Seeds of Forgiveness
4- Attack
Chapter 4: Attack
Zorro rode into the pueblo. He halted outside the cuartel and, after checking to see that the room was empty, he climbed through the window into the comandante's quarters. Crossing the room and opening the door to the office area, he beheld Arturo Toledano at his desk. The Comandante had shed his uniform jacket and was sitting at his desk, shirtsleeves rolled up, quietly at work sipping a glass of wine as he scanned and signed various papers. Withdrawing as quietly as he had come, Zorro now made his way to the back of the church. He did not know which of the monks' cells was Celestino's, but every window was dark. He quietly crept along the wall, stopping and listening for a minute under each window. One window yielded the sound of someone — Padre Vicente? — snoring peacefully, but otherwise all was silent.
He had just about decided to return to the hacienda when it occurred to him to check the livery stable. Moving around the perimeter of the plaza like a shadow within the shadows, he approach Gonzales' shop being careful not to startle any of the horses. Nothing was visible from the front, but he thought he detected a faint repeated hissing sound that seemed somehow familiar. He slid along the side of the building to where a light glowed in one of the windows. Easing up to the window and peering in, he saw Celestino hard at work sharpening one of the large leather knives. Of course! Zorro thought. It is the sound of the sharpening stone sliding along the length of the blade. But odd that he should be doing this at such a late hour! He was considering confronting the boy, but suddenly Celestino stopped his work, replaced the blade in the knife rack, picked up his lantern and left the leather room. Slipping around to the front corner of the building, Zorro watched as Celestino made his way across the plaza to the church, without so much as a glance at the cuartel gate.
Once he returned home and changed out of the Zorro costume, Diego recounted his activities to Margarita, who had waited up for his return. "I think you are right to be concerned," he added. "I don't understand why Celestino would have been working on a blade at that hour, and I can't think of a way to question Señor Gonzales about it without arousing suspicion. I believe Zorro will make another trip tomorrow."
The second evening Zorro repeated his search, but found both the comandante's quarters and office empty. Concerned but not alarmed, the masked man proceeded quietly to livery stable. Here he again found Celestino working on a knife. After watching for a few minutes, he saw the boy set down the sharpening stone and run his finger very very carefully along the edge of the blade. Satisfied with its sharpness, the boy stared at it for a few moments and then took a deep breath before carefully wrapping the knife in a piece of leather lying on the worktable before him. Celestino then picked up the bundle, blew out the lantern, and left the leather room, pausing only to pick up a spare bridle from one of the wall pegs.
Once more Zorro slid to the front of the building and watched Celestino quietly leave the livery stable. But this time the young Indian crossed the plaza and headed directly for the cuartel gate, walking slowly, carrying the wrapped knife and the bridle, looking for all the world like he was simply returning a piece of repaired harness to its owner. Zorro knew that Celestino had undoubtedly done this many times before, and that the sentries would have no qualms whatsoever about admitting him.
Keeping to the shadows, Zorro hurried along the edge of the plaza to the cuartel, hoping he could find the comandante before Celestino did. Standing on Tornado's saddle he hoisted himself over the wall and dropped silently down. He slid his sword out of its scabbard and crept up behind a lancer standing guard at the armory door. "Not a sound, if you value your life," he said, as he pushed the sword's point gently into the guard's back. "Where is the comandante? I must speak with him urgently!"
The lancer recognized the voice. Although most of the lancers now understood that Zorro's attitude toward them was largely benevolent in that the masked man seemed to prefer loosening their saddle cinches or driving off their horses to actually injuring anyone, most of them — including this one — realized that it was best to comply with the outlaw's requests whenever possible. "He is in the stable shed, sharpening his sword," was the guard's answer.
"Gracias! And whatever you hear in the next few minutes, do not rouse the garrison."
"As you wish, Señor Zorro."
The sword point and the voice vanished back into the darkness.
At the far end of the cuartel stables the roof had been extended and an additional wall built to create a sort of open shed. Here were kept the treadle sharpening wheel and a few other sharpening tools. It was Capitán Toledano's habit to sharpen his sword once a week. He took pride in his swordsmanship, and thus preferred to hone his blade himself. He also found a certain amount of relaxation in the rhythm of the wheel and in working with his hands. Concentrating as he was, he neither saw no heard Celestino approach and slip into the shed along the stable wall.
Celestino unwrapped the weapon, took a deep breath, and raised the leather knife. Now, finally, someone would pay and his father would be avenged. The boy leaned forward and thrust the knife downward, expecting to feel it plunge into the comandante's flesh. Instead there was a loud clang as the knife met the cold steel of Zorro's sword, thrust into the path of the descending blade. With a firm sweep Zorro knocked the knife out of the boy's hand.
Startled by the noise Arturo Toledano dropped his sword and leapt up, a look of shock and horror on his face as he realized what had just happened. "Gracias, Señor Zorro! It seems that I owe you my life yet again!" He bent over and retrieved his sword. "If you will kindly step out of the way I will take custody of this young rebel and see that he pays dearly for his crime."
"I would prefer that you not do that just yet, Comandante," was Zorro's reply.
"What do you mean, 'prefer not'? He just tried to kill me!"
"Yes, he did," replied the masked man. "But I think you should hear his reasons for doing so!"
The Capitán eyed him coldly. "Well, Señor, it seems that I will get my wish and cross swords with you, although not under the circumstances I had hoped for. En garde!" And he leapt forward.
Zorro knew from observing the Comandante's swordplay on the night Magistrado Galindo was killed that the Arturo Toledanowas an excellent swordsman. It took only a few moments of actual fighting with him for Zorro to further determine that Arturo Toledano was the best swordsman he had engaged since he had left Spain. For every attach, the Capitán executed a skilled parry. The Capitán's counter-attacks were sophisticated and flawlessly executed. The two men fought their way around the stableyard for the better part of ten minutes, blades flashing, steel ringing on steel, with neither gaining a true advantage over the other.
When Zorro suddenly realized that he almost felt that he was enjoying the contest, he knew he needed to end it and settle things for Celestino. He searched his memory for a complex tactical move that his old fencing instructor, Juan Morales de Silva y Montez, taught to a few of his best students. The move was swift and elegant, starting with a feint toward the opponent's left shoulder and ending with a disarming. It was also dangerous because unless perfectly executed it left the attacker's chest open to a fatal thrust. Zorro began backing the Comandante up to the stable wall. Then he took a breath, gritted his teeth, and began the move. Five seconds later Capitán Toledano's sword went flying out of the shed and the Capitán himself was pinned against the wall with Zorro's blade at his throat.
A/N: The character of Diego's fencing master, Juan Morales de Silva y Montez, was created by Susan Kite for her Zorro fictions "European Encounter" and "California Encounter", and appears here with her permission.