like a wild stallion, and bore down upon the nearest of Señor Zorro's foes.
"Make way!" Señor Zorro cried.
The first man gave ground readily, not sure that this was the highwayman coming back, and when he was sure of it he shrieked the intelligence to those behind, but they could not understand because of the clatter of hoofs on the hard road.
Señor Zorro bore down upon the second man, clashed swords with him and rode on. He dashed around another curve, and his horse struck another fairly, and hurled him from the roadway. Zorro swung at the fourth man, and missed him, and was glad that the fellow's counterstroke missed as well.
And now there was naught but the straight ribbon of road before him, and his galloping foes dotting it. Like a maniac he rode them through, cuttingand slashing at them as he passed. Sergeant Gonzales, far in the rear because of his jaded mount, realized what was taking place and screeched at his men, and even as he screeched a thunderbolt seemed to strike his horse, unseating him.
And then Señor Zorro was through them and gone, and they were following him again, a cursing sergeant at their head, but at a distance slightly greater than before.
He allowed his horse to go somewhat slower now, since he could keep his distance, and rode to the first cross-trail, into which he turned. He took to higher ground, and looked back to see the pursuit streaming out over the hill, losing itself in the distance, but still determined.
"It was an excellent trick!" Señor Zorro said to his horse. "But we cannot try it often!"
He passed thehaciendaof a man friendly to the governor, and a thought came to him—Gonzales might stop there and obtain fresh horses for himself and his men.
Nor was he mistaken in that. The troopers dashed up the driveway, and dogs howled a welcome. The master of thehaciendacame to the door, holding acandelerohigh above his head.
"We chase Señor Zorro!" Gonzales cried. "We require fresh steeds, in the name of the governor!"
The servants were called, and Gonzales and his men hurried to the corral. Magnificent horses were there, horses almost as good as the one the highwayman rode, and all were fresh. The troopersquickly stripped saddles and bridles from their jaded mounts and put them on the fresh steeds, and then dashed for the trail again and took up the pursuit. Señor Zorro had gained quite a lead, but there was only one trail he could follow, and they might overtake him.
Three miles away, on the crest of a small hill, there was ahaciendathat had been presented to the mission of San Gabriel by acaballerowho had died without leaving heirs. The governor had threatened to take it for the state, but so far had not done so, the Franciscans of San Gabriel having a name for protecting their property with determination.
In charge of thishaciendawas one Fray Felipe, a member of the order who was along in years, and under his direction the neophytes made the estate a profitable one, raising much live stock, and sending to the storehouses great amounts of hides and tallow and honey and fruit, as well as wine.
Gonzales knew the trail they were following led to thishacienda, and that just beyond it there was another trail that split, one part going to San Gabriel and the other returning to Reina de Los Angeles by a longer route.
If Señor Zorro passed thehacienda, it stood to reason that he would take the trail that ran toward thepueblo, since, had he wished to go to San Gabriel, he would have continued along the highway in the first place, instead of turning and riding back through the troopers at some risk to himself.
But he doubted whether Zorro would pass. Forit was well known that the highwayman dealt harshly with those who prosecuted thefrailes, and it was to be believed that every Franciscan held a friendly feeling for him and would give him aid.
The troopers came within sight of thehacienda, and could see no light. Gonzales stopped them where the driveway started, and listened in vain for sounds of the man they pursued. He dismounted and inspected the dusty road, but could not tell whether a horseman had ridden toward the house recently.
He issued quick orders, and the troop separated, half of the men remaining with their sergeant and the others scattering in such manner that they could surround the house, search the huts of the natives, and look at the great barns.
Then Sergeant Gonzales rode straight up the driveway with half his men at his back, forced his horse up the steps to the veranda as a sign that he held this place in little respect, and knocked on the door with the hilt of his sword.
Presently light showed through the windows, and after a time the door was thrown open. Fray Felipe stood framed in it, shading a candle with his hand—a giant of a man now past sixty, but one who had been a power in his time.
"What is all this noise?" he demanded in his deep voice. "And why do you, son of evil, ride your horse on my veranda?"
"We are chasing this pretty Señor Zorro,fray—this man they call the Curse of Capistrano," Gonzales said.
"And you expect to find him in this poor house?"
"Stranger things have happened. Answer me,fray! Have you heard a horseman gallop past within a short time?"
"I have not!"
"And has this Señor Zorro paid you a visit recently?"
"I do not know the man you mean."
"You have heard of him, doubtless?"
"I have heard that he seeks to aid the oppressed, that he has punished those who have committed sacrilege, and that he has whipped those brutes who have beaten Indians."
"You are bold in your words,fray!"
"It is my nature to speak the truth, soldier!"
"You will be getting yourself into difficulties with the powers, my robed Franciscan."
"I fear no politician, soldier!"
"I do not like the tone of your words,fray. I have half a mind to dismount and give you a taste of my whip!"
"Señor!" Fray Felipe cried. "Take ten years off my shoulders and I can drag you in the dirt!"
"That is a question for dispute! However, let us get to the subject of this visit. You have not seen a masked fiend who goes by the name of Señor Zorro?"
"I have not, soldier!"
"I shall have my men search your house!"
"You accuse me of falsehood?" Fray Felipe cried.
"My men must do something to pass the time, and they may as well search the house. You have nothing you wish to hide?"
"Recognizing the identity of my guests, it might be well to hide the wine-jugs," Fray Felipe said.
Sergeant Gonzales allowed an oath to escape him, and got down from his horse. The others dismounted, too, and the sergeant's mount was taken off the veranda and left with the horse-holder.
Then Gonzales drew off his gloves, sheathed his sword, and stamped through the door with the others at his heels, as Fray Felipe fell back before him, protesting against the intrusion.
From a couch in a far corner of the room therearose a man, who stepped into the circle of light cast by thecandelero.
"As I have eyes, it is my raucous friend!" he cried.
"Don Diego! You here?" Gonzales gasped.
"I have been at myhaciendalooking over business affairs, and I rode over to spend the night with Fray Felipe, who has known me from babyhood. These turbulent times; I thought that here, at least, in thishaciendathat is a bit out of the way and has afrayin charge of it, I could for a time rest in peace without hearing of violence and bloodshed. But it appears that I cannot. Is there no place in this country where a man may meditate and consult musicians and the poets?"
"Meal mush and goat's milk!" Gonzales cried. "Don Diego, you are my good friend and a truecaballero. Tell me—have you seen this Señor Zorro to-night?"
"I have not, my sergeant."
"You did not hear him ride past thehacienda?"
"I did not. But a man could ride past and not be heard here in the house. Fray Felipe and I have been talking together, and were just about to retire when you came."
"Then the rogue has ridden on and taken the trail toward thepueblo!" the sergeant declared.
"You had him in view?" Don Diego asked.
"Ha! We were upon his heels,caballero! But at a turn in the highroad he made connection with some twenty men of his band. They rode at us,and attempted to scatter us, but we drove them aside and kept on after Señor Zorro. We managed to separate him from his fellows and give chase."
"You say he has a score of men?"
"Fully a score, as my men will testify. He is a thorn in the flesh of the soldiery, but I have sworn to get him! And when once we stand face to face—"
"You will tell me of it afterward?" Don Diego asked, rubbing his hands together. "You will relate how you mocked him as he fought, how you played with him, pressed him back and ran him through—"
"By the saints! You make mock of me,caballero?"
"'Tis but a jest, my sergeant. Now that we understand each other, perhaps Fray Felipe will give wine to you and your men. After such a chase, you must be fatigued."
"Wine would taste good," the sergeant said.
His corporal came in then, to report that the huts and barns had been searched, and the corral also, and that no trace had been found of Señor Zorro or his horse.
Fray Felipe served the wine, though he appeared to do it with some reluctance, and it was plain that he was but answering Don Diego's request.
"And what shall you do now, my sergeant?" Don Diego asked, after the wine had been brought to the table. "Are you always to go chasing around the country and creating a tumult?"
"The rogue evidently has turned back toward Reina de Los Angeles,caballero," the sergeantreplied. "He thinks he is clever, no doubt, but I can understand his plan."
"Ha! And what is it?"
"He will ride around Reina de Los Angeles and take the trail to San Luis Rey. He will rest for a time, no doubt, to throw off all pursuit, and then will continue to the vicinity of San Juan Capistrano. That is where he began this wild life of his, and for that reason the Curse of Capistrano he is called. Yes, he will go to Capistrano."
"And the soldiers?" Don Diego asked.
"We shall follow him leisurely. We shall work toward the place, and when the news of his next outrage is made known, we shall be within a short distance of him instead of in thepresidioat thepueblo. We can find the fresh trail, and so take up the chase. There shall be no rest for us until the rogue is either slain or taken prisoner."
"And you have the reward," Don Diego added.
"You speak true words,caballero. The reward will come in handy. But I seek revenge also. The rogue disarmed me once."
"Ah! That was the time he held a pistol in your face and forced you to fight not too well?"
"That was the time, my good friend. Oh, I have a score to settle with him!"
"These turbulent times!" Don Diego sighed. "I would they were at an end! A man has no chance for meditation. There are moments when I think I shall ride far out in the hills, where there can be found no life except rattlesnakes and coyotes, andthere spend a number of days. Only in that manner may a man meditate."
"Why meditate?" Gonzales cried. "Why not cease thought and take to action? What a man you would make,caballero, if you let your eye flash now and then, and quarreled a bit, and showed your teeth once in a while! What you need is a few bitter enemies."
"May the saints preserve us!" Don Diego cried.
"It is the truth,caballero! Fight a bit—make love to someseñorita—get drunk! Wake up and be a man!"
"Upon my soul! You almost persuade me, my sergeant. But—no! I never could endure the exertion!"
Gonzales growled something into his great mustache, and got up from the table.
"I have no special liking for you,fray, but I thank you for the wine, which was excellent," he said. "We must continue our journey. A soldier's duty never is at an end while he lives."
"Do not speak of journeys!" Don Diego cried. "I must take one myself on the morrow. My business at thehaciendais done, and I go back to thepueblo."
"Let me express the hope, my good friend, that you survive the hardship," Sergeant Gonzales said.
Señorita Lolita had to tell her parents, of course, what had happened during their absence, for thedespenseroknew, and would tell Don Diego when he returned, and theseñoritawas wise enough to realize that it would be better to make the first explanation.
Thedespensero, having been sent for wine, knew nothing of the love scene that had been enacted, and had been told merely that Señor Zorro had hurried away. That seemed reasonable, since theseñorwas pursued by the soldiers.
So the girl told her father and mother that Captain Ramón had called while they were absent, and that he had forced his way into the big living-room to speak to her, despite the entreaties of the servant. Perhaps he had been drinking too much wine, else was not himself because of his wound, the girl explained, but he grew too bold, and pressed his suit with ardor that was repugnant, and finally insisted that he should have a kiss.
Whereupon, said theseñorita, this Señor Zorro had stepped from the corner of the room—and how he came to be there, she did not know—and had forced Captain Ramón to apologize, and then had thrown him out of the house. After which—andhere she neglected to tell the entire truth—Señor Zorro made a courteous bow and hurried away.
Don Carlos was for getting a blade and going at once to thepresidioand challenging Captain Ramón to mortal combat; but Doña Catalina was more calm, and showed him that to do that would be to let the world know that their daughter had been affronted, and also it would not aid their fortunes any if Don Carlos quarreled with an officer of the army; and yet again the don was of an age, and the captain probably would run him through in two passes and leave Doña Catalina a weeping widow, which she did not wish to be.
So the don paced the floor of the great living-room and fumed and fussed, and wished he were ten years the younger, or that he had political power again, and he promised that when his daughter should have wedded Don Diego, and he was once more in good standing, he would see that Captain Ramón was disgraced and his uniform torn from his shoulders!
Sitting in the chamber that had been assigned to her, Señorita Lolita listened to her father's ravings, and found herself confronted with a situation. Of course, she could not wed Don Vega now. She had given her lips and her love to another, a man whose face she never had seen, a rogue pursued by soldiery—and she had spoken truly when she had said that a Pulido loved but once.
She tried to explain it all to herself, saying that it was a generous impulse that had forced her togive her lips to the man; and she told herself that it was not the truth, that her heart had been stirred when first he spoke to her at her father'shaciendaduring thesiestahour.
She was not prepared yet to tell her parents of the love that had come into her life, for it was sweet to keep it a secret; and, moreover, she dreaded the shock to them, and half feared that her father might cause her to be sent away to some place where she never would see Señor Zorro again.
She crossed to a window and gazed out at the plaza—and she saw Don Diego approaching in the distance. He rode slowly, as if greatly fatigued, and his two native servants rode a short distance behind him.
Men called to him as he neared the house, and he waved his hand at them languidly in response to their greeting. He dismounted slowly, one of the natives holding the stirrup and assisting him, brushed the dust from his clothes, and started toward the door.
Don Carlos and his wife were upon their feet to greet him, their faces beaming, for they had been accepted anew into society the evening before, and knew it was because they were Don Diego's house guests.
"I regret that I was not here when you arrived," Don Diego said, "but I trust that you have been made comfortable in my poor house."
"More than comfortable in this gorgeous palace!" Don Carlos exclaimed.
"Then you have been fortunate, for the saints know I have been uncomfortable enough."
"How is that, Don Diego?" Doña Catalina asked.
"My work at thehaciendadone, I rode as far as the place of Fray Felipe, there to spend the night in quiet. But as we were about to retire, there came a thundering noise at the door, and this Sergeant Gonzales and a troop of soldiers entered. It appears that they had been chasing the highwayman called Señor Zorro, and had lost him in the darkness!"
In the other room, a daintyseñoritagave thanks for that.
"These are turbulent times," Don Diego continued, sighing and mopping the perspiration from his forehead. "The noisy fellows were with us an hour or more, and then continued the chase. And because of what they had said of violence, I endured a horrible nightmare, so got very little rest. And this morning I was forced to continue to Reina de Los Angeles!"
"You have a difficult time," Don Carlos said. "Señor Zorro was here,caballero, in your house, before the soldiers chased him."
"What is this intelligence?" Don Diego cried, sitting up straight in his chair and betraying sudden interest.
"Undoubtedly he came to steal, else to abduct you and hold you for ransom," Doña Catalina observed. "But I scarcely think that he stole. Don Carlos and myself were visiting friends, and SeñoritaLolita remained here alone. There—there is a distressing affair to report to you—"
"I beg of you to proceed," Don Diego said.
"While we were gone, Captain Ramón, of thepresidio, called. He was informed we were absent, but he forced his way into the house and made himself obnoxious to theseñorita. This Señor Zorro came in and forced the captain to apologize, and then drove him away."
"Well, that is what I call a pretty bandit!" Don Diego exclaimed. "Theseñoritasuffers from the experience?"
"Indeed, no!" said Doña Catalina. "She was of the opinion that Captain Ramón had taken too much wine. I shall call her."
Doña Catalina went to the door of the chamber and called her daughter, and Lolita came into the room and greeted Don Diego as became a proper maiden.
"It makes me desolate to know that you received an insult in my house," Don Diego said. "I shall consider the affair."
Doña Catalina made a motion to her husband, and they went to a far corner to sit, that the young folk might be somewhat alone, which seemed to please Don Diego, but not theseñorita.
"Captain Ramón is a beast!" the girl said, in a voice not too loud.
"He is a worthless fellow," Don Diego agreed.
"He—that is—he wished to kiss me," she said.
"And you did not let him, of course."
"Señor!"
"I—confound it, I did not mean that! Certainly you did not let him! I trust that you slapped his face."
"I did," said theseñorita. "And then he struggled with me, and he told me that I should not be so particular, since I was daughter of a man who stood in the bad graces of the governor."
"Why, the infernal brute!" Don Diego exclaimed.
"Is that all you have to say about it,caballero?"
"I cannot use oaths in your presence, of course."
"Do you not understand,señor? This man came intoyourhouse, and insulted the girl you have asked to beyourwife!"
"Confound the rascal! When next I see his excellency, I shall ask him to remove the officer to some other post."
"Oh!" the girl cried. "Have you no spirit at all? Have him removed? Were you a proper man, Don Diego, you would go to thepresidio, you wouldcall this Captain Ramón to account, you would pass your sword through his body, and call upon all to witness that a man could not insult theseñoritayou admired and escape the consequences."
"It is such an exertion to fight!" he said. "Let us not speak of violence. Perhaps I shall see the fellow and rebuke him."
"Rebuke him!" the girl cried.
"Let us talk of something else,señorita. Let us speak of the matter regarding which I talked the other day. My father will be after me again soon to know when I am going to take a wife. Cannot we get the matter settled in some manner? Have you decided upon the day?"
"I have not said that I would marry you," she replied.
"Why hold off?" he questioned. "Have you looked at my house? I shall make it satisfactory to you I am sure. You shall refurnish it to suit your taste, though I pray you do not disturb it too much, for I dislike to have things in a mess. You shall have a new carriage and anything you may desire."
"Is this your manner of wooing?" she asked, glancing at him from the corners of her eyes.
"What a nuisance to woo!" he said. "Must I play a guitar, and make pretty speeches? Can you not give me your answer without all that foolishness?"
She was comparing this man beside her with Señor Zorro, and Don Diego did not compare to himfavorably. She wanted to be done with this farce, to have Don Diego out of her vision, and none but Señor Zorro in it.
"I must speak frankly to you,caballero," she said. "I have searched my heart, and in it I find no love for you. I am sorry, for I know what our marriage would mean to my parents, and to myself in a financial way. But I cannot wed you, Don Diego, and it is useless for you to ask."
"Well, by the saints! I had thought it was about all settled!" he said. "Do you hear that, Don Carlos? Your daughter says she cannot wed with me—that it is not in her heart to do so."
"Lolita, retire to your chamber!" Doña Catalina exclaimed.
The girl did so, gladly. Don Carlos and his wife hurried across the room and sat down beside Don Diego.
"I fear you do not understand women, my friend," Don Carlos said. "Never must you take a woman's answer for the last. She always may change her mind. A woman likes to keep a man dangling, likes to make him blow cold with fear and hot with anticipation. Let her have her moods, my friend. In the end, I am sure, you shall have your way."
"It is beyond me!" Don Diego cried. "What shall I do now! I told her I would give her all her heart desired."
"Her heart desires love, I suppose," Doña Catalina said, out of the wealth of her woman's wisdom.
"But certainly I shall love and cherish her.Does not a man promise that in the ceremony? Would a Vega break his word regarding such a thing?"
"Just a little courtship," Don Carlos urged.
"But it is such a nuisance!"
"A few soft words, a pressure of the hand now and then, a sigh or two, a languishing look from the eyes—"
"Nonsense!"
"It is what a maiden expects. Speak not of marriage for some time. Let the idea grow on her—"
"But my august father is liable to come to thepuebloany day and ask when I am to take a wife. He has rather ordered me to do it."
"No doubt your father will understand," said Don Carlos. "Tell him that her mother and myself are on your side and that you are enjoying the pleasure of winning the girl."
"I believe we should return to thehaciendato-morrow," Doña Catalina put in. "Lolita has seen this splendid house, and she will contrast it with ours. She will realize what it means to marry you. And there is an ancient saying that when a man and a maid are apart they grow fonder of each other."
"I do not wish to have you hurry away."
"I think it would be best under the circumstances. And do you ride out, say, in three days,caballero, and I doubt not you will find her more willing to listen to your suit."
"I presume you know best," Don Diego said."But you must remain at least until to-morrow. And now I think I shall go to thepresidioand see this Captain Ramón. Possibly that will please theseñorita. She appears to think I should call him to account."
Don Carlos thought that such a course would prove disastrous for a man who did not practice with the blade and knew little of fighting, but he refrained from saying so. A gentleman never intruded his own thoughts at such a time. Even if acaballerowent to his death, it was all right so long as he believed he was doing the proper thing, and died as acaballeroshould.
So Don Diego went from the house and walked slowly up the hill toward thepresidiobuilding. Captain Ramón observed his approach, and wondered at it, and snarled at the thought of coming to combat with such a man.
But he was cold courtesy itself when Don Diego was ushered into thecomandante'soffice.
"I am proud to know you have visited me here," he said, bowing low before the scion of the Vegas.
Don Diego bowed in answer, and took the chair Captain Ramón indicated. The captain marveled that Don Diego had no blade at his side.
"I was forced to climb your confounded hill to speak to you on a certain matter," Don Diego said. "I have been informed that you visited my house during my absence, and insulted a young lady who is my guest."
"Indeed?" the captain said.
"Were you deep in wine?"
"Señor?"
"That would excuse the offense in part, of course. And then you were wounded, and probably in a fever. Were you in a fever, captain?"
"Undoubtedly," Ramón said.
"A fever is an awful thing—I had a siege of it once. But you should not have intruded upon theseñorita. Not only did you affront her, but you affronted me. I have asked theseñoritato become my wife. The matter—er—is not settled as yet, but I have some rights in this case."
"I entered your house seeking news of this Señor Zorro," the captain lied.
"You—er—found him?" Don Diego asked.
The face of thecomandanteflushed red.
"The fellow was there, and he attacked me," he replied. "I was wounded, of course, and wore no weapon, and so he could work his will with me."
"It is a most remarkable thing," observed Don Diego, "that none of you soldiers can meet this Curse of Capistrano when you can be on equal terms. Always he descends upon you when you are helpless, or threatens you with a pistol while he fights you with a blade, or has his score of men about him.
"I met Sergeant Gonzales and his men at thehaciendaof Fray Felipe last night, and the big sergeant told some harrowing tale of the highwayman and his score of men scattering his troopers."
"We shall get him yet!" the captain promised."And I might call your attention to certain significant things,caballero. Don Carlos Pulido, as we know, does not stand high with those in authority. This Señor Zorro was at the Pulidohacienda, you will remember, and attacked me there, emerging from a closet to do it."
"Ha! What mean you?"
"Again, on last night, he was in your house while you were abroad and the Pulidos were your guests. It begins to look as if Don Carlos has a hand in the work of the Señor Zorro. I am almost convinced that Don Carlos is a traitor, and is aiding the rogue. You had better think twice, or half a score of times, before seeking a matrimonial alliance with the daughter of such a man."
"By the saints, what a speech!" Don Diego exclaimed, as if in admiration. "You have made my poor head ring with it! You really believe all this?"
"I do,caballero."
"Well, the Pulidos are returning to their own place to-morrow, I believe. I but asked them to be my guests so they could be away from the scenes of this Señor Zorro's deeds."
"And Señor Zorro followed them to thepueblo. You see?"
"Can it be possible?" Don Diego gasped. "I must consider the matter. Oh, these turbulent times! But they are returning to theirhaciendato-morrow! Of course, I would not have his excellency think that I harbored a traitor."
He got to his feet, bowed courteously, and thenstepped slowly toward the door. And there he seemed to remember something suddenly, and turned to face the captain again.
"Ha! I am at the point of forgetting all about the insult!" he exclaimed. "What have you to say, my captain, regarding the events of last night?"
"Of course,caballero, I apologize to you most humbly," Captain Ramón replied.
"I suppose that I must accept your apology. But, please do not let such a thing happen again. You frighten mydespenserobadly, and he is an excellent servant."
Then Don Diego Vega bowed again and left thepresidio, and Captain Ramón laughed long and loudly, until the sick men in the hospital-room feared that theircomandantemust have lost his wits.
"What a man!" the captain exclaimed. "I have turned him away from that Pulidoseñorita, I think. And I was a fool to hint to the governor that he could be capable of treason. I must rectify that matter in some way. The man has not enough spirit to be a traitor!"
The threatened rain did not come that day, nor that night, and the following morning found the sun shining brightly, and the sky blue, and the scent of blossoms in the air.
Soon after the morning meal, the Pulidocarretawas driven to the front of the house by Don Diego's servants, and Don Carlos and his wife and daughter prepared to depart for their ownhacienda.
"It desolates me," Don Diego said at the door, "that there can be no match between theseñoritaand myself. What shall I say to my father?"
"Do not give up hope,caballero," Don Carlos advised him. "Perhaps when we are home again, and Lolita contrasts our humble abode with your magnificence here, she will change her mind. A woman changes her mind,caballero, as often as she does the method of doing her hair."
"I had thought all would be arranged before now," Don Diego said. "You think there is still hope?"
"I trust so," Don Carlos said, but he doubted it, remembering the look that had been in theseñorita'sface. However, he intended having a serious talkwith her once they were home, and possibly might decide to insist on obedience even in this matter of taking a mate.
So the usual courtesies were paid, and then the lumberingcarretawas driven away, and Don Diego Vega turned back into his house with his head hanging upon his breast, as it always hung when he did himself the trouble to think.
Presently he decided that he needed companionship for the moment, and left the house to cross the plaza and enter the tavern. The fat landlord rushed to greet him, conducted him to a choice seat near a window, and fetched wine without being commanded to do so.
Don Diego spent the greater part of an hour looking through the window at the plaza, watching men and women come and go, observing the toiling natives, and now and then glancing up the trail that ran toward the San Gabriel road.
Down this trail, presently, he observed approaching two mounted men, and between their horses walked a third man, and Don Diego could see that ropes ran from this man's waist to the saddles of the horsemen.
"What, in the name of the saints, have we here?" he exclaimed, getting up from the bench and going closer to the window.
"Ha!" said the landlord at his shoulder. "That will be the prisoner coming now."
"Prisoner?" said Don Diego, looking at him with a question in his glance.
"A native brought the news a short time ago,caballero. Once more afrayis in the toils."
"Explain, fat one!"
"The man is to go before themagistradoimmediately for his trial. They say that he swindled a dealer in hides, and now must pay the penalty. He wished his trial at San Gabriel, but that was not allowed, since all there are in favor of the missions and thefrailes."
"Who is the man?" Don Diego asked.
"He is called Fray Felipe,caballero."
"What is this? Fray Felipe is an old man, and my good friend. I spent night before the last with him at thehaciendahe manages."
"No doubt he has imposed upon you,caballero, as upon others," the landlord said.
Don Diego showed some slight interest now. He walked briskly from the tavern and went to the office of themagistradoin a little adobe building on the opposite side of the plaza. The horsemen were just arriving with their prisoner. They were two soldiers who had been stationed at San Gabriel, thefraileshaving been forced to give them bed and board in the governor's name.
It was Fray Felipe. He had been forced to walk the entire distance fastened to the saddles of his guards, and there were indications that the horsemen had galloped now and then to test thefray'spowers of endurance.
Fray Felipe's gown was almost in rags, and was covered with dust and perspiration. Those whocrowded around him now gave him jeers and coarse jests, but thefrayheld his head proudly and pretended not to see or hear them.
The soldiers dismounted and forced him into themagistrado'soffice, and the loiterers and natives crowded forward and through the door. Don Diego hesitated a moment, and then stepped toward the door. "One side, scum!" he cried; and the natives gave way before him.
He entered and pressed through the throng. Themagistradosaw him and beckoned him to a front seat. But Don Diego did not care to sit at that time.
"What is this we have here?" he demanded. "This is Fray Felipe, a godly man and my friend."
"He is a swindler," one of the soldiers retorted.
"If he is, then we can put our trust in no man," Don Diego observed.
"All this is quite irregular,caballero," themagistradoinsisted, stepping forward. "The charges have been preferred, and the man is here to be tried."
Then Don Diego sat down and court was convened.
The man who made the complaint was an evil-looking fellow who explained that he was a dealer in tallow and hides, and had a warehouse in San Gabriel.
"I went to thehaciendathisfraymanages and purchased ten hides of him," he testified. "After giving him the coins in payment and taking themto my storehouse, I found that the hides had not been cured properly. In fact they were ruined. I returned to thehaciendaand told thefrayas much, demanding that he return the money, which he refused to do."
"The hides were good," Fray Felipe put in. "I told him I would return the money when he returned the hides."
"They were spoiled," the dealer declared. "My assistant here will testify as much. They caused a stench, and I had them burned immediately."
The assistant testified as much.
"Have you anything to say,fray?" themagistradoasked.
"It will avail me nothing," Fray Felipe said. "I already am found guilty and sentenced! Were I a follower of a licentious governor instead of a robed Franciscan, the hides would have been good."
"You speak treason?" themagistradocried.
"I speak truth!"
Themagistradopuckered his lips and frowned.
"There has been entirely too much of this swindling," he said finally. "Because a man wears a robe he cannot rob with impunity. In this case, I deem it proper to make an example, thatfraileswill see they cannot take advantage of their calling.
"Thefraymust repay the man the price of the hides. And for the swindle he shall receive across his bare back ten lashes. And for the words of treason he has spoken, he shall receive five lashes additional. It is a sentence!"
The natives jeered and applauded. Don Diego's face went white, and for an instant his eyes met those of Fray Felipe, and in the face of the latter he saw resignation.
The office was cleared, and the soldiers led thefrayto the place of execution in the middle of the plaza. Don Diego observed that themagistradowas grinning, and he realized what a farce the trial had been.
"These turbulent times!" he said to a gentleman of his acquaintance who stood near.
They tore Felipe's robe from his back and started to lash him to the post. But thefrayhad been a man of great strength in his day, and some of it remained to him in his advanced years; and it came to him now what ignominy he was to suffer.
Suddenly he whirled the soldiers aside and stooped to grasp the whip from the ground.
"You have removed my robe!" he cried. "I am man now, notfray! One side, dogs!"
He lashed out with the whip. He cut a soldier across the face. He struck at two natives who sprang toward him. And then the throng was upon him, beating him down, kicking and striking at him, disregarding even the soldiers' orders.
Don Diego Vega felt moved to action. He could not see his friend treated in this manner despite his docile disposition. He rushed into the midst of the throng, calling upon the natives to clear the way. But he felt a hand grasp his arm, and turned to look into the eyes of themagistrado.
"These are no actions for acaballero," the judge said in a low tone. "The man has been sentenced properly. When you raise hand to give him aid, you raise hand against his excellency. Have you stopped to think of that, Don Diego Vega?"
Apparently Don Diego had not. And he realized, too, that he could do no good to his friend by interfering now. He nodded his head to themagistradoand turned away.
But he did not go far. The soldiers had subdued Fray Felipe by now, and had lashed him to the whipping-post. This was added insult, for the post was used for none except insubordinate natives. The lash was swung through the air, and Don Diego saw blood spurt from Fray Felipe's bare back.
He turned his face away then, for he could not bear to look. But he could count the lashes by the singing of the whip through the air, and he knew that proud, old Fray Felipe was making not the slightest sound of pain, and would die without doing so.
He heard the natives laughing, and turned back again to find that the whipping was at an end.
"The money must be repaid within two days, oryou shall have fifteen lashes more," themagistradowas saying.
Fray Felipe was untied and dropped to the ground at the foot of the post. The crowd began to melt away. Twofraileswho had followed from San Gabriel aided their brother to his feet, and led him aside while the natives hooted. Don Diego Vega returned to his house.
"Send me Bernardo," he ordered hisdespensero.
The butler bit his lip to keep from grinning as he went to do as he was bidden. Bernardo was a deaf and dumb native servant for whom Don Diego had a peculiar use. Within the minute he entered the great living-room and bowed before his master.
"Bernardo, you are a gem!" Don Diego said. "You cannot speak or hear, cannot write or read, and have not sense enough to make your wants known by the sign-language. You are the one man in the world to whom I can speak without having my ears talked off in reply. You do not 'Ha!' me at every turn."
Bernardo bobbed his head as if he understood. He always bobbed his head in that fashion when Don Diego's lips ceased to move.
"These are turbulent times, Bernardo," Don Diego continued. "A man can find no place where he can meditate. Even at Fray Felipe's night before last there came a big sergeant pounding at the door. A man with nerves is in a sorry state. And this whipping of old Fray Felipe— Bernardo, let us hope that this Señor Zorro, who punishes thosewho work injustice, hears of the affair and acts accordingly."
Bernardo bobbed his head again.
"As for myself, I am in a pretty pickle," Don Diego went on. "My father has ordered that I get me a wife, and theseñoritaI selected will have none of me. I shall have my father taking me by the ear in short order.
"Bernardo, it is time for me to leave thispueblofor a few days. I shall go to thehaciendaof my father, to tell him I have got no woman to wed me yet, and ask his indulgence. And there, on the wide hills behind his house, may I hope to find some spot where I may rest and consult the poets for one entire day without highwaymen and sergeants and unjustmagistradosbothering me. And you, Bernardo, shall accompany me, of course. I can talk to you without your taking the words out of my mouth."
Bernardo bobbed his head again. He guessed what was to come. It was a habit of Don Diego's to talk to him thus for a long time, and always there was a journey afterward. Bernardo liked that, because he worshiped Don Diego, and because he liked to visit thehaciendaof Don Diego's father, where he always was treated with kindness.
Thedespenserohad been listening in the other room and had heard what was said, and now he gave orders for Don Diego's horse to be made ready, and prepared a bottle of wine and water for the master to take with him.
Within a short time Don Diego set out, Bernardo riding a mule a short distance behind him. They hurried along the highroad, and presently caught up with a smallcarreta, beside which walked two robed Franciscans, and in which was Fray Felipe, trying to keep back moans of pain.
Don Diego dismounted beside thecarretaas it stopped. He went over to it and clasped Fray Felipe's hands in his own.
"My poor friend!" he said.
"It is but another instance of injustice," Fray Felipe said. "For twenty years we, of the missions, have been subjected to it, and it grows. The sainted Junipero Serra invaded this land when other men feared, and at San Diego de Alcála he built the first mission of what became a chain, thus giving an empire to the world. Our mistake was that we prospered. We did the work, and others reap the advantages."
Don Diego nodded, and the other went on:
"They began taking our mission-lands from us, lands we had cultivated, which had formed a wilderness and which my brothers had turned into gardens and orchards. They robbed us of worldly goods. And not content with that they now are persecuting us.
"The mission-empire is doomed,caballero. The time is not far distant when mission roofs will fall in and the walls crumble away. Some day people will look at the ruins and wonder how such a thing could come to pass.
"But we can do naught except submit. It is one of our principles. I did forget myself for a moment in the plaza at Reina de Los Angeles, when I took the whip and struck a man. It is our lot to submit."
"Sometimes," mused Don Diego, "I wish I were a man of action."
"You give sympathy, my friend, which is worth its weight in precious stones. And action expressed in a wrong channel is worse than no action at all. Where do you ride?"
"To thehaciendaof my father, good friend. I must crave his pardon and ask his indulgence. He has ordered that I get me a wife, and I find it a difficult task."
"That should be an easy task for a Vega. Any maiden would be proud to take that name."
"I had hoped to wed with the Señorita Lolita Pulido, she having taken my fancy."
"A worthy maiden! Her father, too, has been subjected to unjust oppression. Did you join your family to his, none would dare raise hand against him."
"All that is very well,fray, and the absolute truth, of course. But theseñoritawill have none of me," Don Diego complained. "It appears that I have not dash and spirit enough."
"She is hard to please, perhaps. Or possibly she is but playing at being a coquette with the hope of leading you on and increasing your ardor. A maidloves to tantalize a man,caballero. It is her privilege."
"I showed her my house in thepueblo, and mentioned my great wealth, and agreed to purchase a new carriage for her," Don Diego told him.
"Did you show her your heart, mention your love, and agree to be a perfect husband?"
Don Diego looked at him blankly, then batted his eyes rapidly, and scratched at his chin, as he did sometimes when he was puzzled over a matter.
"What a perfectly silly idea!" he exclaimed after a time.
"Try it,caballero. It may have an excellent effect."
Thefrailesdrove the cart onward, Fray Felipe raised his hand in blessing, and Don Diego Vega turned aside into the other trail, the deaf-and-dumb Bernardo following at his heels on the mule.
Back in thepueblo, the dealer in hides and tallow was the center of attraction at the tavern. The fat landlord was kept busy supplying his guests with wine, for the dealer in hides and tallow was spending a part of the money of which he had swindled Fray Felipe. Themagistradowas spending the rest.
There was boisterous laughter as one recounted how Fray Felipe lay about him with the whip, and how the blood spurted from his old back when the lash was applied.
"Not a whimper from him!" cried the dealer in hides and tallow. "He is a courageous old coyote! Now, last month we whipped one at San Fernando, and he howled for mercy, but some men said he had been ill and was weak, and possibly that was so. A tough lot, thesefrailes! But it is great sport when we can make one howl! More wine, landlord! Fray Felipe is paying for it!"
There was a deal of raucous laughter at that, and the dealer's assistant, who had given perjuredtestimony, was tossed a coin and told to play a man and do his own buying. Whereupon the apprentice purchased wine for all in the inn, and howled merrily when the fat landlord gave him no change from his piece of money.
"Are you afray, that you pinch coins?" the landlord asked.
Those in the tavern howled with merriment again, and the landlord, who had cheated the assistant to the limit, grinned as he went about his business. It was a great day for the fat landlord.
"Who was thecaballerowho showed some mercy toward thefray?" the dealer asked.
"That was Don Diego Vega," the landlord replied.
"He will be getting himself into trouble—"
"Not Don Diego," said the landlord. "You know the great Vega family, do you not,señor? His excellency himself curries their favor. Did the Vegas hold up as much as a little finger, there would be a political upheaval in these parts."
"Then he is a dangerous man?" the dealer asked.
A torrent of laughter answered him.
"Dangerous? Don Diego Vega?" the landlord cried, while tears ran down his fat cheeks. "You will be the death of me! Don Diego does naught but sit in the sun and dream. He scarcely ever wears a blade, except as a matter of show. He groans if he has to ride a few miles on a horse. Don Diego is about as dangerous as a lizard basking in the sun.
"But he is an excellent gentleman, for all that!"the landlord added hastily, afraid that his words would reach Don Diego's ears, and Don Diego would take his custom elsewhere.
It was almost dusk when the dealer in hides and tallow left the tavern with his assistant, and both reeled as they walked, for they had partaken of too much wine.
They made their way to thecarretain which they traveled, waved their farewells to the group about the door of the tavern, and started slowly up the trail toward San Gabriel.
They made their journey in a leisurely manner, continuing to drink from a jug of wine they had purchased. They went over the crest of the first hill, and thepuebloof Reina de Los Angeles was lost to view, and all they could see was the highway twisting before them like a great dusty serpent, and the brown hills, and a few buildings in the distance, where some man had hishacienda.
They made a turning, and found a horseman confronting them, sitting easily in the saddle, with his horse standing across the road in such manner that they could not pass.
"Turn your horse—turn your beast!" the dealer in hides and tallow cried. "Would you have me drive over you?"
The assistant gave an exclamation that was part of fear, and the dealer looked more closely at the horseman. His jaw dropped, his eyes bulged.
"'Tis Señor Zorro!" he exclaimed. "By the saints! 'tis the Curse of Capistrano, away down herenear San Gabriel. You would not bother me, Señor Zorro? I am a poor man, and have no money. Only yesterday afrayswindled me, and I have been to Reina de Los Angeles seeking justice."
"Did you get it?" Señor Zorro asked.
"Themagistradowas kind,señor. He ordered thefrayto repay me, but I do not know when I shall get the money."
"Get out of thecarreta, and your assistant also!" Señor Zorro commanded.
"But I have no money—" the dealer protested.
"Out of thecarretawith you! Do I have to request it twice? Move, or lead finds a lodging place in your carcass!"
Now the dealer saw that the highwayman held a pistol in his hand, and he squealed with sudden fright and got out of the cart as speedily as possible, his assistant tumbling out at his heels. They stood in the dusty highway before Señor Zorro, trembling with fear, the dealer begging for mercy.
"I have no money with me, kind highwayman, but I shall get it for you!" the dealer cried. "I shall carry it to where you say, whenever you wish—"
"Silence, beast!" Señor Zorro cried. "I do not want your money, perjurer! I know all about the farce of a trial at Reina de Los Angeles; I have ways of finding out about such things speedily.
"So the agedfrayswindled you, eh? Liar and thief! 'Tis you who are the swindler! And they gave that old and godly man fifteen lashes across his bare back, because of the lies you told! Andyou and themagistradowill divide the money of which you swindled him!"
"I swear by the saints—"
"Do not! You have done enough false swearing already. Step forward!"
The dealer complied, trembling as if with a disease; and Señor Zorro dismounted swiftly and walked around in front of his horse. The dealer's assistant was standing beside thecarreta, and his face was white.
"Forward!" Señor Zorro commanded again.
Again the dealer complied; but suddenly he began to beg for mercy, for Señor Zorro had taken a mule whip from beneath his long cloak, and held it ready in his right hand, while he held the pistol in his left.
"Turn your back!" he commanded now.
"Mercy, good highwayman! Am I to be beaten as well as robbed? You would whip an honest merchant because of a thievingfray?"
The first blow fell, and the dealer shrieked with pain. His last remark appeared to have given strength to the highwayman's arm. The second blow fell, and the dealer in hides and tallow went to his knees in the dusty highroad.
Then Señor Zorro returned his pistol to his belt, and stepped forward and grasped the dealer's mop of hair with his left hand, so as to hold him up, and with the right he rained heavy blows with the mule whip upon the man's back, until his tough coatand shirt were cut to ribbons, and the blood soaked through.
"That for a man who perjures himself and has an honestfraypunished!" Señor Zorro cried.
And then he gave his attention to the assistant.
"No doubt, young man, you but carried out your master's orders when you lied before themagistrado," he said, "but you must be taught to be honest and fair, no matter what the circumstances."
"Mercy,señor!" the assistant howled.
"Did you not laugh when thefraywas being whipped? Are you not filled with wine now because you have been celebrating the punishment that godly man received for something he did not do?"
Señor Zorro grasped the youth by the nape of his neck, whirled him around, and sent a stiff blow at his shoulders. The boy shrieked, and then began whimpering. Five lashes in all he received, for Señor Zorro apparently did not wish to render him unconscious. And finally he hurled the boy from him, and looped his whip.
"Let us hope both of you have learned your lesson," he said. "Get into thecarreta, and drive on. And when you speak of this occurrence, tell the truth, else I hear of it and punish you again! Let me not learn that you have said some fifteen or twenty men surrounded and held you while I worked with the whip!"
The apprentice sprang into the cart, and his master followed, and they whipped up and disappearedin a cloud of dust toward San Gabriel. Señor Zorro looked after them for a time, then lifted his mask and wiped the perspiration from his face, and then mounted his horse again, fastening the mule whip to the pommel of his saddle.