Chapter 22. Matter of honor.
Zorro was looking at the alcalde a bit puzzled. He did not seem to be behaving normally.
"Do you know if the alcalde has been drinking before leaving the barracks?" he asked after approaching Don Alejandro.
"I was asking myself the same question."
Sergeant Mendoza was close enough to hear them and joined them to say in a low voice. "The doctor offered him laudanum for the pain, but he didn't want to take it because he said he needed to be awake. Knowing what he's like, the doctor decided to give him another concoction before taking the bullet out."
The other men cleared a space for the two contenders.
"Why do you want to fight to defend that slut? You heard her, whoever is saddled with her will be at the mercy of her brother all his life." said Don Emiliano in a contemptuous tone.
"Don't insult the señorita." said de Soto fiercely.
"Señorita? She does not deserve that title. She has no honor."
"In any case it is I who has none for taking advantage of her, but one way or another I will remedy the situation."
"Ah. Are you the author of the... mess? Apparently she has bad taste too."
The alcalde lashed out with his sword and the other man dodged it. Luckily he didn't look very skilled, because the alcalde's mistake of attacking too hard could have cost him his life.
The swords clashed several times. Apparently the alcalde was trying to regain his composure, but the other man's smirk seemed to affect him.
"Actually you don't even know if her baby is yours. Are you sure you were the first? I sincerely doubt it very much." said the other man trying to keep gaining the upper hand.
Don Alejandro meanwhile had untied the girl, and realized that she was ready to assault the man who insulted her like that.
"Señorita, don't go near them, you could get hurt." said Don Alejandro restraining her.
She was shooting sparks out of her eyes. She reminded Zorro a lot of Victoria, although now that he wasn't too busy he didn't need much of an excuse to think about her all the time.
While the others were distracted with the duel, Zorro approached the sergeant to make a suggestion. "You should tell several of your men to pick up the weapons Don Emiliano's men have dropped and search them for more."
The sergeant realized he was not doing his duty. "You are right, Zorro. We should be taking care of them."
He gave an order to three of the soldiers and they gathered in a bag the weapons of the other men, who put up no resistance.
The alcalde threw a thrust again, and it was clear that he winced as he stretched the muscles in the wounded area. The other man took the opportunity to deflect the blade and tried to reach him with his sword, but luckily the alcalde recovered enough to dodge the counterattack. He received a slight wound to the arm.
"That's enough." said the sergeant with his gun pointed at Don Emiliano. "I'm not going to stand here and watch them kill my alcalde. It's not a fair fight, he's wounded, and besides, now he has a son to think about and he shouldn't be risking his life uselessly. Throw down your sword."
"No." said Emiliano without taking his eyes off his opponent. "I will not consent him to have her."
The desperate attack did not have the effect he expected. The alcalde stepped slightly aside and deflected his sword, but the tip of the alcalde's weapon was directly in front of the other man, who with the momentum was almost completely pierced.
Don Alejandro watched the man die with some pity, though greatly muffled by the knowledge of what he intended. He turned to the girl, thinking that she would be affected by seeing a man die in front of her, but she looked at him coldly.
Zorro approached the alcalde slowly, like one approaching an unpredictable horse.
"That's it, he's dead." she told him realizing that his pupils were slightly dilated.
The alcalde was breathing heavily. "Yes, let's go back to the barracks. We have to get the lady to safety. We'll take him away and bury him. We'll have to report it to the authorities."
"We will all testify that he was a fugitive and attacked you, alcalde." said Don Alejandro.
"Fine." said de Soto somewhat dazed.
He tried to get on the horse, but his left arm would not cooperate. Mendoza slyly reached over and put his hands under his right foot so he could propel himself up. The alcalde looked at him with a frown, but accepted the help.
One of the soldiers untied an old blanket he had tied to his saddle and with the help of another of the men wrapped Don Emiliano's lifeless body, then fastened it on a horse.
"What about us?" asked the one who seemed the oldest among don Emiliano's men.
"As far as I'm concerned, you can go. It is clear that this one is no longer going to pay you what he owed you."
The man nodded. "Could you shoot in the air twice to call the men who went out scouting? If you tell us where we can cross this ravine we'll go home."
"There's a bridge three leagues south of here." said Zorro pointing in that direction.
Meanwhile the alcalde looked at Mendoza and nodded. The sergeant took two pistols out of the bag and fired one after the other.
Don Alejandro approached one of the horses and pulled it close to the señorita. He also offered to help her up.
"Thank you, Don Alejandro."
Zorro gave him a small nod of his head. "I'm glad you are well, señorita. I'm sure with Señor de la Vega you are in good hands." He turned and walked back to his horse.
"Thank you, señor." she said staring at Zorro with a slightly thoughtful look.
Don Alejandro confirmed Zorro's words. "I am at your service, señorita. If you wish you can stay at the hacienda with us until your brother returns. I will ask my vaqueros to take turns keeping watch."
The alcalde swung his horse around to face them. "You could stay in the barracks. There's a room for high-ranking guests. I could even let you have mine."
"I don't want your room." she said. "I prefer to stay with Don Alejandro. The de la Vega's have given me good advice without asking anything in return, and Don Diego is already married, so he won't try to make me his wife for my money."
"Of course, señorita, but at least they will allow me to offer men to help with the surveillance. It's the least I can do."
"That would be fine." admitted Don Alejandro.
They set off, and when they had gotten far enough away from the other group, Mendoza realized something.
"Where is Zorro?"
Zorro had covertly taken a detour and was riding back home.
Marina let her horse follow Don Alejandro's still stunned by all that had happened, and wondering once again if de Soto would have taken such an interest if she didn't have so much money.