Chapter 5
Diego went to bed early that night, for Zorro had to ride very early in the morning.
It was about an hour before dawn when he moved through the shadows of the quartel that led to the jail holding the bandidos.
The prisoners as well as the guards were all asleep, and it didn't take long to examine the prisoners inside the cell. After listening to their breathing and raising a few eyelids, he lightly slapped one in the face. There was no reaction.
"These men aren't just asleep," thought Zorro, "they've been drugged! He looked around the cell and his eyes lit on a ceramic cup that had fallen from the grasp of one of the prisoners. Pocketing it, he left. He had seen all that he needed.
A few hours later, Tornado and his rider were waiting beside a tree on a slight rise of land with a clear view of the road to Santa Paulo. Zorro watched the coach pass and followed it at a reasonable distance until it came within a half mile of Los Angeles. Nothing untoward had happened, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.
He hurried home just in time to greet his father and Felipe.
"Diego, well, you do look much better than when we left! We have so much to tell you. We made some excellent deals. Felipe has a fine eye for a bargain! Anything interesting happen while we were gone?" Don Alejandro had that mischievous little grin on his face.
"One or two things you might be interested in, I suppose. But they can wait. Juan has just come in with some good news. That new mare of yours just foaled. It's a bit early, isn't it? You might want to—"
But his father was already out of the house and on his way to the stables. "I thought that would give us a few moments alone!" Diego turned to Felipe. The two smiled at each other. "Yes, Felipe, you can relax. I have remembered quite a bit and learned even more. I hope you haven't been too worried while you've been away."
Felipe pointed toward the fireplace.
"Yes, I've taken good care of Tornado. Come, I want to show you something." He turned and Felipe followed across the room.
Once inside the cave, Diego started telling his confidant all that he had missed in his absence.
"The cup I picked up in the jail cell had just enough residue left for me to do a little experimenting.
Felipe signed a question.
"No, I haven't actually identified the compound yet. But I can tell you it is a powerful mind altering concoction. I suspect it has more than one ingredient. And one of those appears to be Jimsonweed, the herb that has been known to cause men to go berserk. It is quite dangerous and can be poisonous. Those bandidos were under its influence and were still being given doses of it as late as last night. It probably has a soporific effect the longer it is taken."
He noted Felipe's question. "A soporific is a substance that induces a sleep state. But in smaller quantities, my guess is that it somehow allows some type of mind control on its victims. The question is, whose control are they under?"
Felipe made his sign for De Soto.
"The Alcalde? A distinct possibility. And there may be a connection to the assignment of the new lancers to the quartel. It has all happened very quickly." Felipe was a good sounding board for his thoughts. "Suppose the Alcalde has made a deal with some middleman with the governor's office. He collects this exorbitant new tax from the people of Los Angeles in exchange for forty lancers."
Felipe signed, "Forty…a test?"
"Very good, Felipe! Who taught you that? Oh, I did. Yes, biblically, the number forty has always been associated with a supreme test. Although I think whoever is behind all this has less than altruistic intentions and probably just chose a nice round number. I am sure Los Angeles will not be getting any additional lancers. I think the attack on the pueblo was a test for just how well this evil concoction would perform! The promise of an addition to the Alcalde's quartel was just a bribe to him to allow them to experiment. It was odd that not one soldier was present in the square that day and it did take the soldiers some time to arrive. Throw in the fact that not one of the bandidos was even injured very badly—"
Felipe pointed to Diego
"Touché! Except by me, that is…or killed outright, and the whole episode sounds very suspicious indeed".
Felipe made the sign of a "Z".
"Yes, Zorro will be there when the prisoner transfer is made to just see how far up this thing goes, and to find out a little more about this," he said as he held up the test tube containing the sample.
Felipe pointed to the vials of liquid in the distillation apparatus. "More?" he signed.
"No, that is something else I have been working on since you have been away. It is an experiment currently being done by a Frenchman named Leroux. He has isolated an ingredient from the bark of a Willow tree that he calls Salicin. His theory is that this Salicin is the reason that various cultures around the world have chewed on the bark as a means to achieve pain relief. I had the idea that it might be a help with these headaches of mine."
Felipe shot him a look of concern. "No, not now, but they do come and go. At any rate, this substance does look very promising. It is even said to reduce fever and that is something we really need for mankind. Just think of the possibilities! But, personally, I would prefer it in a more palatable form than tree bark!"
Felipe laughed silently and Diego changed the subject. "Felipe, I think it's time to tell Father about all this."
Felipe shook his head from side to side and Diego continued, "I know, it has always been our secret. That's made it something special between us, hasn't it? But, there are going to be some changes soon, and I think it is a good time to do away with all the secrets in this hacienda." He watched Felipe's face carefully as he continued. "I am going to marry Victoria… as Diego. Are you all right with that?"
Felipe shrugged and finally smiled sheepishly. "Good, because it is very important to me that you approve." He slapped Felipe lightly on the back. "I know Father will. And Victoria already knows about Zorro. You know she can be trusted. She and Father will both be a great help to Zorro, I am sure. It will just take some getting used to, that's all. Now, we had better get back out there. I don't have the time to tell Father right now. I am going to plead a headache and go to bed in just a little while. I want to catch up to the detail of lancers that is making the transfer this afternoon. Now that you're home, you can keep Father out of my hair for just a little bit longer!"