Chapter 29 – Like a crowded cabin
In the morning, the alcalde regretted to have followed Zorro's instructions. He could bang his head against the wall for missing that chance to finally capture him. He reckoned he was a coward at heart, because having that black ghost coming in the middle of the night into his room like that, angry as hell, had left him too shaken to think straight. He had ordered Mendoza to release the prisoners when he should have ordered him to alert the whole garrison and hunt for Zorro because he said he would stick around. That masked bandit had issued too many warnings already, so Ramón reasoned that, if Zorro didn't take his life straight away last night after what he had done to Victoria, it meant he had no intention whatsoever to go that far. Ramón knew he should have called Zorro's bluff the night before and chase him, but he didn't have the balls, and now it was too late for that. He pondered if he should arrest Victoria and Esteban again, but that would be too embarrassing and too low, even for him.
When he had a look at the deep "Z" still oozing on his chest, the embarrassment and the hatred boiled inside him and he started brewing a new way of revenge. Then, when he tried to use his right arm but he couldn't because it was aching inside the sling, he cursed the young De la Vega, regretting even more his lack of courage to confront Zorro, because otherwise that insolent man could be on his way to the gallows right then. And on top of that, the embarrassing lashes on his rear end felt quite sore while sitting up in bed like that.
"MENDOZAAAAA!"
ZZZ
Doctor Hernández was about to set out to go to the hacienda De la Vega when Mendoza required his assistance. Reluctantly, he followed the Sergeant to the alcalde's quarters, wondering what the problem was and if it could have anything to do with Zorro. As he didn't hear from him last night, neither he saw the soldiers chasing him, he assumed his visit to the alcalde had been a success, especially when he saw Esteban and Victoria coming out of jail after midnight. He had waited for a while in case any of them would pay him a visit to care for their wounds, but as they didn't, he had gone to bed and he had no idea what had happened exactly.
He had seen Ramón the day before to treat his arm, and luckily for him, the bone wasn't fractured. The alcalde only had a dislocated elbow, so he had repositioned the bones and had left instructions to keep the arm resting in the sling for a few days while the joint was swollen. He would have been more inclined to refuse treating him, but unfortunately he had to abide by the Hippocratic Oath. Although this time, to reposition the bones, he was exempt of the maxima "do not harm" because no matter how careful and gentle he would like to be, reducing a luxation of the elbow was always a painful procedure. So, he thanked God because at least he could inflict some pain while performing his duty as a physician, secretly enjoying the way the alcalde screamed like a pig in the slaughtering matacía when he manoeuvred the bones back in place.
"How's that arm, Alcalde? Keeping it in the sling all the time as I told you?"
"Yes, yes. But I have another little problem now that I would like you to have a look."
"All right. What seems to be the problem?"
"This," the alcalde said, uncovering his chest. The doctor tried to maintain a neutral, professional expression on his face, because laughing out loud wasn't the best thing to do at that time.
"I see. I assumed Zorro paid you a visit last night then."
"Yes, he did, the brazen son of a bitch! He branded me for life!"
"I think you did something similar to Victoria, didn't you? Let alone what you did to Don Esteban."
The alcalde growled but didn't reply to that. The doctor examined the wound closely, and advised to have a few stitches in the final segment of the Z, which was a bit deeper, and leave the rest to heal on its own. While he carried on with that task, Ramón argued with Mendoza.
"Are you sure Zorro's wound looked serious, you dimwit? Because he didn't look particularly sick last night!" Ramón cried.
"Yes, it looked serious, mi alcalde. It was bleeding quite badly at the front, and he looked very much in pain. I really don't know how he managed to ride with it, let alone jumping from the roof."
"Then it must have been a miracle he was fully recovered the next day! And I don't believe in miracles!" Ramón cried. "Ouch! Be careful there!"
"Sorry. Hold on," the doctor said while he pulled from the silk thread, not missing a word of their interesting exchange. Doctor Hernández was glad to hear Zorro had looked so well. The coca leaves must had done the trick then to keep him alert and give him a boost, and the clove oil had worked nicely to numb the pain for him to function normally.
"I should have called his bluff last night. Maldita sea!" the alcalde mumbled through her teeth. "Mendoza, we'll have a look at that list again. We must be missing something."
"We already went through all that before, mi alcalde, twice, and we couldn't think on anybody missing. And you checked all those men already and they didn't have a gunshot wound in the abdomen."
"I didn't check Don Diego's."
"Don Diego is seriously ill," Doctor Hernandez said. "I was on my way to see him this morning when the Sergeant called me. How can he be the same person if you said Zorro was fine last night? Let alone his lack of fighting skills. That's ridiculous. I just can't picture Don Diego as Zorro at all."
"Neither do I," Mendoza said.
"Me neither, because that idea is simply ludicrous, but unless I check his abdomen with my own eyes, I am going to have that nagging feeling of "what if" bothering me no end," Ramón said. "Are you done yet, doctor? You enjoy torturing me, don't you?"
"Not at all. I'm just doing my job," the doctor said, digging the needle extremely slowly and at an angle on purpose on the last stitch, pulling harder than before from the thread. "I am nearly done."
The alcalde whimpered then, letting out a high pitch: "Hurry up!"
"Done. Should I have a look at the lashes in your rear end now?" the doctor said, seemingly helpful and polite, glad he could embarrass him even further.
"No need for that, thank you, doctor. I think those are healing alright."
"In that case, I am going to check on Don Diego now. Good morning."
Doctor Hernández walked quickly to his house to prepare another emetic herbal mix. He feared the alcalde would insist on checking Diego's abdomen for a gunshot wound as soon as he could, and the only way to dissuade him from that idea would be if Diego continued to be sick. He felt really sorry for him, but he could not think on another way to keep the charade going.
When he finished, he poured the green liquid in a bottle, placed it inside his medical bag, and then got out of the door to get on his horse, which was saddled and ready outside. There, he bumped into Angel Carrasco.
"Doctor, thank God you are still here! My wife is having trouble giving birth. Irene the midwife is already there with her, and she said I should get your help as soon as possible. The baby is stuck, and she can't deliver her."
"I was on my way to see a patient."
"My wife can't wait. Nor can the baby. Please!"
"You are right. If Irene can't deliver that baby, there must be something really wrong because she is very experienced. I'll see them first, of course. Let me change the bag."
He came back into the house and swapped some of the contents in his medical bag because on his way to see Diego he didn't have any obstetric tools at hand. He left the bottle with the emetic herbal mix on the table and then he got out again, hanging the medical bag in the saddle, and mounted up quickly.
"Come on, let's go."
ZZZ
Don Alejandro woke up early that morning. He knew his brother had stayed up late in the library, so he went to his room to wake him up. The stench of brandy in his room and the way he was snoring told him Emilio was quit drunk when he went to bed.
Maybe is better that you stay here just in case we don't succeed, Don Alejandro thought, closing the door behind him. The "Do not disturb" sign still hung at Diego's bedroom, so he didn't try to have a look inside. He ate something quickly for breakfast and then rode to the pueblo to meet with the other citizens organizing the revolt, unaware Esteban was already home.
ZZZ
The angry mob got to the plaza and surrounded the garrison. Don Alejandro banged at the office door, shouting, demanding to see Ramón.
Ramón opened the window and looked through the shutters, with most of his body protected behind them.
"What the hell is this, De la Vega?"
"The citizens of this pueblo are fed up of your ways, Ramón, so we are asking you to peacefully give up your position as Alcalde of Los Angeles, or we will be obliged to take the appropriate measures. And, release the prisoners immediately!"
Everybody in the plaza was taken aback by Ramón's loud guffaw.
"This is hilarious! Don't tell me you just came all the way from your hacienda this morning demanding that I release the prisoners and bragging about removing me from office, when your nephew should be already in your house!"
"What?" Don Alejandro said.
"What is he talking about Don Alejandro?" one of the dons said.
"People of Los Angeles, I released Don Esteban and señorita Escalante last night because of the goodness of my heart, and because it's not fair to use them as pawns to caught Zorro. I had no intention to hang them, really, so I set them free already," the alcalde said, acting magnanimous.
"Did you check if your nephew was at home before you came, Don Alejandro?" Don Luis asked.
The old don blushed then, embarrassed. Actually, he hadn't checked Esteban's bedroom at all. For all he knew, he could be peacefully asleep in there because he had set out so early to meet with the other conspirators he didn't see anybody awake at the hacienda to tell him anything about it.
"No, I didn't."
The crowd let out a loud groan then, and the alcalde's face glowed seeing the humiliation in that old man's face.
"And look, there is your other prisoner!" Ramón said pointing at Victoria, who was at the tavern's door wondering what was going on at the plaza. "So, get out of here before I sent the lancers loose, you bunch of traitors!"
Don Alejandro flinched with the loud bang of the shutter when the alcalde closed his window on his face.
"I can't believe this, Alejandro. You dragged us all the way here for nothing. Come one, people, let's go back to our lives. There would be no revolt today, as we don't have a good motive for it anymore," Don Luis said, joining the dispersing, upset crowd. Soon, Don Alejandro was left at the plaza on his own, so he headed to the tavern to check on Victoria to find out what had happened.
Mendoza also entered the tavern shortly after. Sepúlveda had told him about Lucía, and thanks to the Sergeant's legendary gossiping skills, everybody in Los Angeles would know pretty soon that Esteban had refused to marry Don José's daughter even if she could be already pregnant with his child and in disgrace.
When the rumour reached Don Alejandro, he went ballistic. Not only his nephew had made him look like a fool returning home from jail without telling him; now he also wanted to bring dishonour to the De la Vega's name.
ZZZ
A baby's first cry was always a rewarding and satisfying noise, especially when there had been complications at birth. Irene was an experienced midwife who attended most of the deliveries in Los Angeles, but this time she had not been able to turn a malpositioned baby. Doctor Hernández had finally managed to do that after a long time manoeuvring internally and externally, and the baby was born surprisingly easily afterwards, looking healthy, strong and wriggly and with quite loud lungs.
"He is a boy!" he announced. After cutting the umbilical cord, he gave a quick exam to mother and baby, and as everything seemed to be fine then, he left everything in Irene's capable hands.
"I was on my way to see Don Diego de la Vega when you called me, señor Carrasco. I'll be there for a while if you need me later, but everything seems fine now. Congratulations."
"Thank you, Doctor. Thank you very much for your help. How much do I owe you?"
"Nothing. You pay the midwife. She would have been fine to deliver your daughter if she wasn't lying across the uterus."
"Thank you very much Doctor Hernández. That's very kind of you."
"Take care. If I can, I'll come back later at the end of my rounds to check on them both."
He rode back to his house then to change his blood-stained shirt and got the bottle of the emetic, placing it back in his bag. Coming out of the pueblo he saw Victoria on the road going in the same direction.
"Good morning, señorita. How are you? Do you need my assistance for your… ah… injury?"
"Good morning, Doctor. I would like you to have a look at my back later on if possible, yes, thank you, but now I am on my way to see Don Diego. I've been told he is very ill."
"Yes, he is. I am heading for the hacienda myself to see him as well."
"In that case, can we ride together?"
"Yes, of course." So much for a quick, fast ride then, the doctor thought, worried that with all that delay, the alcalde could have paid Diego a visit already.
ZZZ
Diego could not wait for the doctor to arrive so he could prepare one of the two: more of that mix with the coca leaves to make him feel instantly better and awake, or a powerful sedative so he could fall asleep again. He had drifted to sleep initially due to pure exhaustion, but after a couple of hours he woke up and he had been unable to go back to sleep. The burn over the gunshot wound was too sore, aching too much to allow him to relax. At least he had learned a valuable lesson: never again would he use pure clove oil on his skin. On top of the pain, he had a bit of a fever and he felt quite weak again, and he absolutely hated that feeling of helplessness.
When someone knocked on his door he thought it would be the doctor, but it was Felipe.
"How are you?" he signed.
"Sore, and I can't sleep. This burn hurts too much. Where is the doctor? I thought he could give me a sedative or something. He's late."
"Maybe he had to go to see someone else this morning," Felipe signed. "I'll bring you something to eat and some bark infusion instead, unless you want some laudanum."
"Thank you, Felipe; the bark infusion will be great. No laudanum. How's Esteban?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him."
Right then, there was another knock on the door.
"Come in," Diego said. Esteban walked in with a big smile on his face. "Esteban! Talking about the devil! I was just asking Felipe about you. You are free! The alcalde is not going to send you to the gallows then?" Diego said, pretending to be glad and surprised by the good news.
"No, he is not, the coward. Zorro made him reconsider last night," Esteban said, shaking his cousin's hand enthusiastically. "I'm sorry I caused you so much worry. Victoria is alright too. And, how are you? Feeling better?"
Not after this effusive hand shake, Diego thought, resenting his wound with the movement.
"Yes, I'm alright, thank you. I'm waiting for the doctor to give me another dose of that medicine."
"The anti-sickness vile stuff you gave me?"
"Yes, or something similar," Diego lied.
Right then, Don Alejandro stormed into the room like a raging bull, looking for Esteban, ignoring Diego and Felipe.
"Here you are!" he shouted. "How dared you do what you did?"
"And good morning to you too, uncle. I see you were really worried about me," Esteban said, nervous, afraid the news about Lucía had already reached him.
"I was! Extremely! So much I went early this morning to the pueblo to ultimate the details and the organization of our little revolt to get you out of jail and overthrown the alcalde! You cannot imagine the humiliation I felt when I found out you had been already released but you hadn't bothered to tell me anything about it!"
"I am so sorry, uncle Alejandro. It was late when I arrived last night and I didn't want to wake you up. But I saw my father. Didn't he tell you anything this morning?"
"No! I didn't wake him up because it looked like he had one drink too many last night, and I wanted to spare him the pain to see his son hanging at the gallows if our revolt didn't succeed!"
"What can I say? I am sorry."
"And you'll be sorrier in a moment!" Don Alejandro carried on shouting, getting closer to him to lay an accusatory finger on his chest, pushing him back. "What kind of a man you are to have sex with a decent woman before marriage and then refuse to marry her? Lucía is not one of your whores!"
"I didn't touch that woman."
"I saw you kissing her in the garden! And that wasn't an innocent, light kiss! And you proposed to her, for crying out loud! So, by God, you are going to marry her!"
"You don't know anything about this, Uncle! She framed me! And she did it in front of Victoria and Corporal Sepúlveda to have witnesses."
"You are a De la Vega, and you are not going to smear the honour of this family!"
"I don't care about that!"
Don Alejandro slapped Esteban hard then, making him stumble. With a bleeding lip, the young man had the first instinct to retaliate, lifting his fist high to smash his uncle with it, but then he lowered it down slowly to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. Diego and Felipe looked at the scene unfolding with their jaws dropped, totally astounded.
"I'm sorry, Uncle. Hit me as much as you want, but I won't change my mind."
"We'll see about that!"
"Calm down, please," Diego said. "I am sure there is no need for this. You can talk about this without losing your tempers, can't you?"
At that point, someone else knocked on the door.
"Yes, come in," Diego said, expecting Doctor Hernández this time. He was surprised when Victoria got inside instead, followed by the doctor. For his expression while hinting at her behind her back, Diego could just make out the doctor had been unable to avoid her. He also looked vexed and uncomfortable with the amount of people already in the room.
"Good morning, Diego," Victoria said. "How are you? Are you feeling better this morning? I got the news you have been sick."
"Buenos días, Victoria. Thank you for coming," Diego said, still shocked by the previous scene, and totally unprepared for that visit, not knowing what to say, or how to ask her about her injury. He tried to see the lash at her back, but he couldn't. At least he was glad she looked fine at the front. "I'm feeling a bit better, but only a little."
"I got your medicine, Diego. You should take it as soon as possible," the doctor said then. Diego took the bottle he was offering, hoping it would be a mix of the coca leaves. When he got it close to his nose, he recognized the smell immediately.
"Are you sure about this, Doctor?"
"Yes, that's what you need. Drink it."
Diego hesitated. The last thing he wanted to do was to be sick again, even less in front of Victoria. But the doctor looked abnormally nervous and insistent, so surely he had a good reason for giving him that. He looked as if he wanted to tell him something but he couldn't because of Victoria and all the others. It was a shame the doctor didn't know sign language or at least he could tell Felipe, but his body language said it clearly: it was important, and he had to drink it. Diego could only hope this mix was not as strong as the previous one.
"Thank you," he said after he had drunk it all, returning the bottle to the doctor. "I have to say it: I don't feel very well this morning. I have a bit of a fever and my stomach is grumbling again," he said to prepare the audience for what would come later.
That morning, everybody seemed to be gravitating to Diego's room, and the alcalde was no exception. When María announced the Alcalde's intention to see Diego, the doctor panicked, because he still hadn't had the chance to warn Diego and prepare a plan of action. Diego realized the doctor had an important message, but he couldn't deliver it, so he braced himself for the worse, already waiting for the effects of the emetic drink.
ZZZZZ
AN - I have no idea how many people would actually fit into Diego's room, but at the end of this scene it sure felt like the Marx's brothers crowded cabin! (hence this chapter's title, LOL)
