The wedding guests kept arriving that morning and Don Alejandro's friends were kind enough to offer to take the ones they were each hosting to their haciendas for lunch and some rest, since the tavern was overcrowded.
By 3 p.m., when Victoria closed for siesta, all the guests from outside the pueblo were distributed among the various haciendas of the area and the two more who had arrived without having sent a confirmation of attendance received Ramon's room at the tavern. The youngest Escalante had gracefully offered to share his brother's room, hoping that his gesture might appease his sister, which would thus allow them to continue sleeping in a bed, instead of the stables.
The soldiers had already mobilized to take down the stands and only left some of the tables on the side of the plaza, so that the food for the night's fiesta could be placed on them. They had also installed the chairs needed by the musicians and had cleaned the ground of any traces of manure so that everything was ready for the people to gather and the party to begin.
De Soto scanned the plaza with a critical eye, noticing everything was silent and only two of his men, those charged with the security of the pueblo at that hour, were in sight. Realizing everything had been done promptly, without him even giving so much as an order, he sat in his chair, wondering at the strange changes he had found upon his return to the pueblo.
The same lancers which, some four weeks earlier, seemed to easily fall prey to any gang of outlaws, were now well organized and brave, able to easily subdue eight dangerous criminals and to save all their hostages. Of course, the devices they had recovered from Zorro's cave were helpful, but it was still them who planned how to use the gas bombs and the firecrackers; still them who had carried out that plan to perfection.
During lunchtime, with the tavern inaccessible due to the De la Vega guests, the lancers had prepared and eaten their food in their own canteen, the Lieutenant having acted as chef. His men had followed his instructions to the letter, resulting in one of the most delicious lunches De Soto had had, since his arrival in California over two years earlier. Yet, it was not that the lancers obeyed their superior officer, nor that his food was delicious what truly surprised him; although, they did seem to respect and obey him more than they had before he had left the pueblo. Instead, what surprised him most was the fact that his lancers appeared to have concentrated into small groups and they were all respecting their grouping. To the untrained eye, that was nothing special, since there was only room for a maximum of six people at a table, but De Soto had remarked the strange seating arrangements also the previous day, when he took them the food he had bought from Victoria. Same people crowded around the same tables, empty ones in between them, all ceasing any conversation when he entered the room, only to restart them, on an increased tone some moments later.
He had tried to listen in to some of the discussions, as soon as they had restarted, but was at a complete loss to understand the reason why all his lancers seemed to suddenly share a preoccupation for the weather and, in some cases, for lemonade recipes. How many ways are there to make a lemonade, anyway? He wondered. What also got him wondering was the rise in popularity of the mentioned beverage, since, as far as he remembered, all his lancers used to drink wine during their meals.
Thinking about his men, he also realized that some of the ones who were shaving their facial hair had meanwhile decided to grow mustaches, and the very few who also had bears, had shaven them off. Is their respect for Mendoza so high that they had started imitating him? He asked himself. Why?
The two lancers who had accompanied him to Monterey were the only ones left in the entire garrison to have kept their previous customs, drinking their wine at lunch – which gained them some disapproving glances from the other men – keeping their faces hairless and focusing their conversation on the day's most relevant pieces of gossip in the pueblo: the De la Vega female guests. They were also the only ones to find themselves as intruders to the other tables, their companions seeming rather uncomfortable in their presence, despite doing their very best to make them feel welcome.
"I left De la Vega in charge for a month and I can no longer recognize my men!" He uttered in frustration.
Frustrated he couldn't understand exactly what and why had changed the lancers to such a degree, De Soto, eventually, decided to satisfy a different curiosity and go see Zorro's cave. He, thus, woke up Sepulveda and had the Corporal escort him there.
ZZZ
The place itself was not very big and the one element he assumed would exist ever since he had found out about the discovery, a stable for Tornado, was missing. While the cave was fit for habitation and there were signs that it had been inhabited – like the remains of a fireplace, traces and remains of various candles and even an improvised cot – it somehow didn't feel right to him. A man like Zorro could not have possibly been living in these conditions for seven years, with no proper bed, no direct access to water, or a decent kitchen, far away from any nearby house or hacienda. He told himself. Furthermore, since the day when he had started going over that list of Zorro's qualities, he had imagined that some sort of a laboratory, where he could study things like water samplings, must have been at his disposal. Yet the cave contained nothing that reminded one of such scientific pursuits.
"Did you destroy anything when you were first here? And did you find anything besides the weapons and the devices?" He asked his Corporal.
"What do you mean, Alcalde?" He questioned back.
"There's no stable and no laboratory. I am asking if they existed, when you first came by the cave."
"Stable…For Tornado…Si, Alcalde. There was a stable…" Sepulveda started looking around for a good spot "right here" he indicated pointing to one of the corners of the cave. "And there was also a laboratory…with all sorts of…of" What is a laboratory supposed to contain? He wondered "everything one keeps in a laboratory."
"You mean flasks, beakers, funnels? They were here?"
"Si, Alcalde. What you said…"
"Well…where are they? And why is there no sign of the stable?"
"We…we…we broke them, Alcalde…We broke the flasks and the beakers and we decided to clean up the place…because glass can be dangerous... but the stable was in the way, so we took it apart."
De Soto looked at him questioningly. "So all the things in the laboratory and the stable got destroyed…"
"Si, Alclade, it's true!" Sepulveda confirmed.
"And the table?"
"The table?"
"The table on which the laboratory was installed…I doubt he was keeping his things on the cave's floor…"
"No…No, of course not…There was a table… a long table, but it was in bad shape, so we used it for wood…It was right here…" Sepulveda indicated towards one of the walls.
"Right next to the stable?" De Soto wondered. "He had a laboratory containing glassware filled with dangerous chemicals installed next to the stable where he kept his stallion?"
It was too late for Sepulveda to change his mind, so he knew he needed to convince him. "Si, Alcalde…Perhaps that was why the horse was so smart…He smelled all those…those chemicals…and his brain grew…"
De Soto might have believed his lancers had, accidentally, destroyed the laboratory and the stable, but he was not gullible enough to believe that a man as intelligent as Zorro had installed a laboratory right next to the place where he kept his faithful steed. He, thus, stared at his man, convinced he was being lied to, and decided he needed to find out why.
"You're lying!" he stated.
"No…Alcalde…Of course, I'm not lying…Why would I lie?"
"I don't know…But I'm going to prove it and you will tell me the truth!" De Soto stated and, with one more glance around the cave, gestured for the lancer to accompany him back to the cuartel.
"Lieutenant!" he asked when they arrived there, having called for Mendoza to come to his office. "You've led the patrol which found Zorro's hideout, have you not?"
"Si, mi Alcalde." Mendoza confirmed, looking inquisitively towards Sepulveda who was sweating rather badly.
"The Corporal here" he explained, indicating at the man who was standing right next to him "says that a stable and a laboratory were also found there, is that true?"
Mendoza glanced at his lancer "Si, si, Alcalde…there was a laboratory with all those…things you keep in a laboratory…and a stable…for Tornado…"
"And the laboratory was installed next to the stable? Is that also true?" He questioned.
Sepulveda subtly nodded his head at Mendoza.
"Si…Si, Alcalde…right next to it."
De Soto eyed his Lieutenant suspiciously and decided he was also lying to him, so he gave orders for all the lancers who had been on the patrol to gather in the courtyard.
The five men stood to attention, wondering what was going on, while Sepulveda and Mendoza were mentally writing their wills, certain their lie was about to be discovered.
"Men!" De Soto started. "I know you all remember when you found Zorro's lair. I doubt any of you can forget such a…remarkable discovery. Now…Sepulveda and Mendoza here, both say that a laboratory and a stable were also found there, but were inadvertently destroyed. I am sure that, if it's true what they say, you can all testify to that."
The men glanced at each other, then at Mendoza and started nodding their heads.
"Si…Si, Alcalde." One of them stated. "There was a laboratory…and a stable….but they are not anymore…because…"
"They were destroyed, Alcalde…" Another companion helped him and they eyed each other inquisitively.
"Is that true?" De Soto asked the other three who hadn't spoken.
The other three men also looked at each other and confirmed.
"Then it's true? Zorro had installed a laboratory next to the stable?" The Alcalde tried to confirm. "And you took it apart…because you had an accident with the glassware?"
"Si…" The men nodded, after a quick look at Mendoza and Sepulveda.
"Perhaps I have overestimated him…" De Soto uttered, looking back at his officer. "I apologize for doubting you, Lieutenant...Corporal…Carry on, men…" he decided, his head bowed, heading for his office.
"So…" one of the lancers asked Sepulveda and Mendoza when their commander was gone "if I didn't remember this laboratory very well…or the stable…of course they were there, but my memory is not what it was…could you help me remember where it was and how it looked like? In case the Alcalde asks again?"
Sepulveda exchanged a glance with Mendoza, then looked back at the other men, who were all eagerly awaiting the same answer.
"The stable was in the left corner, by the entrance, and the laboratory contained glassware with strange liquids in them, and was installed on a table next to the stable, which was probably why Tornado was so smart, and everything got destroyed because we dropped the flasks and then we had to clean up the cave." The Corporal rapidly informed them.
"Of course…Now that you tell me, I remember perfectly…" The man stated.
"So do I…" Another one said with a nervous smile and the others also confirmed in a similar manner.
Mendoza shook his head and headed towards the plaza, wondering how to break the news to Diego.
ZZZ
"Don Diego!" De Soto called at seeing the younger man returned with his father and his guests from the hacienda that afternoon, everyone having decided to join the fiesta. "Don Diego, may I have a word?" The white-haired man had just exited his office and was hurrying towards them, so Diego turned around to face him.
"Alcalde! What can I do for you?" The caballero asked.
"A…I just wanted to ask you something…You are a man of science. Your father has always complained about the time you waste with your experiments..."
"Yes…He doesn't appreciate them very much, I'm afraid…"
"Well, yes…but, as a man of science, you must have some kind of laboratory…" De Soto stated.
"I do… Would you like to see it, Alcalde?" Diego inquired, considering taking De Soto to a second, small laboratory he had installed at the hacienda.
"No..No…I just want to know if you would consider it wise to install it right next to a stable…"
"Next to a stable? You mean, install a table with flasks and various glassware containing dangerous chemicals near the place where you keep a horse…which could knock them down at any point? No. I'd rather think it very unwise. But if you are considering building one, and are looking to find a suitable place, I'd be happy to…"
"I have no interest in chemistry, Diego. It's just…Zorro apparently installed his laboratory exactly next to the stable where he was keeping his stallion…"
"Really?"
"My men swear to it. I first thought Sepulveda was lying, but then Mendoza and the other lancers confirmed everything he said…Is it possible that those chemicals might make a horse smarter?"
Diego looked at him with some confusion, its sources being multiple at that point.
"I'd hardly assume to guess what effects they might have." He stated, with some hidden amusement. "Maybe it just depends on the chemicals…"
"Yes…Perhaps…It's a shame the men destroyed everything…" De Soto agreed, resigning himself to the idea of never knowing if they might have ended up with smarter garrison horses, as well.
Diego grinned while he watched him return to his office, then saw Mendoza approaching.
"How many men know, Lieutenant?" He asked him.
"I'm starting to suspect they might all know, Don Diego, …all except for the two who went with the Alcalde to Monterey…But we didn't tell anyone…they must have figured it out for themselves…"
"I see…" The caballero replied pensively. "And they are not telling the Alcalde?"
"No…on the contrary…I think they are also trying to make sure he doesn't suspect you."
Diego stared at him inquisitively for a few moments, then eyed the lancers positioned around the plaza, wondering what were their true motives for not taking any action against him, considering that, even after paying the 90% tax, they would still end up making 600 pesos for his capture, the equivalent of their salary for five years. He also pondered again whether marrying Victoria would not mean condemning her to either death or to becoming a fugitive from justice.
"Don Diego…" Mendoza interrupted his thoughts "The laboratory…I have never seen one…If the Alcalde wants to know how it looked like exactly…I should be able to describe it to him…"
The tall caballero considered his options. He trusted Mendoza and knew very well that the good lancer would never betray his trust. There was, of course, the possibility of showing him the second laboratory, but he had many times wondered how the Lieutenant would react at seeing the real cave, so he decided it was as good a time as ever to show it to him.
"Get your horse and meet me behind the tavern in 30 minutes." He instructed his Best Man.
Diego only blindfolded Mendoza when they were nearing the hills behind the hacienda, moving him to Tornado and leaving the lancer's horse tied to a tree. From there, he made his stallion walk in circles for a while, in order for the Lieutenant to be confused about the distance to the cave. Once inside, he let him down and took off his blindfold.
Mendoza felt like a child when he was allowed to look around. "This is Zorro's real cave?" He asked, earning a grin from Diego.
"It is, Lieutenant." He confirmed. "And that is the laboratory." He indicated, taking some time to explain the experiments he was currently working on. The lancer listened attentively but lost track after a while since the colorful liquids fascinated him. In fact, all those explanations achieved little in better informing him, yet managed to increase tenfold the profound respect he was already harboring for the caballero.
After showing him a few more of his 'tricks', including the camera he had once used to capture a gang of bounty-hunters who were, in fact, criminals themselves, Diego allowed Mendoza to try his Toledo-steel sword and put on his mask, gave him a short fencing lesson, then spent some time answering various questions. Almost two hours passed before the Lieutenant reluctantly agreed to return to the pueblo, after having Diego promise to bring him back on another occasion.