An: Waw… a lot of reviews this time… You must be really looking forward to the next chapter :))) Glad you still like the "Of Men and Legends" series, and I hope you enjoy this story, as well.
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Diego sent letters to both his family lawyer and several of his acquaintances in Monterey and San Diego that very day, hoping to, thus, receive every law which had been passed since the new authorities had taken over in Mexico City.
He had barely arrived home in the evening, after a rather long day at the medical office, when Felipe came signing that there was smoke coming from the lands of a nearby Chumash settlement.
Zorro left the cave some ten minutes later, heading towards the settlement.
Over 30 armed men, dressed as lancers, were attacking the tribe when he arrived there, but most of the people had already managed to escape. The masked man charged full on, doing his best to help those still there get to safety.
Using his whip, he forced a musket out of a man's hand just as he was pointing it at a young, frightened woman, who was watching him in terror from the ground where she had fallen.
"Run!" Zorro ordered her as he fought the man, then, after he made sure to leave his adversary unconscious, he turned his attention towards two others, whose saddles he cut. The men lost their weapons at impacting with the ground and ran away as soon as they were able to.
Seeing how, due to Zorro's intervention, several of his men found themselves prey to the braves, the leader of the attackers sounded the retreat, making sure those who had been left without their horses were helped onto the other mounts.
Soon, they were all gone, but not before one of the men, taking advantage of the fact that the masked outlaw was fighting two of his cohorts, managed to use his musket to deliver a blow straight to his head. Zorro lost his seating and fell from the saddle just before the man who had delivered the blow was pierced by an arrow shot by the braves.
The masked man lost consciousness for a few minutes and woke up after the fight was over, the attackers having already made their retreat, taking their injured and dead with them.
Feeling weak and realizing there was no longer any way for him to help the Indians in his state, he gratefully accepted their help to remount Tornado, then guided him towards the cave.
ZZZ
Ignacio de Soto had had a restless night, turning and twisting in bed as a nightmare plagued him. It was not the first time he had it, but, when Jessie was sleeping next to him, she'd always wake him up in time. Instead, now that he had to sleep alone.
There was nobody to wake him up when Diego de la Vega helped his wife on his golden mare, then proceeded to kiss her as she giggled. Nor had anyone woke him up when he told Ignacio he didn't deserve her, and he'd take far better care of her than him, just before they both went away towards the setting sun. Only when the earth opened and swallowed him whole, was he able to open his eyes and sit in bed, sweat pouring down his forehead, his nightshirt soaked. Looking out the windows, he realized it was already morning.
Deciding to go straight to his wife and apologize, then beg her to return home and talk about their future, rather than fight – since he hated fighting with her – he made sure he looked his best, and headed to Los Angeles.
ZZZ
Don Alejandro, Diego and Felipe arrived around midday to the pueblo to find search parties were being organized.
"What's going on, Sergeant?" The elderly caballero asked Mendoza, whom he saw in the plaza, organizing his men.
"It's Doctor Kent, Don Alejandro. We can't find her anywhere!" He replied.
"Jessie's gone missing?" Diego asked, glancing worriedly towards his father and adopted son. "Are you sure she hasn't just gone to visit a patient, Sergeant?"
"Si, Don Diego. She was here last evening, but now she's nowhere to be found." Mendoza recounted.
"Ah, Diego!" De Soto called. "Do you know where she might have gone?"
"No. But she could be with a patient. Have you checked if her horse is gone?" He asked.
"Of course, we have, I'm not an amateur!" The white-haired man replied. "The horse is still in the stable."
"She shouldn't be far, in that case." Diego concluded.
"We've already searched the entire pueblo. Nobody knows where she might be, and there's no horse missing." He told him.
Signing for his men, De Soto and most of his lancers headed out of the pueblo, in search of the Doctor.
ZZZ
Diego would have followed them, but with his head hurting and Jessie gone, he ended up spending several hours taking care of the people in need of medical services while doing his best to ignore the throbbing in his head. He did take some time to check for tracks behind the office and was confused at finding what he was looking for: a clue as to where Jessie might have gone.
Then, a while later, as he was finally about to head home, hoping Zorro would get to check if the young woman was fine, he was called to tend to a farmer who had fallen off a cliff. The man had, through some miracle, survived the fall. However, despite Diego getting to his house in a relatively short amount of time, and doing all he could for him, he faded away just before sunset.
It was hard on the farmer's family, as it was on the man who had tried to save him. The caballero knew he couldn't perform miracles, but that didn't prevent grief he felt every time he lost a patient, considering he knew and had previously helped, either as himself or as Zorro, most of those living in the pueblo and the territory around it. Having one die before his eyes without him being able to do anything, was, thus, quite painful.
Diego arrived home tired, depressed and with a bad headache, so he headed straight for his room, hoping for a short rest before heading out to find Jessie. He knew the Indians had taken her, but he couldn't tell anybody that since his unmasked self was supposedly clueless about tracking. He also knew the Indians in the area were peaceful and Jessie had helped them on occasion, so he didn't believe she was in danger from them. But the reason why they had come in the middle of the night and took her through a window was nagging at him.
It had been a long, hard day, the throbbing in his head only worsening by the minute, and he had the strange feeling that there was something he had forgotten – like the reason why there was a new bump on his head.
ZZZ
"Diego! Diego!" Don Alejandro called at entering the hacienda just after nightfall, making his way towards his son's room.
"What's wrong?" The tall caballero asked, standing up, then falling back as he tried to clear his foggy mind.
"The pueblo has just been attacked. By Indians. There are several dead and wounded. You are needed, Son." The don informed him, looking at him somewhat inquisitively.
"What? The pueblo was attacked? Felipe was there, working on the newspaper… and Victoria. Are they safe? Who was killed?" He queried, fearing the answer.
"Two of De Soto's men were killed, from what I was told. Several more are injured. Felipe and Victoria are fine, taking care of the wounded. Your son got her to safety when the attack started, and the Alcalde's search party returned soon after, managing to scare them off." Don Alejandro said. "But they need you, Son."
The tall caballero nodded. "And Jessie? Is she alright?"
"We still don't know where she might be. De Soto was unable to find her yet." Don Alejandro answered.
"Find her? She's gone?" Diego wondered.
"Yes. You already know that. What's wrong, Son?" Don Alejandro squinted his eyes as he looked carefully at the younger man.
Diego shook his head and took a hand to his forehead. "Right. De Soto went to look for her earlier."
"Yes. Are you alright, Diego?" Don Alejandro asked.
His son made his best effort to smile, and denied anything was wrong. About ten minutes later, he and his father were on their way to the pueblo.
ZZZ
De Soto had had an even worse day than the tall caballero. He had returned to Los Angeles, just as the attack on the pueblo had begun and, despite the fact that his lancers managed to repel it, causing the Indians to flee at the mere sight of them, he had lost two good men and a horse to the savages' arrows. Not only that, but four more of his men, as well as two horses, had been injured.
And, before all that even happened, he had searched in vain for his wife, and he started fearing he might never see her again. The fact that the De la Vega heir was there and seemed to know just as little as he did about Jessie's whereabouts was of no consolation since he'd have rather known her with him than in the hands of some strangers. He was jealous because of Diego, but he knew the caballero would never hurt her.
It had been a long day and he felt he had failed everyone, the woman he loved first of all. He dreaded the mere idea of losing her, his mind going through every bad scenario he could think of. In his imagination, he saw two men grab her, one of their hands on her mouth as they tied her up and put her on one of their horses. Things only went worse from there. He imagined them taking her somewhere remote, and having their way with her, then killing her as she prayed for her husband to come to her rescue.
Ignacio had never in his life felt so powerless, not even when he had spent several weeks as a slave, with no memory of who he truly was.
At remembering those days, an idea crossed his mind. He didn't know how to help her, but there was someone who seemed able to do the impossible even if, asking for his help went against every fiber of his being.
Leaving his office with newly-found hope, he headed for the tavern.
"Señorita!" He said at seeing Victoria behind the bar.
"Shouldn't you be looking for Jessie, Alcalde?" She asked instead, frowning at him.
"Please! May I have a word?" He wondered, ignoring her remark.
"What about, Alcalde?" She asked.
"Zorro." He whispered.
"Zorro?" She repeated, surprised.
"I need his help. I need him to find my wife." De Soto replied. "He knows the territory… But I don't know how to find him. Can you…"
"You think I know?" She asked.
"The two of you are lovers, you must know!" He replied.
Victoria's slap resounded throughout the tavern as she looked appalled by that accusation, and made her way to the kitchen without another word.
De Soto glanced around, and didn't pay attention to the people laughing silently at wondering how he had upset the fiery Señorita this time, then followed Victoria.
"I meant no offense, I apologize if that is how it came out, but, please, you must understand! I need his help, and I don't know how to contact him." He told the taverness.
Victoria's anger slowly subsided at seeing his begging eyes. She had never before seen De Soto in such a state, so she started pitying him.
"Firstly, we are not lovers." She said. "I want you to have that clear in your head! I am an honest woman and Zorro is a man of honor, who would never do anything to compromise me. Secondly…" she hesitated, "I don't know who he is or how to get in contact with him, Alcalde. If I knew, I would. But, by now, he must have found out that Jessie is missing. He might have already left looking for her." She told him. "That is probably why he wasn't here to protect the pueblo earlier."
De Soto nodded, somewhat grateful at her words, yet disappointed to see she either couldn't or wouldn't help. Not that he blamed her. After all, he had spent years trying his best to capture or just kill Zorro.
True, he had not been trying much lately, at least not since Jessie had arrived in Los Angeles, as she liked Zorro, and he didn't want to upset her by capturing the man who had saved her life. Not that he would have, even if he had tried. But that didn't change his earlier behavior, and Ignacio understood quite well that, even if she'd be able to contact him, Victoria might probably believe he was trying to lay out a trap for the man.
Resigned, he returned to his office, trying to decide how to prioritize his actions. The Indian tribe needed to be punished. Yet, his wife needed to be found. That was his priority, so he convinced himself that it was also the most important thing for the pueblo as, no matter how good a job Diego and Felipe were doing at replacing her, Los Angeles needed its doctor.
In the meantime, Victoria had headed for her room, and put on her red sash, a signal she and Zorro had once decided on to let him know she wanted to see him. Diego noticed it a while later, when she went to the medical office to ask about the injured men.
ZZZ
"Buenas noches, Alcalde!" De Soto heard a voice from the shadows, just as he returned to his office after having finished instructing the men who he had chosen to accompany him on a new search party he was organizing. "I heard you wanted to see me."
"Zorro! So, Señorita Escalante does know how to contact you." De Soto replied, taking no step to harm his nemesis.
"No. Nobody does, Alcalde, not even Victoria. I did decide to visit her, considering the day's events, though, to make sure she was fine, and she mentioned you wanted to talk to me."
"I see…" The Alcalde uttered suspiciously. "Had I known all it took to get you here was asking the Señorita… Well… It doesn't matter now… I wanted to talk to you… in order to ask for your help, Zorro. I need help finding my wife. I suspect she was abducted or –"
"Let's not jump to conclusions. I suspect I know where she might be, but I also believe she might have gone of her own free will."
"Where?"
"The Indian tribe north of the pueblo. The Chumash." The black-clad man answered.
"And how exactly did you reach such conclusions?" De Soto asked disparagingly.
"The tracks they left by the medical office's window did help. Besides, she has helped them once or twice before, which is why I don't believe that –" His answer was unexpectedly cut off.
"Those savages just took her, then attacked the pueblo!" De Soto uttered spitefully. Not sparing Zorro another glance, he hurriedly exited the office to ask Mendoza to arm and mobilize the men in order to head for the Indian tribe.
As he returned inside a few moments later, Zorro was no longer there.
ZZZ
"What's going on, Ignacio?" Diego asked at exiting the medical office just as the Alcalde was mounting his horse.
"I'm going to get my wife." The white-haired man answered.
"In the middle of the night? Where?"
"The Indian tribe north of Los Angeles. Those savages will pay dearly if they touched a hair on her head… and for attacking the pueblo, of course."
"You can't know it was them who attacked the pueblo. They are a peaceful tribe, Ignacio! If they had taken Jessie, she is in no danger." The caballero told his former schoolmate, already regretting pointing him in the direction of the tribe. "And even if it was them, what are you planning to do when you get there?"
De Soto frowned at him. "I will get my wife back, and make them pay for their actions!" He answered, before galloping away with over half of his remaining men.
Diego watched them leave, then, following Mendoza to the tavern, he informed his father that he should return home without him and his son, as they were spending the night keeping vigil on the wounded.
Rejoining Felipe in the office a little while later, the two of them made sure to sedate the injured men, then arrange the pillows in one of the beds to look as if someone was sleeping there. When that was done, the tall caballero again put on the black clothes he normally kept in the newspaper office. Making his way towards the municipal corral while doing his best not to be seen, he mounted one of the confiscated horses there, and headed for the cave.
ZZZ
Zorro made his way towards the Indian tribe, managing to get ahead of the Alcalde and his men, who were far less familiar with the terrain and far more cautious in their movements.
When he arrived there, he found the camp abandoned, most of the tents burnt or half-destroyed. His memory of the previous night was still affected by the hit on the head he had received, but he could vaguely remember that there was an attack and he had tried to help the Indians.
He also remembered that the ones who had perpetrated the attack were wearing the uniform of the Royal Lancers, even though he hadn't recognized any of the men he had seen, and wondered if that played a role in the Indian's decision to get Jessie to exit through the window when they had come for her. If they suspected the Los Angeles lancers had been the ones to attack them, they surely didn't want to attract their attention.
Realizing it was almost useless to try to find the Indians who had run away at that time of night, he was about to head back, when the moonlight shone over the tracks left by a large group of horses, and he decided to follow them instead. They led southwest. Urging Tornado to a gallop, he tracked the riders for some fifteen miles towards the ocean.
It was already dawn when he stopped at seeing a man carefully climbing up a hill, keeping himself low, seemingly preoccupied with not letting whoever was on the other side see him. He watched him, intrigued for a few moments. The man was dressed as an Indian, and seemed to have been following the same tracks he was.
Zorro dismounted and silently followed him uphill. The Indian hid behind some boulders, and the masked outlaw found shelter between some trees whose shadows made him almost invisible.
As he was near enough, he could now see the face of the Indian, a face he easily recognized despite the time that had passed since their last encounter. Certain he was in no danger from him, he refocused his attention on what was happening on the other side of the hill.
ZZZ
The lancers De Soto had taken with him and their leader arrived at the destroyed campsite about two hours after Zorro. Looking around, Ignacio realized that the tribe had also been attacked. After studying the ground at the faint light provided by the Moon and the torches they were carrying with them, he guided his men in the direction he decided he, himself, would have taken to get to safety. He guessed the Indians' destination (unexpectedly) right, but, as they neared the new camp, a couple of hours later, they found themselves in the middle of an ambush.
Fifteen braves, had their arrows pointed towards them.
"Put down your weapons." Their Chief demanded.
"Who are you?" De Soto inquired.
"Surrender!" Came the man's new order.
"I am Ignacio de Soto, Alcalde of Los Angeles, and I advise you to lay down your weapons, unless you want me to order my men to shoot you all." The white-haired man uttered.
"Your are at our mercy!" The man ordered again. "Put down your weapons and dismount, or my men's arrows will pierce your dark hearts!" The tribe's leader demanded.
Seeing how, in the dim light he could hardly see their attackers, and estimating their number was all but impossible, De Soto reluctantly agreed to surrender his weapons, ordering his men to do as asked.
"Tie them up, and blindfold them!" The Chief then asked his men in their native language, and the braves hurriedly complied.
De Soto and the lancers tried to resist when they saw what the Indians were doing, but it was useless. About an hour later, just as the sun started its daily climb across the sky, they got to the new campsite. It was still early, but the people there seemed not to have slept much that night.
As soon as they arrived, men, women and children, started cursing at the lancers, several of them throwing small stones at them.
"Take off their blindfolds!" Long Feather, as the tribe's Chief was called, ordered his men.
He then climbed a boulder, and addressed his people as soon as the faces of their prisoners were completely visible to everyone.
"Were these the men who attacked us?" He inquired in their language.
The people seemed hesitant at first, then, one-by-one, they all nodded as they recognized the uniforms.
"Burn them!" Someone requested and the rest of the tribe agreed.
"What are they saying?" De Soto asked his lancers, who just shrugged their shoulders.
"Prepare the trial by fire!" The Chief ordered.
The lancers were guided just outside the camp, and tied up to the trees there, while the people of the tribe started piling up the wood they needed for the fires.
"Alcalde?" One of the lancers uttered at realizing what was happening.
"What is this? What are you doing?" De Soto asked Long Feather as he also reached his man's conclusion.
"You are to be sentenced for your crimes." He answered.
"Crimes? What crimes? I came here to get my wife!" De Soto shouted.
The Chief looked at him puzzled. "You will not take our women." He replied, failing to understand the white-haired man, then left, ignoring his shouts demanding their immediate release.
As soon as the piles were in place, the tribe assembled to witness the burning of the Los Angeles Alcalde and his men.
They were untied from the trees and taken to the pillars erected in the middle of the woodpiles, where they were tied up, two of them to each pole, as Long Feather gave the order to light the fires.