Alejandro at the Capistrano Estate
Alejandro waited for Angry Eyes to go and fetch the horses. The Indian had insisted there was no point in them both heading back. The younger man was faster and less conspicuous, naturally keeping to the scrub around them.
His eyes lit up as he saw movement on the horizon, hoping that heralded the arrival of his friends. Juan was leading Dulcinea, and Angry Eyes was a picture of calm control upon his own greeted each other and turned the horses towards the Capistrano estate.
They were soon greeted by Ignatio and his men returning from another fruitless search of the ruins. The soldiers were covered in black soot, which had dulled the brilliance of the red and blue uniforms. They looked tired and discouraged. Sergeant Mendoza looked decidedly miserable.
"Don Alejandro, you should be better at home, senor. This is no place for you," Ignatio said, frowning. Before Alejandro could complain, a cart rolled to a stop close by.
"Alcalde, I am sure Don Alejandro is aware of where he should be," another voice entered into the conversation. Victoria Escalantes. She was driving her cart, and she didn't look pleased. She glared at the Alcalde but then turned an equally hard glance at her old friend.
"The man's business is his own," Ignatio said, holding his hands in the air. "I am truly sorry for your loss, Alejandro, but this obsession of finding the body may be too much…" He turned his mount resolutely towards the pueblo and cantered off.
"Don Alejandro," Victoria began. "Just what do you think you are doing?" She had obviously followed him out, trying to look after him, worried for his health.
"My son may be still alive," Alejandro said. He dismounted and handed the reins of Dulcinea to Juan. "Angry Eyes saw him alive, after the explosion…" He tried to explain. He watched her face carefully. Hope flickered into her eyes momentarily. It faded after another moment, as she became thoughtful.
"Diego is alive?"
"He was, not long ago, heading in this direction."
"Surely he would have met up with the Alcalde…" She said, with a trace of doubt in her voice. The men looked at each other with concern. Alejandro wondered how his son had so clearly missed seeing the soldiers, especially when they were marching so loudly and complaining constantly. Perhaps he had collapsed somewhere, fallen from the horse? He had fallen from Esperanza in the past.
Hearing a horse whinny, he glanced up. Esperanza was running free, and heading in their direction. Where was her rider?
"Esperanza," he called firmly. The mare's ears flicked up and turned in his direction, and she stopped and glanced towards him. He whistled gently, and she slowed to walk, reaching him within a few moments.
Reaching out to rub her neck gently, he saw the note tucked into her bridle. He handed it to Victoria and quickly tethered the mare to the back of the cart. Alejandro joined Victoria in the cart, and watched her closely as she unfolded the paper.
Victoria glanced at it. Nerves jostled her insides, and she passed it to Alejandro gingerly.
"I am Diego de la Vega. People believe I'm dead, and that is not the case, obviously…" Alejandro read aloud. He glanced up, and into the eyes of Victoria.
"Go on," she whispered.
"I escaped from my captors, and have made my way to the Capistrano hacienda. I am alright. Tell my father I will soon be back with him," Alejandro read. He paused, and re-examined the handwriting. "This is a little shaky for Diego. He is normally so neat and precise. Even the wording isn't as clear as usual. He has probably fallen from his horse, and injured himself. Perhaps he is hurt worse than he realises…His injuries may be very severe."
"Then we need to find him quickly," Victoria said sharply, slapping the reins and urging her horse into a canter. The men struggled for a moment to keep up.
They reached the blackened ruins of the Capistrano hacienda. The smell of smoke made all the horses unsettled, so they dismounted and left them to rest on the outskirts of the disaster. Angry Eyes glanced around, and located Diego's footprints in the ashes. He pointed them out to the others.
Alejandro followed them carefully. His son had knelt in the ashes, no doubt letting his curiosity distract him for a moment. His son had walked quickly and unaided behind a small hill, leading his horse. Alejandro frowned. Why had Diego hidden himself? He glanced back at where the other tracks suggested the soldiers had searched. Why hadn't Diego just come out and gone with the soldiers to safety? He was behaving very erratically.
A few men raced up to them in a panic. Alejandro left the small hiding place, and went to investigate.
"What is the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost," he said with irritation.
They stood and panted, pointing behind them wildly.
"Zorro…Zorro is after us," one of the men said. "We didn't mean it, we didn't mean to join those men. They paid us well, we didn't know that they wanted to hurt your son, Don de la Vega."
Alejandro recognised them then. They were employees of his neighbour, recently sacked for incompetence.
"Where did you see him?" The two men both pointed wildly the way they had come.
"That's his horse," the man said, shock coming over his face. "He was riding that palomino."
Alejandro turned and glanced at the palomino. Esperanza. How ridiculous…
"That's my son's horse, she was loose today," Alejandro said. "Zorro rides a black stallion…"
Victoria was watching him carefully.
"Get going, both of you. I don't want to see you in the pueblo again. I'm sure Zorro doesn't either," Alejandro commanded.
They scampered off. Alejandro sighed, and glanced at Angry Eyes. "We tracked Zorro, not Diego. How could we have been so stupid?"
Angry Eyes was quiet for a while. "Puma," he said softly. "Blood…"
Everyone gathered around him in silent shock. It was such a tiny spot of red, it could have been missed. There were drag marks in the ash as if someone unconscious had been physically moved.
"Diego's note in the bridle. He might have been travelling with Zorro. Or Zorro had hidden him somewhere safe and had gone on to make sure those men were dealt with…." Alejandro tried to reason it out. They would have worked out the travel of two men, the tracks would have supplied the evidence. "He's hidden Diego. We need to get to Zorro. He knows where Diego is."
"Zorro…Could it be his blood?" Victoria whispered. The men looked at each other with concern.
