Chapter 25 - A League is Formed
The song ceased;
the laughter was stilled. They bunked 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 tipsy caballero was 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 allo wed 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 I have 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 the caballeros sprang 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 the frailes whose 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
too much 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 a
caballero, 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 be caballeros in 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. Buenos 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 tonight," 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.
Chapter 26 - An Understanding
The remainder of
the night was spent by the caballeros in 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 young caballero waited 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 the caballeros ate a meal that Don Alejandro caused to be prepared, and
then they started back to Reina de Los Angeles, Don Diego 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 the
caballeros who 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 along El 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 over-taken 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 the magistrado to be whipped. No doubt
he hid himself in the brush and chuckled when the caballeros rode by."
"May your
horse have speed and your sword arm strength," 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 the hacienda of 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 the señorita rushed 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 the caballero? 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 was surprised 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 the
señorita. 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 the señorita as 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 meaningless nothings 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 the señorita now?"
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 the señorita to 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 the pueblo, of Fray Felipe's whipping,
and of how Señor Zorro had punished the magistrado, and fought a dozen men, and
made his escape. Despite his air of languor, Don Diego spoke in an interesting
manner, and the señorita found herself liking him more than before.
He told, too, of
how he had gone to his father's hacienda, and of how the caballeros had spent
the night there, drinking and making merry; but he said nothing of Señor
Zorro's visit and the league that had been formed, having taken his oath not to
do so.
"My father
threatens to disinherit me if I do not get my 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 I 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 a
caballero of 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 filled with 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 true caballero."
"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 shall languish 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
Dona Catalina heard that laugh, looked around, and then exchanged quick glances.
Don Diego Vega was getting along famously with the señorita, 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 the señorita's
estimation.
But if Lolita
thought little of the caballero's singing, she said nothing to that effect, and
she did not act displeased.; There was some more conversation, and just before
the siesta hour Don Diego bade them buenos dias and rode away in his gorgeous
carriage. From the turn in the driveway, he waved back at them.
Chapter 27 - Orders for Arrest
Captain Ramon's
courier, sent north with the letter for the governor, had dreams of gay times
in San Francisco de Asis before returning to his presidio at Reina de Los
Angeles. He knew a certain señorita there whose beauty caused his heart to
burn.
So he rode like a fiend after leaving his
comandante's office, changed mounts at San Fernando and at a hacienda along 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 the
presidio, and rushing on his way.
And at Santa
Barbara his hopes of basking in the señorita's smiles at San Francisco de Asis
were cruelly shattered. For before the door of the presidio there was a
gorgeous carriage that made Don Diego's appear like a carreta, 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 Alcala, 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 the comandante
there, after which he intended remaining during the night with a friend. His
troopers were to be given quarters at the presidio, 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 the comandante and entered it like a man of
rank.
"I come from
Captain Ramón, comandante at 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 the comandante motioned 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 the comandante.
"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 that courier 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 Pulido hacienda
in 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 this pueblo; he felt that he did not have the proper grip on
them.
Now he watched
carefully as news of his arrival was spread and certain caballeros hurried 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 the presidio. 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's letter, 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 the presidio entrance, 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 a fray from 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 the pueblo just at dusk and had the magistrado
whipped.
"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 young caballeros rode 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's hacienda. 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 the hacienda of 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 own hacienda on business, asked Don Carlos to come to the pueblo
with his family, where it would be safer, and occupy his 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 Pulido hacienda. 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 their hacienda after Don Diego's return. Don
Diego called upon me here at the presidio 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 cannot complain. It is good sense
to keep them friendly, if that be possible. But these Pulidos—"
"Even the
señorita appears to be giving aid to this highwayman," Captain Ramon said.
"She boasted to me of what she called his courage. She sneered at the
soldiers. Don Carlos Pulido and some of the frailes are 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 the presidio?"
"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 time."
"Then he can
act as guide. Send half my escort at once to the hacienda of Don Carlos Pulido.
Have them arrest the don and fetch him to cárcel and incarcerate him there.
That will be a blow to his high blood. I have had quite enough of these
Pulidos."
"And the
haughty Doña, who sneered at me, and the proud señorita who scorned the
troopers?"
"Ha! It is a
good thought. It will teach a lesson to all in this locality. Have them fetched
to cárcel and incarcerated also," the governor said.
Chapter 28 - The Outrage
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 the presidio."
"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 other caballero will 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's house. 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 orders 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 the magistrado that, 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, a caballero—"
"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 the presidio?"
"I go to the
presidio when this work is done. You go to cárcel," the sergeant said.
"To
cárcel?" Don Carlos screeched. "You would dare? You would throw a
caballero into 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 the hacienda."
"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 to
cárcel."
"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 more persecution. 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 foul cárcel."
"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—"
"To
cárcel."
"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 at the
big sergeant, and pulled aside her skirts when he stepped near.
Servants brought
the carreta before the door, and Don Carlos and his wife and daughter got into
it, and the journey of shame to the pueblo began.
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 the carreta, 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 and peons if 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 innocent señorita should have heard. Don Carlos's face was red with
wrath, and there were tears in Dona 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 the cárcel was 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.
And some were
young, with the blood running hot in their veins, and they looked upon the
suffering face of Dona Catalina and imagined her their own mother, and upon the
lovely face of the señorita and imagined her their sister or betrothed.
And some of these
men glanced at one another furtively, and though they did not speak they were
wondering the same thing—whether Señor Zorro would hear of this, and whether he
would send word around for the members of the new league to gather.
The carreta
stopped before the cárcel finally, the mob of jeering natives and peons
surrounding it. The soldiers made some pretense of holding them back, and the
sergeant dismounted and forced Don Carlos and his wife and daughter to step to
the ground.
Uncouth and
intoxicated men jostled them as they walked up the steps to the door. More mud
was thrown, and some of it spattered upon Dona Catalina's gown. But if the mob
expected an outburst on the part of the aged caballero, it was disappointed.
Don Carlos held his head high, ignoring those who were striving to torment him,
and so led his ladies to the door.
The sergeant beat
against it with the heavy hilt of his sword. An aperture was opened, and in it
appeared the evil, grinning face of the jailer.
"What have
we here?" he demanded.
"Three
prisoners charged with treason," the sergeant replied.
The door was
thrown open. There came a last burst of jeers from the mob, and then the
prisoners were inside, and the door had been closed and bolted again.
The jailer led
the way along an evil-smelling hall and threw open another door.
"In with
you," he directed.
The three
prisoners were thrust inside, and this door was closed and barred. They blinked
their eyes in the semi-gloom. Gradually they made out two windows, some
benches, some human derelicts sprawled against the walls.
They had not even
been given the courtesy of a clean, private room. Don Carlos and his wife and
daughter had been thrust in with the scum of the pueblo, with drunkards and
thieves and dishonored women and insulting natives.
They sat down on
a bench in one corner of the room, as far from the others as possible. And then
Doña Catalina and her daughter gave way to tears, and tears streamed down the
face of the aged don as he tried to comfort them.
"I would to
the saints that Don Diego Vega were only my son-in-law now," the don
breathed.
His daughter
pressed his arm.
"Perhaps—my
father—a friend will come," she whispered. "Perhaps the evil man who
caused this suffering will be punished."
For it seemed to
the señorita that a vision of Señor Zorro had appeared before her; and she had
great faith in the man to whom she had given her love.
