Señor Zorro rode quickly to the crest of the hill beneath which was thepueblo, and there he stopped his horse and looked down at the village.
It was almost dark, but he could see quite well enough for his purpose. Candles had been lighted in the tavern; and from the building came the sounds of raucous song and loud jest. Candles were burning at thepresidioand from some of the houses came the odor of cooking food.
Señor Zorro rode on down the hill. When he reached the edge of the plaza he put spurs to his horse, and dashed up to the tavern door, before which half a dozen men were congregated, the most of them under the influence of wine.
"Landlord!" he cried.
None of the men about the door gave him particular attention at first, thinking he was but somecaballeroon a journey wishing refreshment. The landlord hurried out, rubbing his fat hands together, and stepped close to the horse. And then he saw that the rider was masked, and that the muzzle of a pistol was threatening him.
"Is themagistradowithin?" Señor Zorro asked.
"Si, Señor!"
"Stand where you are and pass the word for him. Say there is acaballerohere who wishes speech with him regarding a certain matter."
The terrified landlord shrieked for themagistrado, and the word was passed inside. Presently the judge came staggering out, crying in a loud voice to know who had summoned him from his pleasant entertainment.
He staggered up to the horse, and put one hand against it, and looked up to find two glittering eyes regarding him through a mask. He opened his mouth to shriek, but Señor Zorro warned him in time.
"Not a sound, or you die!" he said. "I have come to punish you. To-day you passed judgment on a godly man who was innocent. Moreover, you knew of his innocence, and his trial was but a farce. By your order he received a certain number of lashes. You shall have the same payment."
"You dare—"
"Silence!" the highwayman commanded. "You about the door there—come to my side!" he called.
They crowded forward, the most of thempeonswho thought that here was acaballerowho wished something done and had gold to pay for it. In the dusk they did not see the mask and pistol until they stood beside the horse, and it was too late to retreat then.
"We are going to punish this unjustmagistrado," Señor Zorro told them. "The five of you will seize him now, and conduct him to the post in the middleof the plaza, and there you will tie him. The first man to falter receives a slug of lead from my pistol, and my blade will deal with the others. And I wish speed, also."
The frightenedmagistradobegan to screech now.
"Laugh loudly, that his cries may not be heard," the highwayman ordered; and the men laughed as loudly as they could, albeit there was a peculiar quality to their laughter.
They seized themagistradoby the arms and conducted him to the post, and bound him there with thongs.
"You will line up," Señor Zorro told them. "You will take this whip, and each of you will lash this man five times. I shall be watching, and if I see the whip fall lightly once I shall deal out punishment. Begin!"
He tossed the whip to the first man, and the punishment began. Señor Zorro had no fault to find with the manner in which it was given, for there was great fear in the hearts of thepeons, and they whipped with strength, and willingly.
"You, also, landlord!" Señor Zorro said.
"He will put me incarcelfor it afterward," the landlord wailed.
"Do you prefercarcelor a coffin, señor?" the highwayman asked.
It became evident that the landlord preferred thecarcel. He picked up the whip, and he surpassed thepeonsin the strength of his blows.
Themagistradowas hanging heavily from thethongs now. Unconsciousness had come to him with about the fifteenth blow, more through fear than through pain and punishment.
"Unfasten the man," the highwayman ordered.
Two men sprang forward to do his bidding.
"Carry him to his house," Señor Zorro went on. "And tell the people of thepueblothat this is the manner in which Señor Zorro punishes those who oppress the poor and helpless, who give unjust verdicts and who steal in the name of the law. Go your ways!"
Themagistradowas carried away, groaning, consciousness returning to him now. Señor Zorro turned once more to the landlord.
"We shall return to the tavern," he said. "You will go inside and fetch me a mug of wine, and stand beside my horse while I drink it. It would be only a waste of breath for me to say what will happen to you if you attempt treachery on the way."
But there was fear of themagistradoin the landlord's heart as great as his fear of Señor Zorro. He went back to the tavern beside the highwayman's horse, and he hurried inside, as if to get the wine. But he sounded the alarm.
"Señor Zorro is without," he hissed at those nearest the table. "He has just caused themagistradoto be whipped cruelly. He has sent me to get him a mug of wine."
Then he went on to the wine cask and began drawing the drink slowly as possible.
There was sudden activity inside the tavern.Some half-dozencaballeroswere there, men who followed in the footsteps of the governor. Now they drew their blades and began creeping toward the door, and one of them who possessed a pistol and had it in his sash, drew it out, saw that it was prepared for work, and followed in their wake.
Señor Zorro, sitting his horse some twenty feet from the door of the tavern, suddenly beheld a throng rush out at him, saw the light flash from half a dozen blades, heard the report of a pistol, and heard a ball whistle past his head.
The landlord was standing in the doorway, praying that the highwayman would be captured, for then he would be given some credit, and perhaps themagistradowould not punish him for having used the lash.
Señor Zorro caused his horse to rear high in the air, and then raked the beast with the spurs. The animal sprang forward, into the midst of thecaballeros, scattering them.
That was what Señor Zorro wanted. His blade already was out of its scabbard, and it passed through a man's sword-arm, swung over and drew blood on another.
He fenced like a maniac, maneuvering his horse to keep his antagonists separated, so that only one could get at him at a time. Now the air was filled with shrieks and cries, and men came tumbling from the houses to ascertain the cause of the commotion. Señor Zorro knew that some of them would have pistols, and while he feared no blade, he realizedthat a man could stand some distance away and cut him down with a pistol-ball.
So he caused his horse to plunge forward again, and, before the fat landlord realized it, Señor Zorro was beside him, and had reached down and grasped him by the arm. The horse darted away, the fat landlord dragging, shrieking for rescue and begging for mercy in the same breath. Señor Zorro rode with him to the whipping-post.
"Hand me that whip!" he commanded.
The shrieking landlord obeyed, and called upon the saints to protect him. And then Señor Zorro turned him loose, and curled the whip around his fat middle, and as the landlord tried to run he cut at him again and again. He left him once to charge down upon those who had blades and so scatter them, and then he was back with the landlord again, applying the whip.
"You tried treachery!" he cried. "Dog of a thief! You would send men about my ears, eh? I'll strip your tough hide—"
"Mercy!" the landlord shrieked, and fell to the ground.
Señor Zorro cut at him again, bringing forth a yell more than blood. He wheeled his horse and darted at the nearest of his foes. Another pistol-ball whistled past his head, another man sprang at him with blade ready. Señor Zorro ran the man neatly through the shoulder and put spurs to his horse again. He galloped as far as the whipping-post,and there he stopped his horse and faced them for an instant.
"There are not enough of you to make a fight interesting,señores," he cried.
He swept off his sombrero and bowed to them in nice mockery, and then he wheeled his horse again and dashed away.
Behind him he left a tumult in the town. The shrieks of the fat landlord had aroused thepueblo. Men came running, servants hurrying at their sides and carrying torches. Women peered from the windows of the houses. Natives stood still wherever they happened to be, and shivered, for it had been their dear experience that whenever there was a tumult natives paid the price.
Many youngcaballerosof hot blood were there, and for some time there had been no excitement in thepuebloof Reina de Los Angeles. These young men crowded into the tavern and listened to the wails of the landlord, and some hurried to the house of themagistradoand saw his wounds, and heard him declaim on the indignity that had been offered the law, and therefore his excellency the governor.
Captain Ramón came down from thepresidio, and when he heard the cause of the tumult he swore great oaths, and sent his only well man to ride along the Pala Road, overtake Sergeant Gonzales and his troopers, and bid them return and take the trail, since at the time being they were following a false scent.
But the youngcaballerossaw in this circumstance a chance for excitement that was to their liking, andthey asked permission of thecomandanteto form a posse and take after the highwayman, a permission they received immediately.
Some thirty of them mounted horses, looked to weapons, and set out, with the intention of dividing into three bands of ten each when they came to forks in the trail.
The townsmen cheered them as they started, and they galloped rapidly up the hill and toward the San Gabriel road, making a deal of noise, glad that now there was a moon to let them see the foe when they approached him.
In time they separated, ten going toward San Gabriel proper, ten taking the trail that led to thehaciendaof Fray Felipe, and the last ten following a road that curved down the valley to the neighborhood of a series of landed estates owned by wealthy dons of the day.
Along this road Don Diego Vega had ridden some time before, the deaf and dumb Bernardo behind him on the mule. Don Diego rode with leisure, and it was long after nightfall when he turned from the main road and followed a narrower one toward his father's house.
Don Alejandro Vega, the head of the family, sat alone at his table, the remains of the evening meal before him, when he heard a horseman before the door. A servant ran to open it, and Don Diego entered, Bernardo following close behind him.
"Ah, Diego, my son!" the old don cried, extending his arms.
Don Diego was clasped for an instant to his father's breast, and then he sat down beside the table and grasped a mug of wine. Having refreshed himself, he faced Don Alejandro once more.
"It has been a fatiguing journey!" he remarked.
"And the cause for it, my son?"
"I felt that I should come to thehacienda," Don Diego said. "It is no time to be in thepueblo. Wherever a man turns, he finds naught but violence and bloodshed. This confounded Señor Zorro—"
"Ha! What of him?"
"Please do not 'Ha!' me, sir and father. I have been 'Ha'd!' at from morning until night these several days. These be turbulent times."
"This Señor Zorro has made a visit to the Pulidohaciendaand frightened every one there. I went to myhaciendaon business, and from there I went over to see old Fray Felipe, thinking I might get a chance to meditate in his presence. And who makes an appearance but a big sergeant and his troopers seeking this Señor Zorro!"
"They caught him?"
"I believe not, sir and father. I returned to thepueblo; and what think you happened there this day? They brought in Fray Felipe, accused of having swindled a dealer, and after a mockery of a trial they lashed him to a post and gave him the whip fifteen times across his back."
"The scoundrels!" Don Alejandro cried.
"I could stand it no longer, and so I decided topay you a visit. Wherever I turn, there is turmoil. It is enough to make a man insane. You may ask Bernardo if it is not."
Don Alejandro glanced at the deaf and dumb native and grinned. Bernardo grinned back as a matter of course, not knowing it was no manner in which to act in the presence of a don.
"You have something else to tell me?" Don Alejandro asked his son, looking at him searchingly.
"By the saints! Now it comes! I had hoped to avoid it, father and sir."
"Let me hear about it."
"I paid a visit to the Pulidohacienda, and spoke with Don Carlos and his wife, also the Señorita Lolita."
"You were pleased with theseñorita?"
"She is as lovely as any girl of my acquaintance," Don Diego said. "I spoke to Don Carlos of the matter of marriage, and he appeared to be delighted."
"Ah! He would be!" said Don Alejandro.
"But the marriage cannot take place, I fear."
"How is this? There is some shadow concerning theseñorita?"
"Not to my knowledge. She appears to be a sweet and innocent maiden, father and sir. I had them come to Reina de Los Angeles and spend a couple of days at my house. I had it arranged so that she could see the furnishings, and learn of my wealth."
"That was a wise arrangement, my son."
"But she will have none of me."
"How is this? Refuses to wed with a Vega? Refuses to become allied to the most powerful family in the country, with the best blood in the land?"
"She intimated, father and sir, that I am not the sort of man for her. She is prone to foolishness, I believe. She would have me play a guitar under her window, perhaps, and make eyes, and hold hands when herdueñais not looking, and all that silliness."
"By the saints! Are you a Vega?" Don Alejandro cried. "Would not any worthy man want a chance like that? Would not anycaballerodelight to serenade his love on a moonlight night? The little things you term silly are the very essence of love. I doubt not theseñoritawas displeased with you."
"But I did not see that such things were necessary," Don Diego said.
"Did you go to theseñoritain a cold-blooded manner and suggest that you wed and have it done with? Had you the idea, young sir, that you were purchasing a horse or a bull? By the saints! And so there is no chance for you to wed the girl? She has the best blood by far, next to our own."
"Don Carlos bade me have hope," Diego replied. "He took her back to thehacienda, and suggested that perhaps when she had been there a time and had reflected she might change her mind."
"She is yours, if you play the game!" DonAlejandro said. "You are a Vega, and therefore the best catch in the country. Be but half a lover, and theseñoritais yours. What sort of blood is in your veins? I have half a mind to slit one of them and see."
"Cannot we allow this marriage business to drop for the time being?" Don Diego asked.
"You are twenty-five. I was quite old when you were born. Soon I shall go the way of my fathers. You are the only son, the heir, and you must have a wife and offspring. Is the Vega family to die out because your blood is water? Win you a wife within the quarter year, young sir, and a wife I can accept into the family, or I leave my wealth to the Franciscans when I pass away!"
"My father!"
"I mean it! Get life into you! I would you had half the courage and spirit this Señor Zorro, this highwayman, has! He has principles, and he fights for them. He aids the helpless and avenges the oppressed.
"I salute him! I would rather have you, my son, in his place, running the risk of death or imprisonment, than to have you a lifeless dreamer of dreams that amount to naught!"
"My father! I have been a dutiful son!"
"I would you had been a little wild—it would have been more natural," Don Alejandro sighed. "I could overlook a few escapades more easily than I can lifelessness. Arouse yourself, young sir! Remember that you are a Vega.
"When I was your age, I was not a laughing-stock. I was ready to fight at a wink, to make love to every pair of flashing eyes, to stand up to anycaballeroin sports rough or refined. Ha!"
"I pray you, do not 'Ha!' me, sir and father. My nerves are on an edge."
"You must be more of a man!"
"I shall attempt it immediately," Don Diego said, straightening himself somewhat in his chair. "I had hoped to avoid it, but it appears that I cannot. I shall woo the Señorita Lolita as other men woo maidens. You meant what you said about your fortune?"
"I did!" said Don Alejandro.
"Then I must bestir myself. It would never do, of course, to let that fortune go out of the family. I shall think these matters over in peace and quiet to-night. Perhaps I can meditate here, far from thepueblo. By the saints!"
The last exclamation was caused by a sudden tumult outside the house. Don Alejandro and his son heard a number of horsemen stop, heard their calls to one another, heard bridles jingling and blades rattling.
"There is no peace in all the world!" Don Diego said, with deepened gloom.
"It sounds like half a score of men," Don Alejandro said.
It was—exactly. A servant opened the door, and into the great room there strode tencaballeros, with blades at their sides and pistols in their belts.
"Ha, Don Alejandro! We crave hospitality!" the foremost cried.
"You have it without asking,caballeros. What manner of journey is this you take?"
"We pursue Señor Zorro, the highwayman."
"By the saints!" Don Diego cried. "One cannot escape it even here! Violence and bloodshed!"
"He invaded the plaza at Reina de Los Angeles," the spokesman went on. "He had themagistradowhipped because he sentenced Fray Felipe to receive the lash, and he whipped the fat landlord, and he fought half a score of men while he was about it. Then he rode away, and we made up a band to pursue him. He has not been in this neighborhood?"
"Not to my knowledge," Don Alejandro said. "My son arrived off the highway but a short time ago."
"You did not see the fellow, Don Diego?"
"I did not," Don Diego said. "That is one stroke of good fortune that came my way."
Don Alejandro had sent for servants, and now wine mugs were on the long table, and heaps of small cakes, and thecaballerosbegan to eat and drink. Don Diego knew well what that meant. Their pursuit of the highwayman was at an end, their enthusiasm had waned. They would sit at his father's table and drink throughout the night, gradually getting intoxicated, shout and sing and tell stories, and in the morning ride back to Reina de Los Angeles like so many heroes.
It was the custom. The chase of Señor Zorro was but a pretext for a merry time.
The servants brought great stone jugs filled with rare wine, and put them on the table, and Don Alejandro ordered that meat be fetched also. The youngcaballeroshad a weakness for these parties at Don Alejandro's, for the don's good wife had been dead for several years, and there were no women folk except servants, and so they could make what noise they pleased throughout the night.
In time they put aside pistols and blades, and began to boast and brag, and Don Alejandro had his servants put the weapons in a far corner out of the way, for he did not wish a drunken quarrel, with a deadcaballeroor two in his house.
Don Diego drank and talked with them for a time, and then sat to one side and listened, as if such foolishness bored him.
"It were well for this Señor Zorro that we did not catch up with him," one cried. "Any one of us is a match for the fellow. Were the soldiers men of merit he would have been taken long before this."
"Ha, for a chance at him!" another screeched. "How the landlord did howl when he was whipped!"
"He rode in this direction?" Don Alejandro asked.
"We are not sure as to that. He took the San Gabriel trail, and thirty of us followed. We separated into three bands, each going a different direction. It is the good fortune of one of the otherbands to have him now, I suppose. But it is our excellent good fortune to be here."
Don Diego stood before the company.
"Señores, you will pardon me, I know, if I retire," he said. "I am fatigued with the journey."
"Retire, by all means," one of his friends cried. "And when you are rested, come out to us again and make merry."
They laughed at that; and Don Diego bowed ceremoniously, and observed that several scarcely could get to their feet to bow in return, and then the scion of the house of Vega hurried from the room with the deaf and dumb man at his heels.
He entered a room that always was ready for him, and in which a candle already was burning, and closed the door behind him, and Bernardo stretched his big form on the floor just outside it, to guard his master during the night.
In the great living-room, Don Diego scarcely was missed. His father was frowning and twisting his mustache, for he would have had his son like other young men. In his youth, he was remembering, he never left such a company early in the evening. And once again he sighed and wished that the saints had given him a son with red blood in his veins.
Thecaballeroswere singing now, joining in the chorus of a popular love song, and their discordant voices filled the big room. Don Alejandro smiled as he listened, for it brought his own youth back to him.
They sprawled on chairs and benches on both sides of the long table, pounding it with their mugs as they sang, laughing boisterously now and then.
"Were this Señor Zorro only here now!" one of them cried.
A voice from the doorway answered him:
"Señores, he is here!"
The song ceased; the laughter was stilled. They blinked their eyes and looked across the room. Señor Zorro stood just inside the door, having entered from the veranda without them knowing it. He wore his long cloak and his mask, and in one hand he held his accursed pistol, and its muzzle was pointed at the table.
"So these are the manner of men who pursue Señor Zorro and hope to take him!" he said. "Make not a move, else lead flies! Your weapons, I perceive, are in the corner. I could kill some of you and be gone before you could reach them!"
"'Tis he! 'Tis he!" a tipsycaballerowas crying.
"Your noise may be heard a mile away,señores! What a posse to go pursuing a man! Is this the way you attend to duty? Why have you stopped to make merry while Señor Zorro rides the highway?"
"Give me my blade and let me stand before him!" one cried.
"If I allowed you to have blade, you would be unable to stand!" the highwayman answered. "Think you there is one in this company who could fence with me now?"
"There is one!" cried Don Alejandro, in a loud voice, springing to his feet. "I openly say that Ihave admired some of the things you have done,señor; but now you have entered my house and are abusing my guests, and I must call you to account!"
"I have no quarrel with you, Don Alejandro, and you have none with me!" Señor Zorro said. "I refuse to cross blades with you. And I am but telling these men some truths."
"By the saints, I shall make you!"
"A moment, Don Alejandro!Señores, this aged don would fight me, and that would mean a wound or death for him. Will you allow it?"
"Don Alejandro must not fight our battles!" one of them cried.
"Then see that he sits in his place, and all honor to him!"
Don Alejandro started forward, but two of thecaballerossprang before him and urged him to go back, saying that his honor was safe, since he offered combat. Raging, Don Alejandro complied.
"A worthy bunch of young blades!" Señor Zorro sneered. "You drink wine and make merry while injustice is all about you. Take your swords in hand and attack oppression! Live up to your noble names and your blue blood,señores! Drive the thieving politicians from the land! Protect thefraileswhose work gave us these broad acres! Be men, not drunken fashion-plates!"
"By the saints!" one cried, and sprang to his feet.
"Back, or I fire! I have not come here to fight you in Don Alejandro's house. I respect him toomuch for that. I have come to tell you these truths concerning yourselves.
"Your families can make or break a governor! Band yourselves together in a good cause,caballeros, and make some use of your lives! You would do it, were you not afraid. You seek adventure? Here is adventure a plenty, fighting injustice."
"By the saints, it would be a lark!" cried one in answer.
"Look upon it as a lark if it pleases you, yet you would be doing some good. Would the politicians dare stand against you, scions of the most powerful families? Band yourselves together and give yourselves a name. Make yourselves feared the length and breadth of the land!"
"It would be treason—"
"It is not treason to down a tyrant,caballeros! Is it that you are afraid?"
"By the saints—no!" they cried in chorus.
"Then make your stand!"
"You would lead us?"
"Si, Señores!"
"But stay! Are you of good blood?"
"I am acaballero, of blood as good as any here!" Señor Zorro told them.
"Your name? Where resides your family?"
"Those things must remain secrets for the present. I have given you my word!"
"Your face—"
"Must remain masked for the time being,señores!"
They had lurched to their feet now, and were acclaiming him wildly.
"Stay!" one cried. "This is an imposition upon Don Alejandro. He may not be in sympathy, and we are planning and plotting in his house—"
"I am in sympathy,caballeros, and give you my support!" Don Alejandro said.
Their cheers filled the great room. None could stand against them if Don Alejandro Vega was with them. Not even the governor himself would dare oppose them.
"It is a bargain!" they cried. "We shall call ourselves the avengers! We shall ride El Camino Real and prove terrors to those who rob honest men and mistreat natives! We shall drive the thieving politicians out!"
"And then you shall becaballerosin truth, knights protecting the weak," Señor Zorro said. "Never shall you repent this decision,señores! I lead, and I give you loyalty and expect as much. Also, I expect obedience to orders!"
"What shall we do?" they cried.
"Let this remain a secret. In the morning, return to Reina de Los Angeles and say you did not find Señor Zorro—say rather that you did not catch him, which will be the truth. Be ready to band yourselves together and ride. I shall send word when the time arrives."
"In what manner?"
"I know you all. I shall get word to one, and he can inform the others. It is agreed?"
"Agreed!" they shouted.
"Then I will leave you here and now. You are to remain in this room, and none is to try to follow me. It is a command.Buenas noches, caballeros!"
He bowed before them, swung the door open and darted through it, and slammed it shut behind him.
They could hear the clatter of a horse's hoofs on the driveway.
And then they raised their wine mugs and drank to their new league for the suppression of swindlers and thieves, and to Señor Zorro, the Curse of Capistrano, and to Don Alejandro Vega, somewhat sobered by the agreement they had made and what it meant. They sat down again, and began speaking of wrongs that should be righted, each of them knowing half a dozen.
And Don Alejandro Vega sat in one corner, by himself, a grief-stricken man because his only son was asleep in the house and had not red blood enough to take a part in such an undertaking, when by all rights he should be one of the leaders.
As if to add to his misery, Don Diego at that moment came slowly into the room, rubbing his eyes and yawning, and looking as if he had been disturbed.
"It is impossible for a man to sleep in this house to-night," he said. "Give me a mug of wine, and I shall take my place with you. Why was the cheering?"
"Señor Zorro has been here—" his father began.
"The highwayman? Been here? By the saints! It is as much as a man can endure!"
"Sit down, my son!" Don Alejandro urged. "Certain things have come to pass. There will be a chance now for you to show what sort of blood flows in your veins!"
Don Alejandro's manner was very determined.
The remainder of the night was spent by thecaballerosin loud boasts of what they intended doing, and in making plans to be submitted to Señor Zorro for his approval; and, though they appeared to look upon this thing as a lark and a means to adventure, yet there was an undercurrent of seriousness in their manner. For they knew well the state of the times, and realized that things were not as they should be, and in reality they were exponents of fairness to all; they had thought of these things often, but had made no move because they had not been banded together and had no leader, and each youngcaballerowaited for another to start the thing. But now this Señor Zorro had struck at the psychological moment, and things could be done.
Don Diego was informed of the state of affairs, and his father informed him, likewise, that he was to play a part and prove himself a man. Don Diego fumed considerably and declared that such a thing would cause his death, yet he would do it for his father's sake.
Early in the morning thecaballerosate a meal that Don Alejandro caused to be prepared, and then they started back to Reina de Los Angeles, DonDiego riding with them at his father's order. Nothing was to be said about their plans. They were to get recruits from the remainder of the thirty who had set out in pursuit of Señor Zorro. Some would join them readily, they knew, while others were the governor's men pure and simple, and would have to be kept in the dark concerning the thing contemplated.
They rode leisurely, for which Don Diego remarked that he was grateful. Bernardo was still following him on the mule, and was a little chagrined because Don Diego had not remained longer at his father's house. Bernardo knew something momentous was being planned, but could not guess what, of course, and wished that he was like other men, and could hear and speak.
When they reached the plaza, they found that the other two parties already were there, saying that they had not come up with the highwayman. Some declared that they had seen him in the distance, and one that he had fired a pistol at him, at which thecaballeroswho had been at Don Alejandro's put their tongues in their cheeks and looked at one another in a peculiar manner.
Don Diego left his companions and hurried to his house, where he donned fresh clothing and refreshed himself generally. He sent Bernardo about his business, which was to sit in the kitchen and await his master's call. And then he ordered his carriage around.
That carriage was one of the most gorgeous alongEl Camino Real, and why Don Diego had purchased it had always been a mystery. There were some who said he did it to show his wealth, while others declared a manufacturer's agent had worried him so much that Don Diego had given him the order to be rid of him.
Don Diego came from his house dressed in his best; but he did not get into the carriage. Again there was a tumult in the plaza, and into it rode Sergeant Pedro Gonzales and his troopers. The man Captain Ramón had sent after them had overtaken them easily, for they had been riding slowly and had not covered many miles.
"Ha, Don Diego, my friend!" Gonzales cried. "Still living in this turbulent world?"
"From necessity," Don Diego replied. "Did you capture this Señor Zorro?"
"The pretty bird escaped us,caballero. It appears that he turned toward San Gabriel that night, while we went chasing him toward Pala. Ah, well, 'tis nothing to make a small mistake! Our revenge shall be the greater when we find him."
"What do you now, my sergeant?"
"My men refresh themselves, and then we ride toward San Gabriel. It is said the highwayman is in that vicinity, though some thirty young men of blood failed to find him last night after he had caused themagistradoto be whipped. No doubt he hid himself in the brush and chuckled when thecaballerosrode by."
"May your horse have speed and your sword-armstrength!" Don Diego said, and got into his carriage.
Two magnificent horses were hitched to the carriage, and a native coachman in rich livery drove them. Don Diego stretched back on the cushions and half closed his eyes as the carriage started. The driver went across the plaza and turned into the highway, and started toward thehaciendaof Don Carlos Pulido.
Sitting on his veranda, Don Carlos saw the gorgeous carriage approaching, and growled low down in his throat, and then got up and hurried into the house, to face his wife and daughter.
"Señorita, Don Diego comes," he said. "I have spoken words regarding the young man, and I trust that you have given heed to them as a dutiful daughter should."
Then he turned and went out to the veranda again, and theseñoritarushed into her room and threw herself upon a couch to weep. The saints knew she wished that she could feel some love for Don Diego and take him for a husband, for it would help her father's fortunes, yet she felt that she could not.
Why did not the man act thecaballero? Why did he not exhibit a certain measure of common sense? Why did he not show that he was a young man bursting with health, instead of acting like an aged don with one foot in the grave?
Don Diego got from the carriage and waved to the driver to continue to the stable-yard. He greeted Don Carlos languidly, and Don Carlos wassurprised to note that Don Diego had a guitar beneath one arm. He put the guitar down on the floor, removed his sombrero, and sighed.
"I have been out to see my father," he said.
"Ha! Don Alejandro is well, I hope?"
"He is in excellent health, as usual. He has instructed me to persist in my suit for the Señorita Lolita's hand. If I do not win me a wife within a certain time, he says, he will give his fortune to the Franciscans when he passes away."
"Indeed?"
"He said it, and my father is not a man to waste his words. Don Carlos, I must win theseñorita! I know of no other young woman who would be as acceptable to my father as a daughter-in-law."
"A little wooing, Don Diego, I beg of you. Be not so matter-of-fact, I pray."
"I have decided to woo as other men, though it no doubt will be much of a bore. How would you suggest that I start?"
"It is difficult to give advice in such a case," Don Carlos replied, trying desperately to remember how he had done it when he had courted Doña Catalina. "A man really should be experienced, else be a man to whom such things come naturally."
"I fear I am neither," Don Diego said, sighing again and raising tired eyes to Don Carlos's face.
"It might be an excellent thing to regard theseñoritaas if you adored her. Say nothing about marriage at first, but speak rather of love. Try to talk in low, rich tones, and say those meaninglessnothings in which a young woman can find a world of meaning. 'Tis a gentle art—saying one thing and meaning another."
"I fear that it is beyond me," Don Diego said. "Yet I must try, of course. I may see theseñoritanow?"
Don Carlos went to the doorway and called his wife and daughter, and the former smiled upon Don Diego in encouragement, and the latter smiled also, yet with fear and trembling. For she had given her heart to the unknown Señor Zorro, and could love no other man, and could not wed where she did not love, not even to save her father from poverty.
Don Diego conducted theseñoritato a bench at one end of the veranda, and started to talk of things in general, plucking at the strings of his guitar as he did so, while Don Carlos and his wife removed themselves to the other end of the veranda and hoped that things would go well.
Señorita Lolita was glad that Don Diego did not speak of marriage as he had done before. Instead, he told of what had happened in thepueblo, of Fray Felipe's whipping, and of how Señor Zorro had punished themagistrado, and fought a dozen men, and made his escape. Despite his air of languor, Don Diego spoke in an interesting manner, and theseñoritafound herself liking him more than before.
He told, too, of how he had gone to his father'shacienda, and of how thecaballeroshad spent the night there, drinking and making merry; but he said nothing of Señor Zorro's visit and the league thathad been formed, having taken his oath not to do so.
"My father threatens to disinherit me if I do not get me a wife within a specified time," Don Diego said then. "Would you like to see me lose my father's estate,señorita?"
"Certainly not," she replied. "There are many girls who would be proud to wed you, Don Diego."
"But not you?"
"Certainly, I would be proud. But can a girl help it if her heart does not speak? Would you wish a wife who did not love you? Think of the long years you would have to spend beside her, and no love to make them endurable."
"You do not think, then, that you ever could learn to love me,señorita?"
Suddenly the girl faced him and spoke in lower tones, and earnestly.
"You are acaballeroof the blood,señor. I may trust you?"
"To death,señorita!"
"Then I have something to tell you. And I ask that you let it remain your secret. It is an explanation in a way."
"Proceed,señorita."
"If my heart bade me do so, nothing would please me more than to become your wife,señor, for I know that it would mend my father's fortunes. But perhaps I am too honest to wed where I do not love. There is one great reason why I cannot love you."
"There is some other man in your heart?"
"You have guessed it,señor. My heart is filledwith his image. You would not want me for wife in such case. My parents do not know. You must keep my secret. I swear by the saints that I have spoken the truth."
"The man is worthy?"
"I feel sure that he is,caballero. Did he prove to be otherwise, I should grieve my life away, yet I never could love another man. You understand now?"
"I understand fully,señorita. May I express the hope that you will find him worthy and in time the man of your choice?"
"I knew you would be the truecaballero!"
"And if things should go amiss, and you need a friend, command me,señorita."
"My father must not suspect at the present time. We must let him think that you still seek me, and I will pretend to be thinking more of you than before. And gradually you can cease your visits—"
"I understand,señorita. Yet that leaves me in bad case. I have asked your father for permission to woo you, and if I go to wooing another girl now, I will have him about my ears in just anger. And if I do not woo another girl, I shall have my own father upbraiding me! It is a sorry state!"
"Perhaps it will not be for long,señor."
"Ha! I have it! What does a man do when he is disappointed in love? He mopes, he pulls a long face, he refuses to partake of the actions and excitements of the times!
"Señorita, you have saved me in a way. I shalllanguish because you do not return my love. Then men will think they know the reason when I dream in the sun and meditate instead of riding and fighting like a fool! I shall be allowed to go my way in peace, and there shall be a romantic glamour cast about me. An excellent thought!"
"Señor, you are incorrigible!" the Señorita Lolita exclaimed, laughing.
Don Carlos and Doña Catalina heard that laugh, looked around, and then exchanged quick glances. Don Diego Vega was getting along famously with theseñorita, they thought.
Then Don Diego continued the deception by playing his guitar and singing a verse of a song that had to do with bright eyes and love. Don Carlos and his wife glanced at each other again, this time in apprehension, and wished that he would stop, for the scion of the Vegas had many superiors as musician and vocalist, and they feared that he might lose what ground he had gained in theseñorita'sestimation.
But if Lolita thought little of thecaballero'ssinging, she said nothing to that effect, and she did not act displeased. There was some more conversation; and just before thesiestahour Don Diego bade thembuenas diasand rode away in his gorgeous carriage. From the turn in the driveway, he waved back at them.
Captain Ramón's courier, sent north with the letter for the governor, had dreams of gay times in San Francisco de Asis before returning to hispresidioat Reina de Los Angeles. He knew a certainseñoritathere whose beauty caused his heart to burn.
So he rode like a fiend after leaving hiscomandante'soffice, changed mounts at San Fernando and at ahaciendaalong the way, and galloped into Santa Barbara a certain evening just at dusk, with the intention of changing horses again, getting meat and bread and wine at thepresidio, and rushing on his way.
And at Santa Barbara his hopes of basking in theseñorita'ssmiles at San Francisco de Asis were cruelly shattered. For before the door of thepresidiothere was a gorgeous carriage that made Don Diego's appear like acarreta, and a score of horses were tethered there, and more troopers than were stationed at Santa Barbara regularly moved about the highway, laughing and jesting with one another.
The governor was in Santa Barbara!
His excellency had left San Francisco de Asis some days before on a trip of inspection, and intended to go as far south as San Diego de Alcála,strengthening his political fences, rewarding his friends, and awarding punishment to his enemies.
He had reached Santa Barbara an hour before, and was listening to the report of thecomandantethere, after which he intended remaining during the night with a friend. His troopers were to be given quarters at thepresidio, of course, and the journey was to continue on the morrow.
Captain Ramón's courier had been told that the letter he carried was of the utmost importance, and so he hurried to the office of thecomandanteand entered it like a man of rank.
"I come from Captain Ramón,comandanteat Reina de Los Angeles, with a letter of importance for his excellency!" he reported, standing stiffly at salute.
The governor grunted and took the letter, and thecomandantemotioned for the courier to withdraw. His excellency read the letter with speed, and when he had finished there was an unholy gleam in his eyes, and he twirled his mustache with every evidence of keen satisfaction. And then he read the letter again, and frowned.
He liked the thought that he could crush Don Carlos Pulido more, but he disliked to think that Señor Zorro, the man who had affronted him, was still at liberty. He got up and paced the floor for a time, and then whirled upon thecomandante.
"I shall leave for the south at sunrise," he said. "My presence is urgently needed at Reina de Los Angeles. You will attend to things. Tell thatcourier he shall ride back with my escort. I go now to the house of my friend."
And so, in the morning, the governor started south, his escort of twenty picked troopers surrounding him, the courier in their midst. He traveled swiftly, and on a certain day at mid-morning entered the plaza of Reina de Los Angeles unheralded. It was the same morning that Don Diego rode to the Pulidohaciendain his carriage, taking his guitar with him.
The cavalcade stopped before the tavern, and the fat landlord almost suffered an apoplexy because he had not been warned of the governor's coming, and was afraid he would enter the inn and find it in a dirty state.
But the governor made no effort to leave his carriage and enter the tavern. He was glancing around the square, observing many things. He never felt secure concerning the men of rank in thispueblo; he felt that he did not have the proper grip on them.
Now he watched carefully as news of his arrival was spread and certaincaballeroshurried to the plaza to greet him and make him welcome. He noted those who appeared to be sincere, observed those who were in no particular haste to salute him, and noticed that several were absent.
Business must receive his first attention, he told them, and he must hasten up to thepresidio. After that he would gladly be the guest of any of them. He accepted an invitation, and ordered his driver to proceed. He was remembering Captain Ramón'sletter, and he had not seen Don Diego Vega in the plaza.
Sergeant Gonzales and his men were away pursuing Señor Zorro, of course, and so Captain Ramón himself was awaiting his excellency at thepresidioentrance, and saluted him gravely, and bowed low before him, and ordered the commander of the escort to take charge of the place and police it, stationing guards in honor of the governor.
He led his excellency to the private office, and the governor sat down.
"What is the latest news?" he asked.
"My men are on the trail, excellency. But, as I wrote, this pest of a Señor Zorro has friends—a legion of them, I take it. My sergeant has reported that twice he found him with a band of followers."
"They must be broken up, killed off!" the governor cried. "A man of that sort always can get followers, and yet more followers, until he will be so strong that he can cause us serious trouble. Has he committed any further atrocities?"
"He has, excellency. Yesterday afrayfrom San Gabriel was whipped for swindling. Señor Zorro caught the witnesses against him on the highroad, and whipped them almost to death. And then he rode into thepueblojust at dusk, and had themagistradowhipped.
"My soldiers were away looking for him at the time. It appears that this Señor Zorro knows the movements of my force, and always strikes where the troopers are not."
"Then spies are giving him warnings?"
"It appears so, excellency. Last night some thirty youngcaballerosrode after him, but did not find track of the scoundrel. They returned this morning."
"Was Don Diego Vega with them?"
"He did not ride out with them, but he returned with them. It seems that they picked him up at his father'shacienda. You perhaps guessed that I meant the Vegas in my letter. I am convinced now, your excellency, that my suspicions in that quarter were unjust. This Señor Zorro even invaded Don Diego's house one night while Don Diego was away."
"How is this?"
"But Don Carlos Pulido and his family were there."
"Ha! In Don Diego's house? What is the meaning of that?"
"It is amusing," said Captain Ramón, laughing lightly. "I have heard that Don Alejandro ordered Don Diego to get him a wife. The young man is not the sort to woo women. He is lifeless."
"I know the man. Proceed!"
"So he rides straightway to thehaciendaof Don Carlos and asks permission to pay his addresses to Don Carlos's only daughter. Señor Zorro was abroad, and Don Diego, going to his ownhaciendaon business, asked Don Carlos to come to thepueblowith his family, where it would be safer, and occupyhis house until he returned. The Pulidos could not refuse, of course. And Señor Zorro, it appears, followed them."
"Ha! Go on!"
"It is laughable that Don Diego fetched them here to escape Señor Zorro's wrath, when, in reality, they are hand in glove with the highwayman. Remember, this Señor Zorro had been at the Pulidohacienda. We got word from a native, and almost caught him there. He had been eating a meal. He was hiding in a closet, and while I was alone there and my men searching the trails, he came from the closet, ran me through the shoulder from behind, and escaped."
"The low scoundrel!" the governor exclaimed. "But do you think there will be a marriage between Don Diego and the Señorita Pulido?"
"I imagine there need be no worry in that regard, excellency. I am of the opinion that Don Diego's father put a flea in his ear. He probably called Don Diego's attention to the fact that Don Carlos does not stand very high with your excellency, and that there are daughters of other men who do.
"At any rate, the Pulidos returned to theirhaciendaafter Don Diego's return. Don Diego called upon me here at thepresidio, and appeared to be anxious that I would not think him a man of treason."
"I am glad to hear it. The Vegas are powerful. They never have been my warm friends, yet never have they raised hands against me, so I cannotcomplain. It is good sense to keep them friendly, if that be possible. But these Pulidos—"
"Even theseñoritaappears to be giving aid to this highwayman," Captain Ramón said. "She boasted to me of what she called his courage. She sneered at the soldiers.
"Don Carlos Pulido and some of thefrailesare protecting the man, giving him food and drink, hiding him, sending him news of the troopers' whereabouts. The Pulidos are hindering our efforts to capture the rogue. I would have taken steps, but I thought it best to inform you and await your decision."
"There can be but one decision in such a case," said the governor loftily. "No matter how good a man's blood may be, or what his rank, he cannot be allowed to commit treason without suffering the consequences. I had thought that Don Carlos had learned his lesson, but it appears that he has not. Are any of your men in thepresidio?"
"Some who are ill, excellency."
"That courier of yours returned with my escort. Does he know the country well hereabouts?"
"Certainly, excellency. He has been stationed here for some little time."
"Then he can act as guide. Send half my escort at once to thehaciendaof Don Carlos Pulido. Have them arrest the don and fetch him tocarcel, and incarcerate him there. That will be a blow to his high blood! I have had quite enough of these Pulidos."
"And the haughtydoña, who sneered at me, and the proudseñoritawho scorned the troopers?"
"Ha! It is a good thought! It will teach a lesson to all in this locality. Have them fetched tocarceland incarcerated also!" the governor said.
Don Diego's carriage had just pulled up before his house when a squad of troopers went by it in a cloud of dust. He did not recognize any of them for men he had seen about the tavern.
"Ha! There are new soldiers on the trail of Señor Zorro?" he asked a man standing near.
"They are a part of the escort of the governor,caballero."
"The governor is here?"
"He arrived but a short time ago,caballero, and has gone to thepresidio."
"I suppose they must have fresh news of this highwayman to send them riding furiously through dust and sun like that. He appears to be an elusive rascal. By the saints! Had I been here when the governor arrived, no doubt he would have put up at my house. Now some othercaballerowill have the honor of entertaining him. It is much to be regretted."
And then Don Diego went into the house, and the man who had heard him speak did not know whether to doubt the sincerity of that last remark.
Led by the courier, who knew the way, the squad of troopers galloped swiftly along the highroad, and presently turned up the trail toward Don Carlos'shouse. They went at this business as they would have gone about capturing a desperado. As they struck the driveway, they scattered to left and right, tearing up Doña Catalina's flower-beds and sending chickens squawking out of the way, and so surrounded the house in almost an instant of time.
Don Carlos had been sitting on the veranda in his accustomed place, half in a doze, and he did not notice the advance of the troopers until he heard the beating of their horses' hoofs. He got to his feet in alarm, wondering whether Señor Zorro was in the vicinity again and the soldiers after him.
Three dismounted in a cloud of dust before the steps, and the sergeant who commanded them made his way forward, slapping the dust from his uniform.
"You are Don Carlos Pulido?" he asked in a loud voice.
"I have that honor,señor."
"I have order to place you under military arrest."
"Arrest!" Don Carlos cried. "Who gave you such orders?"
"His excellency, the governor. He now is in Reina de Los Angeles,señor."
"And the charge?"
"Treason, and aiding the enemies of the state!"
"Preposterous!" Don Carlos cried. "I am accused of treason, when, though the victim of oppression, I have withheld my hand against those in power? What are the particulars of the charges?"
"You will have to ask themagistradothat,señor.I know nothing of the matter except that I am to arrest you."
"You wish me to accompany you?"
"I demand it,señor."
"I am a man of blood, acaballero—"
"I have my orders!"
"So I cannot be trusted to appear at my place of trial? But perhaps the hearing is to be held immediately. So much the better, for all the quicker can I clear myself. We go to thepresidio?"
"I go to thepresidiowhen this work is done. You go tocarcel," the sergeant said.
"Tocarcel?" Don Carlos screeched. "You would dare? You would throw acaballerointo the filthy jail? You would place him where they keep insubordinate natives and common felons?"
"I have my orders,señor. You will prepare to accompany us at once!"
"I must give my superintendent instructions regarding the management of thehacienda."
"I'll go along with you,señor".
Don Carlos's face flamed purple. His hands clenched as he regarded the sergeant.
"Am I to be insulted with every word?" he cried. "Do you think I would run away like a criminal?"
"I have my orders,señor!" the sergeant said.
"At least, I may break this news to my wife and daughter without an outsider being at my shoulder?"
"Your wife is Doña Catalina Pulido?"
"Certainly."
"I am ordered to arrest her also,señor."
"Scum!" Don Carlos cried. "You would put hands on a lady? You would remove her from her house?"
"It is my orders. She, too, is charged with treason and with aiding the enemies of the state."
"By the saints! It is too much! I shall fight against you and your men as long as there is breath in my body!"
"And that will not be for long, Don Carlos, if you attempt to give battle. I am but carrying out my orders."
"My beloved wife placed under arrest like a native wench! And on such a charge! What are you to do with her, sergeant?"
"She goes tocarcel!"
"My wife in that foul place? Is there no justice in the land? She is a tender lady of noble blood—"
"Enough of this,señor! My orders are my orders, and I carry them out as instructed. I am a soldier, and I obey."
Now Doña Catalina came running to the veranda, for she had been listening to the conversation just inside the door. Her face was white, but there was a look of pride in it. She feared Don Carlos might make an attack on the soldier, and she feared he would be wounded or slain if he did, and knew that at least it could only double the charge held against him.
"You have heard?" Don Carlos asked.
"I have heard, my husband. It is but morepersecution. I am too proud to argue the point with these common soldiers, who are but doing as they have been commanded. A Pulido can be a Pulido, my husband, even in a foulcarcel."
"But the shame of it!" Don Carlos cried. "What does it all mean? Where will it end? And our daughter will be here alone with the servants. We have no relatives, no friends—"
"Your daughter is Señorita Lolita Pulido?" the sergeant asked. "Then do not grieve,señor, for you will not be separated. I have an order for the arrest of your daughter, also."
"The charge?"
"The same,señor."
"And you would take her—"
"Tocarcel!"
"An innocent, high-born, gentle girl?"
"My orders,señor," said the sergeant.
"May the saints blast the man who issued them!" Don Carlos cried. "They have taken my wealth and lands. They have heaped shame upon me and mine. But, thank the saints, they cannot break our pride!"
And then Don Carlos's head went erect, and his eyes flashed, and he took his wife by the arm and turned about to enter the house, with the sergeant at his heels. He broke the news to the Señorita Lolita, who stood as if stricken dumb for an instant, and then burst into a torrent of tears. And then the pride of the Pulidos came to her, and she dried her eyes, and curled her pretty lips with scorn atthe big sergeant, and pulled aside her skirts when he stepped near.
Servants brought thecarretabefore the door, and Don Carlos and his wife and daughter got into it, and the journey of shame to thepueblobegan.
Their hearts might be bursting with grief, but not one of the Pulidos showed it. Their heads were held high, they looked straight ahead, they pretended not to hear the low taunts of the soldiers.
They passed others, who were crowded off the road by the troopers, and who looked with wonder at those in thecarreta, but they did not speak. Some watched in sorrow, and some grinned at their plight, according to whether those who passed were of the governor's party or of the honest folk who abhorred injustice.
And so, finally, they came to the edge of Reina de Los Angeles, and there they met fresh insult. For his excellency had determined that the Pulidos should be humbled to the dust; and he had sent some of his troopers to spread news of what was being done, and to give coins to natives andpeonsif they would jeer the prisoners when they arrived. For the governor wished to teach a lesson that would prevent other noble families from turning against him, and wished it to appear that the Pulidos were hated by all classes alike.
At the edge of the plaza they were met by the mob. There were cruel jeers and jests, some of which no innocentseñoritashould have heard. Don Carlos's face was red with wrath, and there weretears in Doña Catalina's eyes, and Señorita Lolita's lips were trembling, but they gave no other sign that they heard.
The drive around the plaza to thecarcelwas made slow purposely. At the door of the inn there was a throng of rascals who had been drinking wine at the expense of the governor, and these added to the din.
One man threw mud, and it splashed on Don Carlos's breast, but he refused to notice it. He had one arm around his wife, the other around his daughter, as if to give them what protection he could, and he was looking straight ahead.
There were some men of blood who witnessed the scene, yet took no part in the tumult. Some of them were as old as Don Carlos, and this thing brought to their hearts fresh, yet passive, hatred of the governor.