RATTLESNAKE!
by KathyG.
Felipe is bitten by a rattlesnake an enemy planted in the de la Vega chapel. Can Zorro stop this enemy before he strikes again?
Disclaimer: The name, character, and likeness of Zorro is a registered trademark of Zorro Productions Inc. These stories are not intended to infringe on their rights. The storylines and additional characters (not including Zorro/Don Diego, Don Alejandro, Felipe, Victoria Escalante, Sergeant Mendoza, and the alcalde) are copyrighted 1998-2003 by KathyG. (Some of these stories include the name of Felipe's horse, Parche. The horse's name is used with the permission of Ruth Parker, who invented the name to use in her own wonderful fanfiction. To access her Zorro stories, click on ~ .) These stories are made purely for entertainment purposes.
Felipe entered the de la Vega family chapel. Every candle in the sanctuary had been lit, early that morning. Felipe closed the door behind him. The white candles cast reflections on the walls.
Pausing in front of the door, Felipe dipped his fingers into the silver holy-water font; he knelt and made the sign of the cross. Rising to his feet, the servant boy approached the altar and knelt. Nine days before, he had started a novena, and the last day had arrived. For the next half-hour, as his wooden rosary dangled from his fingers, he prayed hard. Since he could not speak, he had to pray silently. That did not worry him, though. He knew that God could hear him just the same.
Felipe worked for the de la Vegas, the wealthiest, most prominent family in southern California. They owned a magnificent, elegant hacienda and thousands of acres of rich land. Now 14, Felipe had served them as their houseboy for the past seven years. They loved him dearly, and he was faithful and loyal to them.
He rose to his feet and walked toward the crate in the left corner, where the candles were kept. Every day, he had lit a candle at the end of his devotions. As he reached down to fetch one, he heard a rattle next to his ankle. In the next instant, hot, excruciating pain seared through his lower left leg.
Felipe froze. A rattlesnake! he thought. It bit me!
His first thought was to run back to the hacienda, but he controlled the impulse. He knew that if he ran or even walked fast, the snake venom would spread rapidly throughout his whole body and hasten his death. He would have to walk slowly. As Felipe took deep breaths and forced himself to think, he remembered what the de la Vegas had taught him about treating snakebites. He must stop the poison from spreading by putting on a tourniquet, and under no circumstances must he run, or even walk fast!
With shaking hands, Felipe removed his cotton handkerchief from inside the top of his cotton trousers. He rolled up his left cotton trouser leg; his leg was swelling rapidly and turning purple. He wrapped the soft handkerchief tightly around his leg, just above the two fang marks, and made a tight knot. As he made the sign of the cross and silently prayed for help, he walked out of the chapel and approached the kitchen entrance. He quickly became nauseous, and his vision grew blurred. The early-morning sunshine hurt his eyes.
To his relief, he found Don Alejandro in the kitchen, giving instructions to the cook; the aged don froze at the sight of him. "Felipe! Are you sick?" He raced toward the boy and grabbed his shoulders. Felipe told him, via gestures, that a rattlesnake had bitten him. As he tried to speak with sign language, weakness swept throughout his body. It took all his strength just to stand.
Don Alejandro immediately picked Felipe up in his arms and glanced at one of the kitchen hands. "You-find Diego and tell him to join us in Felipe's bedroom!" The servant rushed out of the room. "And you-" He gazed at Maria, the cook. "Fetch a knife and a basin, and follow me! Hold the knife in the fire, first."
Maria picked up a butcher knife and held it in the fire as it blazed in the fireplace. Felipe, for his part, writhed in agony. The pain in his swollen leg was excruciating; it felt as if scalding-hot water were rushing through his veins.
Don Alejandro carried the servant boy out of the room and lugged him down the hall; Maria followed closely behind. He entered Felipe's bedroom and laid him down on the bed; someone had already pulled down the navy-blue bedspread and the snow-white linen topsheet. The mattress sagged and creaked underneath the boy's body. As Don Alejandro removed Felipe's woven leather sandals and rolled up the boy's trouser legs, Don Diego darted into the room.
"Felipe! What happened?! Father, what's wrong?"
"A rattlesnake bit him, Diego." Don Alejandro took the knife and basin from Maria. "In the chapel." To Maria, he said, "We'll need bandages, strips of cloth, and cold water."
Maria nodded and darted out of the room. Don Diego glanced at his gold timepiece and bent over the bed, gazing into Felipe's pain-filled eyes. Worry etched his kind face.
"I'll hold Felipe, Father, while you purge his wound." Don Diego sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around Felipe. The boy grabbed Don Diego's hand, and winced in pain as Don Alejandro made two quick incisions in his throbbing, swollen leg.
"It's all right, Felipe; the worst is over." Don Diego hugged the boy to his side. "I'm right here with you, amigo. Hang on." He smoothed the boy's brown hair.
For the next half-hour, as Don Diego held Felipe in his arms, Don Alejandro sucked the poison out of his leg and spat it into the basin. When the two gentlemen were satisfied that the bite had been thoroughly purged, they undressed Felipe, put his nightshirt on him, and put him to bed.
"Are you sick at your stomach, my friend?" Don Diego gazed intently at Felipe. The sick boy nodded. "Is your vision blurred?" Felipe nodded again. "Are you sleepy?" Felipe nodded a third time. "How badly does the bite hurt?" Tears welled up in Felipe's eyes and he gripped Don Diego's hand.
"I know, amigo. It hurts, I know." Don Diego patted the boy's shoulder. "Hang in there, Felipe."
One of the servants brought a gleaming china basin of cold water and a piece of cloth. Don Alejandro soaked the cloth in the basin and wrapped it around the wound. The cold, wet cloth eased the pain in his leg somewhat. Felipe relaxed slightly.
Don Alejandro bent over the sick boy. "Felipe, you showed great presence of mind in acting as you did," he said softly. "You put on a tourniquet to slow the venom, and you walked instead of running. I'm proud of you, my boy." He squeezed Felipe's hand and kissed his forehead, then straightened up. The servant boy closed his eyes.
"Diego, how on earth did a snake manage to find its way into the chapel?" Felipe turned his head to the side and listened to Don Alejandro with his eyes shut. "It's always kept closed when nobody's inside. It should be impossible for a snake to find its way in."
Don Diego nodded. "I've wondered about that, myself. It shouldn't have been able to." Felipe opened his eyes and gazed up at him. Don Diego's tender, though blurred, smile comforted him.
Don Alejandro sighed. "Well, we've got to find that snake and kill it before it bites anyone else." He gazed at Felipe as he spoke. The sick boy nodded agreement.
"I'll go." Don Diego stood up. "You stay with Felipe." Don Alejandro nodded. "Take my sword. And be careful, son. I don't want you to be bitten, too."
"I'll be careful. Don't worry." Don Diego left.
"I'm surprised my son volunteered to find the snake," Don Alejandro muttered. "He's usually so inept and cowardly." Felipe shook his head; he knew Don Diego better than that.
Don Alejandro rose to his feet. "I'll be right back, amigo. I'm going to send a servant to follow Diego and make sure he's all right." Felipe nodded as the elderly caballero left the room. In the next instant, the boy winced as pain surged through his leg.
ZZZZZ
Don Diego tiptoed cautiously into the chapel. He left the front door wide open for illumination. "Even with the candles lit, the chapel is so dark," he whispered to himself. "It won't be easy to find a rattlesnake in this darkness." He sighed and tightened his grip on his father's rapier. "But I must try. If I know my father, he won't rest until that snake is dead. I don't want him to be bitten, either." He frowned. "If it had simply wandered into the chapel, I would let him take care of it. But I fear that someone planted it. That someone may be close by, lying in wait."
As Felipe had done, Don Diego dipped his fingers into the holy water font and blessed himself. As he proceeded to hunt for the snake, he remembered the one time when he, himself, had been bitten by a rattlesnake. He had been 18, at the time.
Don Diego remembered the frightening rattle...the speed with which the snake had struck...the intense, fiery pain immediately following...and how his hands had trembled as he had reached for a handkerchief to use as a tourniquet. He was determined to prevent history from repeating itself. He just had to find that snake before it bit some other hapless worshipper!
As Don Diego approached the candle crate, an ominous rattle startled him. The handsome caballero froze. He stood stock-still as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. The rattle startled him again.
The snake is right at my feet, the caballero thought. If I move now, it'll strike!
Minutes passed, as Don Diego stood frozen. The rapier's hilt grew sweaty in his hand. He took quick, shallow breaths.
At last, he looked down. To his relief, the snake wriggled just out of striking distance. Don Diego swung the sword toward its body again and again, chopping it to death.
Sighing, he leaned against the wall. Drawing his linen handkerchief out of his vest pocket, he wiped his forehead. He picked up the pieces of the snake and took them outside. Grimacing, he flung down the dead snake.
At least, it won't bite anyone, now, he thought. Now to find out who planted it, and why. He gazed at the clump of white clouds drifting in the east.
A ranch hand approached him, just then. "Are you all right, patrón?" the man asked. "Your father asked me to keep an eye on you, in case you were hurt."
Don Diego smiled. "Gracias, Juan. As you can see, I've escaped injury. I've just killed a rattlesnake that bit Felipe in the chapel." Juan winced and made the sign of the cross. Don Diego frowned as a sudden idea occurred to him.
"Juan, you've been in this vicinity all day, haven't you?" He glanced at the hacienda's outer wall as he spoke.
The man nodded. "Si, patrón." He removed his wide-brimmed straw sombrero and fanned his face.
Don Diego nodded. "Tell me, Juan, did you see anyone enter the chapel this morning?"
The man furrowed his eyebrows. "Si, señor. Ignacio, the new vaquero, went inside with a wooden crate shortly after dawn."
Don Diego frowned. "Thank you, Juan. You may go." The ranch hand walked away.
Don Diego decided to don his Zorro costume and discover if, in fact, Ignacio had planted the snake in the de la Vega chapel. First, though, he needed to check on Felipe.
As he entered the boy's bedroom, Don Alejandro approached him. "Did you find the snake?"
Don Diego nodded. "It's dead."
"Good." Don Alejandro gazed sadly at Felipe. "Poor boy, he's so weak, and he's in such pain. And he's sick at his stomach. He's vomited twice since you left to go to the chapel." He touched Don Diego's arm. "He's been asking for you, son. I think you'd better sit with him. Be careful to make sure he has full view of your face when you speak to him-his vision is still blurred. I'll be in the drawing room if you need me."
Don Diego nodded. "Yes, Father." Zorro's investigation would have to wait. Part of him was disappointed; he was anxious to find the would-be killer before he struck again. At the same time, he understood Felipe's longing to have Don Diego by his side while he was so sick, and he yearned to ease the boy's suffering.
As Don Alejandro left the bedroom, Don Diego approached Felipe's bedside. "How are you feeling?" he asked, quietly. "Are you in much pain, my friend?"
Felipe reached up and touched his patrón's hand. His face wore a mask of pain and pallor. He bit his lip in an evident effort to refrain from crying. Don Diego had to swallow his own sobs as he watched the boy try to cope with his suffering.
"It's all right; I'm here." Don Diego perched on the side of the bed; the mattress sagged and creaked underneath his weight. "You'll feel better by morning, I promise. Just lie quietly, for now." He bent over and squeezed the boy's shoulder. "When you've recovered, we'll experiment with the contraption I bought from Dr. Henry Wayne, last month, how's that?" Felipe nodded and squeezed his eyes shut. He remembered the scientist/inventor, Diego knew, whom the alcalde had hired to help eliminate Zorro.
For the rest of the day, Don Diego sat by Felipe's bedside, trying in every way possible to ease the servant boy's pain and discomfort. All night, the de la Vegas took turns sitting by his side. Neither they nor Felipe got any sleep. Gradually, the swelling and discoloration in his leg ebbed.
At dawn, Felipe's pain and nausea finally eased, and his vision cleared. The de la Vegas smiled at him, relieved.
"You're going to be just fine, my boy." Don Alejandro kissed his forehead and pulled the soft bedcovers up around his neck. "You go to sleep now, all right? I'm going to sit right here by you so Diego can get some rest."
Don Diego nodded. "Thank you, Father. I could use some. And so could Felipe, here." Felipe yawned and closed his eyes.
Don Diego left the room and went to the library. He pressed the button in back of the fireplace, and the secret door swung open. Don Diego entered the secret room where his lab equipment and Zorro's things were kept.
To know that Felipe's feeling better is a load off my mind, he thought, as he donned his costume. I can concentrate on the job more easily, knowing that he's no longer in such pain. Gracias de Dios!
ZZZZZ
Minutes later, Zorro approached the de la Vega breeding barn on Toronado and dismounted. Since Ignacio had been assigned to care for the calves and foals, he was likely to be there. Zorro grabbed a coil of rope from his saddlehorn. Overhead, the sky had turned cloudy. The air still felt cool, but Zorro knew it would turn hot and muggy later. He stopped for a moment to make sure there was nobody around.
Suddenly, the hairs on the back of Zorro's neck prickled; his instincts told him to hide. He instantly obeyed, ducking behind a short haystack near the entrance and grasping the hilt of his Toledo-steel saber. A moment later, as he peeked around the edge of the haystack, Ignacio came into view, lugging a wooden crate. Zorro strongly suspected that this crate contained another poisonous snake.
As the vaquero approached the barn's entrance, Zorro leaped over the haystack. "What are you carrying inside that crate, amigo?"
The cowboy froze and whirled around. "Zorro!" he gasped.
Zorro unsheathed his saber. He punched the vaquero, who slumped to the ground, unconscious. As the crate landed with a thud on the ground, a rattle inside startled Zorro.
Zorro threw open the lid. A rattlesnake lay coiled, poised to strike. Zorro chopped the snake to death.
Turning his attention to the vaquero, he tied the man's hands behind his back. A minute later, Ignacio regained consciousness. "Señor, you have some explaining to do!" Zorro jerked the man to his feet.
The vaquero glared at him. "I work for a caballero, Don Rafael. He hired me to hurt Don Alejandro. He wants to get even with him."
"For what?" Zorro tightened his grip on the man's arm. The vaquero winced.
"For reporting him to the governor when he sold the other caballeros spoiled meat."
Zorro pressed his lips into a tight line. "And does he think he can avenge himself on Don Alejandro by murdering the de la Vega servants and ranch hands?"
The vaquero pursed his own lips together. "He hoped to murder Don Alejandro, himself."
Zorro nodded. "Then you and I are going to pay a call on Don Rafael." He whistled for Toronado. "And then I'm delivering you both to the alcalde!" Whinnying, Toronado galloped toward them.
ZZZZZ
Five hours later, Don Diego re-entered the library. Following his foray as Zorro, he had changed his clothes and taken a two-hour nap in the secret lab, and now, he felt refreshed. The caballero strode rapidly toward Felipe's room, and found his father perched on the boy's bed when he entered.
"Hola, Felipe." Don Diego smiled kindly at the boy, who waved. "How are you feeling, now?"
Felipe smiled and signed that he was feeling better. Don Diego was so relieved to see the boy on the mend, and he said so.
"I just saw Zorro; he found out who planted the snake in our chapel." Don Diego sat down in a nearby chair as he spoke, and leaned back.
As Don Alejandro and Felipe listened, Don Diego explained the whole story. When he finished, Don Alejandro pursed his lips and shook his head.
"I know him. He not only tried to sell contaminated meat that would have made everyone sick, he once tried to cheat the governor, so I turned him in. Don Rafael's held a grudge against me ever since." Sighing, he pressed his palm down on the navy-blue satin bedspread. "I might have known he would try to get even. It grieves and angers me that he would risk murdering my servants to do so." He gazed at Felipe and patted the boy's cheek.
Don Diego nodded. "Well, he and the vaquero he hired to kill us won't be troubling us anymore. They're in the alcalde's jail, now." Felipe gave him a thumbs-up and smiled.
With a smile of relief, Don Alejandro rose to his feet. "Well, Diego, I'm going to take a nap. I'll be back later to check on you, Felipe." He gently hugged the boy, then left the room.
Don Diego smiled at the servant boy. "You'd better do the same, amigo." As Felipe wiggled onto his side, Don Diego pulled the covers up to his chin and kissed his forehead. "We'll play a game of chess later." Felipe smiled and closed his eyes. Don Diego pulled up a chair and sat down to keep an eye on his boy.
©1999, by KathyG.