Zorro's Challenge
Chapter One
The Arrival
The pueblo of Los Angeles was quiet except for the slow, methodical tolling of the church bell. A few late comers scrambled off horses and out of carriages, and hurried through the great doors of the church. As the doors closed behind the last person, the bell fell silent.
A lone sentry paced in front of the pueblo gates, but became bored very quickly and decided to sit in the shade of the wall. While the morning was still cool, the bright sunshine promised a hot day ahead and he figured he may as well enjoy the shade now, while the alcalde was at mass. Otherwise he would not dare to be so casual on duty. The loco alcalde would probably have him flogged if he was caught sitting down while on duty. But with nearly everyone in the pueblo inside the church, he did not see any danger in relaxing while he had the chance. Leaning his musket against the wall, he drew a small block of wood and knife from his pocket. He quickly lost himself in his carving.
The only other activity in the plaza was a guard at the armory gate, who lazily marched a few steps, then turned and took a few back to his starting point. His musket rested on his shoulder casually as he paced back and forth. The rest of the garrison was either still asleep or in the church. The plaza was empty, the fountain at its center the only movement as water bubbled cheerfully from several spouts into the pool at the base.
The armory guard grew bored just as quickly as the guard at the pueblo gate and stopped pacing long enough to prop his musket upright on the ground. He leaned on it and dozed in the sunshine. He didn't notice the shadow that crossed the courtyard of the garrison as a lone figure crept along the roof to the office of the alcalde. Soundlessly, the figure climbed in through a window and disappeared. After what seemed like an eternity, the same figured emerged, attaching a newly liberated pouch of gold to his hip. One hand carefully held the pouch against his body, preventing the coins from jingling and alerting the sentry to his presence. Lifting himself back up to the roof, he was out of sight as quickly as he arrived.
When the church bell began tolling once again over an hour later, the doors of the church opened and Padre Benitez stepped out into the bright sunshine. He was followed quickly by the town citizens, each stopping to compliment the priest on yet another inspiring sermon. He smiled at each one, reminding some that it had been too long since he had seen them at confession.
Slowly, the people drifted off to their horses and carriages, with only a few staying in the plaza to talk. No one seemed to notice the lone stranger lingering near his horse, arranging his saddle bags, and carefully slipping a small pouch into one of the bags. His hat was pulled low over his eyes, but under the brim he watched as each person came out of the church, listening as the padre called them each by name.
As Don Diego de la Vega stepped out of the church, he gave the padre a big smile. He enjoyed listening to the padre's sermons, amazed at how the clergyman could mix the word of God with the wonders of nature. Their mutual respect and love of nature and all the creatures living in it had helped them form a fast friendship. Many times, Diego had found a whole day had been lost to a conversation with the padre.
"Don Diego, it is good to see you, as always," the padre said. He smiled in thanks as Diego dropped a few coins into the poor box. "The de la Vega's always set such a good example to our citizens," he said sincerely.
Standing some distance away, the stranger perked up when he heard the de la Vega name, but he masked his interest by fumbling with the cinch on his saddle. He watched the movements of the man standing next to the padre from under the rim of his hat.
Diego's father, Don Alejandro, stepped up to the padre, placing a hand on the robed arm of the priest fondly. The beautiful tavern owner, Victoria Escalante, stood next to him. The two had been laughing at some shared joke when they stepped up to greet Padre Benitez. "Excellent service, as usual, padre," Alejandro said still smiling.
The old priest looked up toward the bell tower, the bell still ringing loudly. He must speak to his alter boy, Pedro, again about his enthusiasm for ringing the new bell.
Gracias, Don Alejandro." The priest winced as the bell grew louder. "Will you please excuse me? I think it is time to remind Pedro that the new mission bell will be here for a very long time, he need not try to ring it all at once."
As Padre Benitez went off in search of his wayward altar boy, Diego steered his father and Victoria toward the waiting carriage. He gave a brief glance around for his servant, Felipe, but knew the boy would be along shortly. He had wandered off with some of his friends as soon as the mass had ended, but Diego knew the boy wouldn't go far. As they moved, he caught the eye of a stranger he had not seen before. Even though the man wore his hat low, their eyes met for a brief moment, but the other man looked away quickly and mounted his horse, heading for the pueblo gates. Diego watched him, his senses alert. It was pure habit for him to notice new faces in the pueblo, ever alert for any possible danger to the little town. Something about this stranger was alerting him now, though he didn't know why. He would have to keep a sharp eye out, to see if this man returned and what his business was.
"So, Victoria, will you be joining us for dinner today?" he asked his beautiful friend as soon as the man was out of sight.
Victoria flashed him a smile. "Of course, I could hardly refuse an invitation to eat with the de la Vega's," she joked.
Diego couldn't help but return the smile. An opportunity to spend an afternoon with Victoria was welcome in his eyes.
"Wonderful," Alejandro said. "You can ride back to the hacienda with us and Diego can bring you back this afternoon."
"Gracias, Don Alejandro."
Diego put a hand on her elbow and lightly guided her to their carriage.
As he scanned the plaza for the mysterious stranger, Felipe appeared at his side. He saw where Diego was looking and gave his friend a questioning glance. Diego merely shrugged and turned his attention back to helping Victoria into the carriage, looking forward to an entire afternoon with the woman he secretly loved.
Stephano Mercado rode through the pueblo gates, giving the sentry on duty a quick nod. He had no love of soldiers, but was not worried that the guard would try to stop him, knowing that they cared more about strangers coming into the pueblo than those that were leaving.
He spurred his horse, wanting to hurry ahead of the carriage that he now knew carried the de la Vega's. He needed to find a secluded spot where he could conceal himself and wait for the carriage to catch up. With any luck, he would be able to follow them to the de la Vega hacienda. He needed to have a better understanding of this family before his men arrived in a few days.
It was said that the de la Vegas were the richest landowners in the area, perhaps in all of Alta California. While picking such a target was against his better judgment, he knew he had to at least look into it, as the men requested. They had become restless lately, cocky even, but it wouldn't do to pick a target that would have half the territory chasing after them. He would have to watch this situation carefully before making a decision, but knew his time was short. His men were on their way.
Finally, he found a spot that would be perfect to wait for the carriage. He dismounted and let his horse reach down to pluck at the soft grass, confident that the bushes kept them well concealed from the road and anyone passing by. It was several minutes before the carriage, making slow progress, came into view. The four passengers seemed to be more interested in talking than driving, and it was all Stephano could do to not fidget with impatience. Finally, though, the carriage went by the man silently waiting for them, the foursome oblivious that they were being watched. Impatient, Stephano remounted and trailed behind, staying off the road and well into the trees and bushes, but always keeping the carriage in sight. Even though he trailed behind them at some distance, he could hear the occasional bits of laughter from the foursome in the carriage. With a sigh, the stranger followed, knowing it was going to be a long afternoon.