NOTE BY THE ACCOUNT HOLDER: THIS STORY IS NOT MINE!

WRITTEN BY KARLA GREGORY

Part Four

He had not long to wait. Zorro approved of how quickly Eneida returned wearing the red dress and a thick shawl against the cold night air. He smiled when he saw that she was wearing the brooch once again. He pointed to it and said, "You know, señorita, that we share the same affinity for that letter of the alphabet?"

He was amused as she wrinkled her forehead in thought. Then as the similarity dawned upon her, she laughed and Zorro had to hold his finger up to his lips to quiet her. She put her hands to her mouth in understanding, but continued to smile nevertheless. He pointed to the wall and said, "If you will come this way, we can be over the wall and gone quickly." Eneida walked with him towards the wall, and then went off in another direction. A few steps away was a small gate.

With a boldness that surprised herself, Eneida said, "You, Señor Zorro, may find climbing over walls invigorating, but I find going through gates to be much more civilized." She said this with a smile as she opened the gate and stepped through.

Zorro followed behind her. Extending his hand toward Tornado and bowing, Zorro escorted her to the stallion. "Oh, what a beautiful horse you have, Señor Zorro!" she said in a low but lively voice. She patted the stallion on the neck and gave him her hand to smell. Tornado brushed her hands with his lips as he breathed in her scent.

Zorro said, "Excuse me while I let him have another drink of water before we start back," as he took the reins and led Tornado to the stream.

Eneida watched as Zorro put his arm over the stallion's neck and stroked him as the horse bent his head down to drink. She was comforted by the obvious affection that Zorro had for his horse. Going off into the night with a complete stranger was scary enough, but seeing the two of them together calmed her fears somewhat.

"You are only getting what you wished for," she told herself. "After all, you were just wishing for someone to carry you away from all this." She found that she was shivering a little, both from the coldness of the night air and from the thought of what she was about to do, and pulled her shawl more tightly around her as she waited.

Zorro let the stallion drink deeply. Tornado was much cooler now and they could not afford the time later to stop and drink. Zorro was beginning to feel the clock running in his head and knew that they needed to be on their way as soon as possible. Leading the stallion, he walked back towards Eneida.

"How lovely she looks in the moonlight," he thought to himself. But there was no time for that. There was one thing, however. He looked at Eneida and asked, "I presume you do ride horses from time to time?" It would make a difference in how they rode together.

"Oh, yes," she said brightly. "Before my father was taken ill, I rode all the time."

"Splendid," said Zorro, smiling. He helped Eneida up into the saddle and leaped up behind her. Fortunately, Eneida did not weigh very much as he found out when he had lifted her into the saddle. That would help Tornado considerably. They rode back the way he had come so as not to catch the attention of the night watchman.

Once on the road, he put Tornado into a ground eating gallop. He was delighted with Eneida's obvious riding skills. She rode easily within his arms, moving with the rhythm of the stallion's stride. He was also privileged to take in her slightly perfumed scent as Tornado had done previously.

Eneida for her part, was feeling exhilarated. Here she was within the arms of this man of legends, riding upon his black horse into the blackness of the night. She had never been alone with a man like this before. All her life had been spent at the hacienda, and when she had come of age to start thinking of her own life and what the future might hold, her father had taken ill and she had been required to take care of him. Her whole world had closed down to that one place and the care of her father.

Only her daring in going to the shrine a few days ago had opened her world in a way that she would have never imagined. Now Padre Felipe was in trouble and she was riding through the night in order to save him. She felt a sense of purpose that she had never felt before.

At length, she turned partly within Zorro's arms to look up at him. It had occurred to her that she was curious about the man she was riding with. He was scanning the road ahead and along each side, looking for danger. She wondered what it must be to be like this El Zorro who was always in peril of being captured or killed.

She worked up her courage to speak to him. "I hope that you do not mind if I ask you some questions, Señor Zorro?" she asked. He looked down at her with a smile.

"Certainly, Señorita. I will try to answer them to the best of my ability."

"How is it that you came to be an outlaw? I mean, what has driven you to work outside the law?"

Again scanning both sides of the road, Zorro replied, "I do not know what you have heard of me, Señorita, but let me assure you that I hold the law in the utmost regard. It is those who would abuse the law that have caused my existence. I fight in the cause of justice for those who cannot. There are some who would use the law to further their own lust for power, trampling on the poor and weak, imprisoning those who dare to speak out against tyranny, using military might against the people."

Here he looked down at her again, "I have sworn in my heart to protect and defend these unfortunates, no matter their position in life. This has led me to confront the tyrant and confound his plans for domination and for that I am branded an outlaw."

"You fight this tyrant alone?"

"At present, I must, but I hope for a day when my services are no longer necessary."

"Have you a family? A wife and children?"

When Zorro did not answer for several moments, Eneida thought that she must have asked the wrong question. He did not look at her as he finally spoke again. "No, I do not have a family, Señorita. What I do is too dangerous. I would not . . . I could not . . ." Here he trailed off.

"I am sorry, Señor Zorro," said Eneida. "I did not mean to hurt you with my questions."

Zorro looked down at her again. "No, Señorita, you have not harmed me in any way," he said quickly to reassure her. "Someday I hope to marry and have children, but that time is not now. You can understand can you not?"

"Si," said Eneida. "I think I can." She thought for a moment about how lonely Zorro must be. She could well understand someone like him who had responsibilities that kept him from living a normal life with a wife and children. She too had responsibilities that kept her from being able to find a husband who would love her and to raise children.

She was lonely too. This loneliness they shared in common. The reason for her loneliness was her father. The reason for Zorro's loneliness was the commandanté of the pueblo. This thought brought her back to the present.

"This tyrant. He is the man who is holding the padre? The man who was brought false charges against him?" she asked.

"Si, Señorita."

"He is the man who would try to stop me from testifying?"

"Si."

Eneida turned away from Zorro's face. She felt uncertainty creeping in. She was, after all, just a young woman who knew nothing of the world. She would be far away from everything and everyone that she knew and loved. How could she have ridden off into the night like this? The more she thought about it the more she worried. How could one man protect her against the commandanté of the garrison at Los Angeles? Her doubts grew the farther they rode from the safety of her home as she realized the unknown dangers she now faced.

Zorro felt Eneida trembling against him. He knew it was not the chill of the night. He had admired Eneida's willingness to come with him, but he surmised that she was having second thoughts. He pulled Tornado to a stop just off of the road. It would do the stallion good to have a moment to rest while he spoke to the young woman. This was time that he could not afford to lose, but he would lose much more if he did not take this time for Eneida.

He dismounted and held his hands up to help her off. "Come, Señorita. We will stop here a moment. Sit here, upon this rock." He watched her arrange her skirts and pull her shawl up around her shoulders. She would only look at the ground.

"Señorita, I would not blame you if you do not wish to give testimony at Padre Felipe's trial. There are many men who could not find it within themselves to stand against Capitán Monastario. Fear is one of the weapons that the Commandanté uses so well."

Eneida looked up at him. "But if everyone remains afraid of him, he will prevail and Padre Felipe, who we both know is an innocent man, will certainly hang before Los Santos Innocentes. If I must, I will free Padre Felipe myself, but he too will become a hunted man and I would not have that happen to him. I know only too well what it is like to be hunted. I wish to see justice prevail over Capitán Monastario and see Padre Felipe free to walk the streets of Los Angeles, free to celebrate this Christmas time with the people of his flock who need him so much.

You have not seen the faces of the people and the children as they see their beloved Padre in the prison. How many Christmases to come will be met with sadness as they remember that Padre Felipe was put to death in front of their eyes?"

Eneida's own eyes were brimming with tears. Yes, she was afraid. But she was also brimming with compassion for the padre and for his people. How would she face the Christmas season in the years to come if she knew that she could have prevented Padre Felipe's death and had done nothing? It was her longing to do something for the poor and less fortunate that had taken her to the little roadside shrine that day. How could she turn her back on them now?

Wiping her eyes with the corner of her shawl, she looked up at Zorro. She saw in his eyes the same compassion that she felt in her own heart. She knew without a doubt that the man standing before her would die before he let them hang Padre Felipe under false charges. She drew strength from his resolve. She would continue on to Los Angeles with El Zorro.

She held her hand out to him and he took it within his and helped her to stand. "I am ready to go on to Los Angeles when you are, Señor Zorro," she said with a voice that trembled. "I am still frightened, but like you, this is something I must do."

Zorro kept her hand within his. "It is well, Señorita Eneida." He sensed her need to be comforted, so he drew her close and held her to him. He could feel her trembling still. She put her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. He was very careful not to move. Eneida would have to let him know when she was strong enough to continue.

At last she stopped trembling and pulled back to compose herself once again. He saw a new resolve in her face. She said nothing, but nodded to him and they made their way over to Tornado and remounted. Soon they were galloping down the road once again.

In the graying dawn, they approached Coalinga Pass. They were still many miles from Los Angeles. From a vantage point, they could see several soldiers posted to guard the pass. They would have to go around, losing more precious time.

Zorro could tell that the great stallion beneath him was growing tired although he was still very willing to go on. Grimly, Zorro set off across country knowing the time this would cost them and the toll it would take on Tornado. The countryside was rough and full of gullies which they had to negotiate. Several times, only the skill that Eneida had gained from riding her own horses kept her from falling off as Tornado scrambled up and down the hills.

Zorro spared Tornado as much as he could, but the sun was rising higher and higher in the sky. Finally, thinking that they had passed all the soldiers guarding the roads, Zorro urged Tornado onto a small back road that he knew led into Los Angeles. The stallion was breathing heavily and lather was gathering on his neck and sides. But they could not stop now.

Suddenly, from out of the trees ahead a shot rang out, kicking up dust just in front of Tornado. Zorro pulled him to a sudden stop and whirled the stallion about, heading away from the pair of soldiers that burst into view. The soldiers spurred their horses to try and catch up. They were under orders to watch for Zorro or any young woman who might try to enter Los Angeles.

Quickly, Zorro used all of his tricks to lose the soldiers in the trees and hills that surrounded the pueblo. Many precious minutes were wasted. Unfortunately, the shot fired by the soldiers brought several more of their comrades to investigate and they pursued the travelers again.

Tornado was breathing harshly now. His valiant spirit would not give way and he continued to give everything he had for his master. Zorro was torn in his heart for Tornado, but he knew that if he gave up, Padre Felipe was lost. He loved his black Tornado, but both his own life and that of his stallion had been pledged in the cause of justice and for the protection of the Señorita that rode with them. So they continued on. Zorro managed to gain a little ground on the soldiers by staying within the gullies that crisscrossed the area.

Soon they came to a little stream. Downstream led to Los Angeles. Upstream led back out into the countryside. Zorro guided Tornado out of the stream, leaving tracks in the wet sand as if they were headed toward Los Angeles. Then he had Tornado gather himself and jump up on a large, flat boulder and then jump back into the stream again. This time, they headed upstream and away from the pueblo.

As he had hoped, the soldiers milled around for a while looking to see which way Zorro had gone, and when they found the tracks he had left for them, they took off towards Los Angeles. Once again, Zorro would have to use all of his skills to get them into the pueblo.

Judging by the sun, he was sure that the trial was going to start very soon. He put Tornado into a gallop, trying not to listen to the stallion's labored breathing and having no success whatsoever.