"Shut the boy up, Leo."
Zorro half rose.
"How do you do that without striking him?" Leo looked at his boss worriedly.
"Hey, boy. We'll give you back to your mama real soon, ok?"
Jaime sobbed louder. Zorro grinned, assured of his safety. He moved quietly, swiftly back to Toronado, and rode to his father's estate.
Forewarned is forearmed, he told himself. If they evacuated the ladies, and sent word to the garrison they might get out of this mess alive. A few pistols in the right hands, with a bit of a bluff up their sleeve would be comforting.