Chapter Seven
San Pedro Mystery
Diego and Felipe rode into San Pedro at midday. The sun had finally burned through the clouds and the road had dried up quickly, allowing them to make good time. A breeze coming in from the sea kept the heat at bay for the time being.
Felipe had confirmed that he had seen Stephano riding toward San Pedro that morning, and signed a question to Diego, wondering how they would explain their presence in the port town if Stephano should see them.
Diego gave his chin a rub in thought. "We can always say we have come after another package for my father."
The pair rode straight for the docks, Diego's eyes anxiously looking among the ships for the name of the ship from the letter, Felipe's eyes watching for Stephano. There weren't many ships for Diego to look through. The small port only had two ships of any size anchored in the harbor. Both were small Spanish trading vessels, but neither was named The Sea Maiden. There were several even smaller vessels, mostly fishing boats, but again, the name he was looking for was nowhere to be seen.
"Felipe, I'm going to try the harbor master. Why don't you go to the tavern and get some lunch, I will meet you there. Keep an eye out for Stephano while you are there." Before the boy could leave, Diego grabbed his arm to stop him. "Be careful, Felipe. These sailors can sometimes be…rough."
Felipe nodded, signing to Diego that he worried too much before hurrying off on his own. Breakfast had been very early this morning and he was more than ready to find something to eat. He was also eager to find Stephano or some word of where he might be. He knew the stranger had Zorro worried, and wanted to help his friend figure out what this mystery man was up to.
Diego entered the harbor masters office, to find it empty, except for a small man sitting behind a large desk. He wore round spectacles that sat at the end of his nose, and he had thinning, gray hair. He scowled as Diego entered.
"What do you want?" the man said without greeting.
Diego plastered on his most charming smile. "Excuse me, senor, but are you the harbor master?"
The man grunted. "No, bless the saints. That would be my brother, I'm just watching things while he is out." He eyed Diego carefully. "He just left, to take lunch and then siesta. He won't be back for several hours."
"Is there someone that can tell me if a certain ship has docked here recently?"
"If there was a ship in San Pedro I can tell you about it." The man gave Diego a small smile. "For a price."
Diego resisted rolling his eyes as he pulled some coins out of his pocket and tossed them onto the desk in front of the small man who scooped them up quickly.
"How recently?" he asked Diego.
"Within the last few days."
With an exasperated sigh, the man pulled a ledger book over and began to flip through it. "What is the name of the ship?"
"The Sea Maiden."
Diego wasn't sure, but he thought he saw the man flinch at the name. He watched carefully as the man flipped through a log book, but before long, the older man shook his head.
"There's been no ship by that name in San Pedro, senor."
"You know this ship." Diego said. It was not a question.
The man merely raised an eyebrow.
Trying not to let his impatience show, Diego tossed two more coins down on the desk. "How is your memory now?"
"Coming back." The small man scooped up the coins and got up from the desk. He went to the small window, looking to be sure there was no one to overhear the conversation. When he was satisfied that no one was around, he looked Diego up and down. "I am sure you are no friend to Captain Bustillos, senor."
"What makes you say that?"
The gray head shook. "He isn't in the habit of befriending caballeros. Bustillos is a smuggler, a thief and sometimes a pirate, when the mood strikes him. If he is in the area, he would hardly make a stop in a public harbor such as San Pedro. The patrol of lancers here is small, but they would still try arrest Bustillos, given the chance."
"Do you know anything about the ship? How big it is for instance? Or where it might be anchored to take a load of…cattle?"
"Cattle? It would take a large operation to get cattle onto a ship without a dock. But he could anchor his ship anywhere along the coast. There are several inlets south of here that a ship of that size could hide in while picking up or dropping off cargo. Smugglers tend to find a way to offload just about anywhere."
Diego rubbed at his chin. This mystery was a challenge that was not getting any clearer, but at least now he knew Stephano Mercado had ties to a thief. And if he did have an agreement with the Captain to meet the previous day, then he also had to have men helping him. Most likely he had several men helping him, if they were cattle rustlers.
"As a word of caution, senor, I wouldn't ask too many questions about The Sea Maiden or its captain around San Pedro. It may bring the kind of attention you don't want."
Diego nodded. "Gracias, senor, I will take it under consideration."
As he left the harbor masters office and went to collect Felipe, Diego considered what he had learned. Unfortunately, it would take days to search the coastline for the mysterious ship, which would most likely move on long before they ever found it, if it hadn't already. But Diego was even more convinced that Stephano Mercado was dangerous and much more than he appeared to be.