January 23rd, 1821/ Day 1419
The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego woke up instantly, got off his bed, put on his robe, took one of his suits and a white shirt, and headed for the cave. He rapidly changed clothes, wrote a message, prepared the crying-gas-filled time-delay devices, placing them in two sacks, took a cloth, o small bottle of ether and, mounting on Tornado, made his way around to the hacienda. Once there, he slipped in through a window, leaving his stallion in the courtyard. Entering Felipe's room, he woke him up, gave him the note he had written earlier, and only stopped to explain that they needed to act quickly. Leaving his son to get prepared, he sneaked down the corridor and into his father's quarters.
"Don Alejandro!" He whispered while putting one of his hands on the old don's mouth, and raising a finger at his, signaling the need to be quiet.
When he realized his father was now fully aware that he needed to keep his voice down, he removed his hand.
"Zorro! What are you doing here?" Don Alejandro asked.
"Forgive me for barging in in such a manner, but I do not have much time, Senor, and I need your assistence." He began to explain, minding his tone. "I have information about an attack against an Indian camp situated 30 miles from here. I cannot prevent it by myself, nor save all those people alone, thus I am here to ask for your help."
"My help? Of course, Zorro! What can I do?" Asked his father.
"I need you to gather a group of vaqueros - at least 10-12 loyal men – and ride with me to help protect those people. I will go to Los Angeles and convince the Alcalde to also contribute 20 of his lancers and we will join you here in about an hour. Get your men ready by then, and make sure they are all armed with pistols and muskets. You may also inform them that the attackers all have prices on their heads, so they will all share in the reward for their capture." Zorro replied.
"I will gather my men, Zorro, but how exactly are you going to convince the Alcalde to send his lancers with you?"
"Leave that to me, Don Alejandro. We will be here in an hour. There is no time to lose!" Zorro assured him. "Oh... and, Don Alejandro... I believe it best not to involve the other members of your family in this. I am sure a note about your whereabouts would suffice until your return."
"Don't worry, Zorro." Don Alejandro assured him with a rather sad grin. "I don't see any reason to place them in any danger, and God knows my son and grandson wouldn't be of much help. My men and I will be waiting in front of the hacienda, in an hour." He added.
As soon as the conversation was done, Zorro hurried towards Los Angeles at full gallop. There, he entered the Alcalde's room and woke him up.
"Good morning, Alcalde!" He uttered as the man looked at him, his eyes dangerously close to escaping his face.
De Soto sat up straight at once and begun yelling for Mendoza and the lancers, much to Zorro's amusement. With a few sudden movements, the masked bandit tied up his hands and legs, leaving him to continue shouting, then pulled out his sword and pointed it to the Alcalde's neck. That was the scene Mendoza and his lancers saw as they came in, half-dressed, stumbling into their superior's chamber. The cold steel of the Toledo blade pointed at his throat silenced De Soto, and they all stood there frozen for a few seconds, waiting for the masked man to speak.
"I am here, Alcalde, because I need your men's help in my mission today." He started.
"If the mission is to hang you, I can assure you of our full support, Zorro!" The Alcalde retorted defiantly, realizing he was not in any mortal danger at that exact moment.
"This mission, Alcalde, is about saving lives, rather than ending them." The masked man clarified, and pushed his sword a little deeper into De Soto's skin to stop him from making any other stupid remark. "Now, what I need you to do is to order the good Sergeant here, as well as his lancers to follow my orders today. As I said, I will need their help."
De Soto chuckled but, by doing so, he felt a small cut in his neck and realized this archenemy was in no mood for jokes.
"Why would I do that?" He asked.
"Is my sword not compelling enough?" Zorro wondered with a wicked smile on his face, pressing his blade even further, and making De Soto believe he might decide to kill him after all.
"How do I know my men will return alive and well, if I instruct them to follow you? For all I know, you will be leading them to their deaths."
"If that were my intention, Alcalde" he replied "I would simply kill them rather than come here to request their assistence! As I said," he assured him, "I need their help, not their lives!"
De Soto pondered the situation. He knew that Zorro was hardly inclined to kill anyone and had on occasion even saved his life, as well as the lives of his men. But the fiend was an unpredictable bandit with a price on his head. An outlaw with a sword at his neck...
"Sergeant!" Ignacio instructed after considering his enemy's words "Do as he says!"
"Si Alcalde!" Mendoza replied.
"Chose 19 of your men, and wait for me in front of the cuartel, Sergeant" Zorro instructed. "And be so kind as to inform them that I am your commander for today, not your target. I will make it worth their efforts, I can assure you! Is that clear, Mendoza?"
"It is very clear, Zorro!" He answered with enthusiasm, and hurried his men out to get them ready.
"If you take 20 lancers, there will only be four left to defend the pueblo!" De Soto pointed out.
"Two, actually, Alcalde." Zorro told him. "As we both know, Faroles and Pena are ill, so they will not be much help, will they? But don't worry. The pueblo will not need protection today, and I will make sure to return at least part of your men before siesta time."
"I will add this to your list of crimes, Zorro!" De Soto threatened.
"Yes. You already said that before. Now, since I no longer need you..." Zorro uttered, carefully removing his sword from his former university colleague's neck
"You wouldn't dare kill me!" The Alcalde protested, fearing the worst.
"No...not today, at least." Zorro answered with a grin. "But I do think it is time you went back to sleep!"
"Not another punch!" De Soto braced himself and closed his eyes.
"Not this time." Zorro answered a little disappointed, taking out a bottle and a cloth. "A promise is a promise." He added as he made the Alcalde sniff the ether, thus causing him to fall back into his bed. "Have a good rest, Ignacio!" He wished the unconscious De Soto as he left the room.
The lancers were anxiously waiting for him as he exited the Alcalde's office, armed and prepared to follow Zorro. Leading them towards the De la Vega Hacienda, he explained the situation and his plan, instructing the men as to how they needed to act once the attack had started. At the hacienda, they were joined by Don Alejandro and 12 vaqueros and they directed towards San Bernardino, urging their mounts to go as fast as they possibly could. Felipe followed the party from a distance, as per Diego's instructions, carrying four muskets and making sure he would not be spotted.
They arrived at the Indian village at 9 am sharp, already tired from the difficult ride there. The old woman was waiting for them, together with the leaders of the tribe, and was happy to see that the Black Fox had finally managed to bring the needed help.
Dismounting, Zorro proceeded in setting and burying the time-delay devices, after checking for the direction of the wind and noticing it was blowing in the direction from which he knew the bandits would come. During this time, Don Alejandro instructed the men to take their positions in front of the Indian camp and stay law on the ground, pistols and muskets primed. Felipe watched the preparations, and decided to head for a spot a little further away, in a shallow ravine, hiding behind some big boulders, with his muskets ready.
Just as before, the 28 armed men came charging at 9:20 but, this time, as they were approaching the camp the gas bombs exploded, impeding their view. Felipe was the first to shoot down one of the bandits and, as soon as he fired, the lancers and the vaqueros followed, wounding over half of the attackers, who had not expected resistance. By the time the blood-thirsty men arrived at the edges of the Indian village, only ten of them were still on their horses, their pistols already useless. A few of Zorro's lashes disarmed those who had the chance to take out their swords, while the lancers and the Indian warriors jumped the others. The ensuing battle was short-lived, one more bullet from Felipe's musket eventually saving Don Alejandro's life just before the attack was finished.
Once the fighting was done, they checked on their men and were relieved to realize none of the lancers or the vaqueros suffered any major injury. Mendoza's arm was scratched by a bullet and another of his lancers had a deep cut on his leg, but neither of the injuries prevented them from riding back safely, after the wounds had been carefully dressed and cared for by the old Indian woman. The vaqueros and Don Alejandro were uninjured and hurried to gather and further disarm the already-wounded attackers, tying and mounting them on their horses, in a position reminiscent of potato sacks. Since all the attackers had prices on their heads, the reward money was among the incentives for the vaqueros to offer their services in capturing them. A total of 26.000 pesos – a huge sum for the time – was to be shared among the 12 vaqueros and 22 lancers which were present there on the day. Zorro advised Mendoza to organize the transfer of the prisoners to Monterey instead of returning them to Los Angeles, where the jail was too small to accommodate so many dangerous individuals. For that reason, the party split in two, fifteen men, including six vaqueros and 9 lancers, riding towards the Californian capital with the prisoners, while the other men were returning to the pueblo.
Zorro watched them heading in opposite directions and joined the old woman who was praying by a fire.
"Is it done?" He asked her when she finally raised her head and smiled at him.
The woman gazed into his eyes with gratitude and took a look around, happy to see all her people alive and safe once more.
"It is as the spirits promised." She answered. "Tomorrow will be a new day."
Zorro smiled and thanked her, then stood up and headed for his stallion.
"One more thing, Kaweewesh!" She voiced out, and he turned around to face her. "The spirits returned last night to give a warning. They say that a big battle lies ahead for you. You will know it is near when your enemy will become your brother. They also said that, for you to win it, you will need to take off the black and trust your heart."
He looked at her in bewilderment. Diego had many times refuted the idea of the supernatural. All that happens, happens within nature, he thought. But, since he had become Zorro, he had been visited by an Angel, met Santa Claus, and had relived the same day over 1000 times. He thus admitted to himself that, even if Diego was a man of science, prone to refuting ideas based on faith and superstition, Zorro somehow found himself emerged in a world filled with things and events science could not possibly explain. So he thanked the woman for her warning and took her words to heart, memorizing them determined to meditate on their meaning.
He met up with Felipe about 2 miles from the Indian camp and they rode together, while he regaled his son with stories about the day he was the only one in Los Angeles to remember reliving. He knew his son needed some explanation for their morning adventure and was, after all, the only person whom he knew would believe him. He also shared with the younger man the warning he had received from the spirits, and they had a long debate as to the meaning of those words.
"The only thing I have not fully considered, Felipe," he realized at some point during their journey, "is how to explain our absence. Have you remembered to take Esperanza to the cave?"
Felipe signaled that he had done everything as instructed.
"You did? We have that. Now I must only find some plausible excuse for having been away from the hacienda half of the day."
Felipe gestured something again.
"Out collecting rocks? I am sure we can find some better excuse than my sudden urge to collect pretty stones, Felipe!"
At that point, his son took out of his sash a rock and gave it to him.
"Where did you find this?" Zorro asked after examining it.
Felipe signaled that it was in the ravine where he was hiding, near the Indian tribe.
"I must go back, Felipe!" He realized. "You go home without me! I will be back later. Tell Father I am working on an article for The Guardian!" He exclaimed, and steered Tornado at full speed back in the direction from whence they came.
Returning to the Indian village, he did not stop, but headed for the rocks, checked to see if there were other stones like the one Felipe had found and, easily finding another one, he mounted back on his stallion and steered him towards Monterey.
He rode fast in order to catch up with the men escorting the prisoners. An hour later, the lancers spotted Zorro's dark silhouette heading at full speed towards them and stopped to wait for him.
"Something wrong, Senor Zorro?" Sepulveda asked as he reached them.
"Where's the leader?" He asked. "Where's Manuel?"
Instead of a reply, the men just stared at him open-mouthed as he started studying the face of each bandit, in search of the man he was looking for. He found Manuel and brutally pulled him off the horse, turning him around.
"Who hired you?" He asked in a menacing tone. "Who asked you to kill those people?"
The bandit stared at him and began laughing.
"You have a thousand pesos bounty on your head and you will hang. You have nothing to gain by staying silent. Give me the name, and, maybe, the lancers here will ask the Governor to be merciful and put you in front of a firing squad! Hanging is a terrible way to day, I assure you." Zorro tried to persuade the man.
Manuel looked at him defiantly and refused to answer.
"Do you even know why?" Zorro asked. "Because I do."
"You know nothing!" Manuel retorted.
"I know he wants their land!" Zorro pointed out.
"If you know that, why don't you find out the rest on your own?"
"I don't have the time for that! I certainly don't have time for your stubbornness" Zorro answered, pressing his hand onto a musket wound on Manuel's leg, and making him scream in pain.
"Don Pablo Calar!" The bandit screamed. "He just wanted us to get rid of the tribe, and said he didn't care how! He promised to pay us 5000 pesos tomorrow!" He continued in the hope the masked outlaw would stop.
"It wasn't so hard then, was it?" Zorro grinned as he stopped torturing the man. "Sepulveda! See that the Governor also receives that information!"
"I will, Senor Zorro!" The lancer confirmed, his admiration for his masked friend at an all-time high.
Zorro let the men go on their way, and returned to the Indian village where the tribe stopped all activities to welcome him back.
"Here!" He said, taking out the two stones and showing them to the leaders of the tribe. "This is why you were attacked this morning. They are in the ravine. It is gold, valuable for my people, and ruthless men will stop at nothing to claim it!" He warned.
The men looked at him in confusion. They had encountered those rocks before but it had never crossed their minds that white men would kill just to get their hands on some nice-looking stones.
"Will they come again?" The old woman asked him.
"They might. Someone is bound to find out there is gold on your land, and they might try again to take it from you." He answered.
"What can we do?" One of the leaders asked.
"I will make sure the man who is behind this morning's attack receives his punishment. But he might have already told others, or some corrupt official may find out. I am afraid you may never be safe here, my friends!"
"But we have always lived on this land! The spirits of our ancestors are here. They protect us. If we leave here, they will not find us." The old woman told him.
Zorro took some minutes to think. If he was truly to help those people, he needed to come up with a plan that would not mean them leaving, nor living in constant danger. He looked at the stones still in his hand.
"Do you know where these stones come from?" He asked.
"We do. Sometimes, when the stream grows, it floods a nearby cave and brings these rocks with it." The old woman informed him.
"Can you show me?"
The people of the tribe took him about a mile up the stream and showed him a small underground cave, its entrance barely big enough for small animals to crawl in.
"I can show you how to mine this gold. It is very valuable and may bring you great wealth. But it will always be a risk for you. The authorities will not protect you, and my people may try again to take your land." Zorro told them.
"The spirits provide for us!" The old woman uttered. "We have no use for rocks!"
"In that case, my friends, I believe the best would be to blow up the cave, burry that gold under a pile of rocks, and make sure that it never resurfaces again."
"Will we be safe if we do as you say, Black Fox?" The woman asked.
"You have a chance to be. But blowing up the cave is just part of what needs to be done right now. I will also need to find the man who ordered the attack and convince him, and any cohorts he may have that there is no gold here. Then, it will be up to you to convince any other who might venture here, that there is no treasure to be found on your lands. I must leave now, but I will return at dawn. Meanwhile, you need to search and gather all the golden rocks in the ravine… at least, those on your land. It will be a laborious endeavor, but you must make sure no rock large enough to be spotted remains."
Taking his goodbyes again from the tribe, Zorro decided to return home.
Don Pablo Calar had only recently moved to Los Angeles, buying a hacienda situated some 4 miles east of the pueblo. Don Alejandro had taken an instant dislike of the man, finding him to be a disagreeable individual and was a renowned gambler. The most recent rumors around town, at least if Sergeant Mendoza was to be believed, were that he was desperately indebted and on the verge of losing his land.
Zorro arrived back at the cave a little after 3 p.m. to find Felipe waiting for him there, signaling that his father had been back a few hours and was looking for him.
"Have you told him that I am working on an article?" He asked his son.
Felipe gestured that Don Alejandro had returned excited from his morning adventure and wanted to share the story with his son, convinced it would make a fine editorial piece for the next issue of The Guardian. Diego was already feeling sore from the ride and quite tired, so he considered that it was not a bad idea to rest for a few hours while having a late meal and listen to his father's version of events.
"I do need to eat." He decided as he already started changing his clothes, then sat at his desk and wrote a note. "Have you already had lunch, Felipe?" He asked and his son confirmed "You have? In that case, I will need you to ride to San Pedro, to my provider, and take him this note. Then get back with as many rocks as he can find."
Felipe took the note, exited through the library, and, mounting Pinto, made his way towards San Pedro.
Meanwhile, Diego mounted Esperanza and returned to the hacienda where his father was waiting for him impatiently. He ate while listening to Don Alejandro's account of the morning's events, and retired to his room for siesta, patiently waiting for his son's return, and reviewing the plan in his head.
Two hours later, after a short nap, he started to grow impatient and decided to return to the cave, first making sure to let Maria know that he was heading for town to work on his latest article.
Felipe returned to the cave around 7 p.m. with a bag filled with shiny golden rocks. Diego took a look at them and complimented the young man.
"These will do just fine." He exclaimed, choosing some of the rocks to take with him before changing his clothes and altering them a little by pilling off some of their edges. "I will be heading to Don Pablo Calar's Hacienda. He is the man behind all this. I should be back in an hour or two." He informed the younger man, then mounted Tornado and left for the mentioned destination.
The Calar hacienda was in a deplorable state. The don was no longer able to afford servants, and the house was filthy and filled with garbage. Zorro made his way in, and found the place deserted. He took a look around, and begun searching for the gold stones he was sure to find there. It took him a lot of patience and time, only finding two small gold rocks an hour and a half later, when it was already dark. He took the stones and replaced them with two of the ones he had chosen earlier. They were about the same size and shape but, instead of gold, the new stones were pyrite. Retrieving the gold, he made his way out and left for his hacienda where he put on his suit, took a small money bag from his private safe, and left for Los Angeles.
Entering the tavern, he noticed that the place was buzzing. Mendoza was standing at a table right in the middle of the room, regaling everyone with the tale of his bravery while most people seemed fascinated to listen to him. He searched the room and found Don Pablo sitting at Don Alejandro's table, trying to convince his father to join him in a high-stakes game of poker.
Thank God my father is not that kind of a man. He thought as he directed towards them.
"Father! Don Pablo!" He greeted. "I see the Sergeant is sharing his story with everyone who would listen!"
"Whether we want to or not! If you are to believe him, the Sergeant took out 50 bandits all by himself!" Victoria mentioned as she neared the table holding a pitcher of orange juice. "I am glad to see you, Diego! Are you here for dinner?"
"Victoria!" He smiled, allowing himself to daydream about holding the woman he loved for some seconds, then recomposing himself. "Of course, I came for dinner! What would you recommend?"
"I have a wonderful tortilla. You told me you used to eat it a lot in Spain, so I decided to try it. It has been the success of the evening!" Victoria told him.
"Sounds perfect." He agreed.
"Don Diego!" Don Pablo decided to tempt his luck. "Do you play cards?"
"The Sergeant did teach me to play poker once but I am afraid I am not very good at it." Diego lied, having learned the game in university, where he became quite a master at it.
"Why don't we test that, shall we?" Don Pablo replied with some enthusiasm, convinced he might finally find an opponent.
After the day he had, waking up convinced he was going to become rich soon by getting his hands on a fortune in gold, only to find out that Zorro had destroyed his plans with the help of Mendoza and Don Alejandro, Don Pablo was looking forward to relieving the De la Vegas of some of their money, as a temporary pay-back. He believed that, if he played his cards right, he might even win a small fortune from the gullible Don Diego.
"Why not?" The tall caballero replied, much to his father's surprise." As long as it is an amiable game… Victoria does not allow gambling here."
"Of course, Don Diego!"
The first two games were won by Don Pablo who seemed to be schooling his opponent. Diego had little difficulty in reading his facial expressions, and soon discovered how to tell that the man was bluffing. When he easily won the next five games, he was sure that he was being allowed to win. As the evening progressed, Don Alejandro left their table to sit with some of his friends, and Diego decided it was time to set his trap.
"I must say, Don Pablo, it is a shame we cannot play for money. I would win a fortune from you." He taunted.
"Then why don't we, Don Diego? As long as Senorita Escalante doesn't know, she can't throw us out!" Don Pablo replied, trying to seem funny.
"Are you willing to bet money, Don Pablo?" Diego asked.
"Why not?"
"100 pesos to open?" Suggested Diego, seemingly bored.
Don Pablo only had a hundred pesos on him. Those were, in fact, all the money he had left, but he decided that the young caballero before him didn't stand a chance, so he agreed. The cards were dealt and Diego realized his opponent must have had a good hand.
"200 pesos in." Diego stated and the man watched him in awe.
"200 pesos, Don Diego? A...Are you sure? Th...that is a lot of money." He stuttered.
"Why not! I can afford it!" He assured the man before him.
"Can I see the money first?" He asked.
"Of course!" Diego answered with an innocent smile, and took out the money bag, showing him the gold coins inside.
"Do you always go around with so much money, Don Diego?" Don Pablo wondered.
"Of course not! I just so happen to have this money left from my visit to the port yesterday. I forgot to leave it at home." He lied, but Don Pablo believed him, thinking the man had too much money and couldn't care less if he lost it.
"I call!" The don took the bait.
"What do you have, Don Pablo? You seem rather confident." Diego asked, and the man showed his cards. "Well, senor, I call myself defeated." Diego had a better hand but pretended to have lost.
Happy with the unexpected change of fate, Don Pablo reached for Diego's money bag.
"Not so fast, Senor! You may have the better hand, but I have yet to see your money."
"But… I have already won!" Don Pablo protested.
"True, senor, but only if you prove you had the money to equal my bet." Diego clarified.
"I am a caballero, you don't imagine I would fail to..."
"Excuse me, Don Pablo, I don't mean any disrespect," Diego interrupted "but, since you asked me to prove I had the money, I believe you owe me the same courtesy."
"I don't have the money on me!" He admitted. "But if you wait for half an hour, I can go to the hacienda and bring you something better!" He said and, when Diego agreed, stormed out of the tavern.
Diego invited the Sergeant to join him as he sat there waiting, buying a bottle of wine for his friend. During their discussion, he made a point of informing Mendoza about the bet, and begged him not to reveal to his father that he had gambled a total of 300 pesos and, to all appearances, lost.
Don Pablo returned from his hacienda about half an hour later, all sweaty from the ride, causing most of the people present to stop their conversations, and turn towards him. Returning to Diego's table, he took a rock out of his pocket, and put it in front of Diego.
"The money, now, Senor!" He asked with some impertinence.
Diego took the rock and looked at it with some curiosity, appearing to study it.
"It is a fine piece indeed, Don Pablo, but I am afraid it is hardly worth 5 pesos. How will you cover the rest of the money?" He asked, disguising his satisfaction with the easy way in which his adversary had fallen into his trap.
"Five pesos? It is gold, Don Diego! It is worth at least 500." He contradicted.
"Gold?" Diego answered with some amusement. "Don Pablo, whoever sold this to you deceived you. This is, without a doubt, a fine specimen of pyrite – fools' gold."
Don Pablo's face became red as his anger started rising.
"You are the fool, Senor! I found that piece myself. I know gold when I see it!" He screamed.
"May I see that as well?" Don Emilio, who was sat at a nearby table, requested, and Diego handed it to him.
"I am afraid Don Diego is right, my friend!" He concluded after studying the piece. "It is, without a doubt, pyrite!"
Other dons came to study the rock and also agreed, leaving Don Pablo to crash into his chair, trembling.
"No! It is gold!" He shouted "This is a conspiracy! I found the rock myself near that Indian village!"
"What Indian village?" Don Alejandro asked suspiciously.
Don Pablo did not answer but looked scared towards Mendoza.
"You are behind the attack, aren't you?" Don Alejandro accused him, and Diego was grateful at his father for making his job easier, having previously thought that he would need to chase Don Pablo and tie him up, an activity that would have taken a few hours, at least.
"What are you talking about?" Don Pablo retorted, visibly shaken. "I...I don't know of any attack!". His obvious lie – since the entire pueblo knew about it by that time – only managed to stir up more suspicion.
"Sergeant!" Don Alejandro called, more and more convinced his intuition was right. "I believe you might want to ask Don Pablo a few questions as to his involvement with the men from this morning."
Silence overcame the tavern before Don Pablo, finding himself surrounded, panicked and decided to flee. He headed towards the door, knocking over anyone in his way, but he was blocked by some of the lancers sat next to the entrance.
"Diego!" Don Alejandro admonished while Don Pablo was safely escorted towards the jail "Gambling? What were you thinking, Son?"
"He wasn't!" Victoria stated upset at her friend. "I am so disappointed in you, Diego!"
"Well, I have learned my lesson! I promise to never do that again! One clearly cannot trust anybody these days!" He apologized, his face betraying some amusement.
Author's note: Thank you for the comments so far. I do appreciate them and the interest in my story.