Chapter 9 – Banged up a little

Sergeant Mendoza dragged Diego's inert body out of the way. He had a raised bump on his forehead and some bruises, but he appeared to be breathing regularly.

"Don Diego, are you all right? Wake up, por favor."

Mendoza shook him roughly but the caballero didn't respond. He left Diego on the ground at the side of the track and rushed to assist the other man. In the same way as he had done before, the Sergeant dragged that man out to safety grabbing him under his armpits, but there was a great difference because that man was already dead. It looked like his neck was broken because it was hanging at an awkward angle. Mendoza tried to find the pulse, but he couldn't feel it.

"Madre de Dios! This man is dead!"

While Private Márquez continued to send all the riders finishing the third lap to the diversion, Mendoza also assisted Apollo. The horses had finally separated, snapping the stirrup straps, and the chestnut had run away. However, the bay Andalusian was still close to the fence where he had fallen, neighing in pain, not supporting weight on his left hand.

"Come on boy, let's get out of the way," Mendoza said, pulling from the reins towards the other side of the track, which was closer. The horse stood still, complaining, pulling back from the bit. "I know it hurts, but you have to get out of the way. Vamos, caballito bonito, come with me," the sergeant said, tapping his neck softly.

In the end, Apollo followed him walking very slowly, trying not to use the damaged leg.

Mendoza shook his head, sad. It looked like the horse had a broken leg, and would surely have to be put down. When they got to the other side of the track, away from the jump, Mendoza let go of the reins without bothering to tie them up to a tree because that horse wasn't going to run away like the other one, not even move from that spot. Then he ran across the track to come back to Diego's side.

ZZZ

At the final lap, Esteban picked up the pace until he got to the second position behind the professional jockey. Diego had told him to stay away from him, but to win the race, he had to outrun him. Manuel's horse looked more tired than Zeus, so Esteban followed him comfortably until the second jump, the brushed fence, and then he spurred Zeus, trying to leave a significant distance between him and the dark horse's flank to overtake him. Esteban passed by as fast as he could, but Manuel spurred his horse too and followed him closely for a while, to no avail. In the end, Zeus left the dark horse behind because he was much faster.

Little by little Zeus got an advantage, and after jumping the ditch for the fourth time he was happily galloping towards the end to win the race, way ahead of the other horses. At the last obstacle, Zeus jumped again with ease, bouncing between the two fences like a spring, and carried on running not losing any speed. Esteban saw Mendoza assisting a rider at the side, but he didn't realize it was Diego because everything at the sides looked a bit blurry to him due to the speed.

Approaching the final stretch before the pueblo, Esteban thought he had it, that he was going to win the race. However, he suddenly felt the saddle loose, sliding to a side. He tried to maintain the balance by leaning more to the opposite side to keep the saddle straight, but it didn't work. As Diego said it could happen, the girth had snapped, and he couldn't prevent a nasty fall. He let go of the reins and tried to curl up to minimize the impact, but he bit the dust all the same, just over a quarter mile to the end of the race.

ZZZ

Mendoza had sent Márquez to the pueblo to get help and to tell Don Alejandro what had happened. From the side, he looked at the occasional rider still attempting to jump over the fences. He thanked God because it was the most difficult obstacle and not many riders would try to jump over it now at the final lap when they were more tired, because if another rider fell Mendoza would not know what to do.

Right then, the first rider on the fourth lap made the jump. Mendoza lifted his hand to gain Esteban's attention, but the young De la Vega carried on. He was going too fast, to win the race, and he probably had not seen him.

"Come on, Don Diego, wake up!" he said one more time, tapping his face. He didn't wake up, but at least this time Diego let out a soft grunt.

ZZZ

Esteban stood up slowly, dusting off his clothes while cursing his luck. At least he was only bruised and sore, especially his back, but he had no broken bones or nasty sprains.

Don Alejandro had trained his horses well to stay by the rider in case of a fall, and Zeus had stopped a short distance away. Esteban called him back, and the noble horse came quickly to his side. He checked the saddle with hope but there was no point trying to use it again because the girth was torn and he had no way to fasten it securely.

At that moment Manuel Contreras passed by, laughing loudly. Esteban didn't think about it twice. He dropped the saddle and hopped on Zeus to ride him bareback to the finish line.

"Come on Zeus! Don't let him get away!" he cried, spurring him hard. He grabbed the mane and leaned onto Zeus's neck to get a grip because galloping at that speed without a saddle wasn't the easiest thing to do, and they followed the jockey into the final quarter of a mile at the pueblo. Esteban gritted his teeth and pressed tight with his legs to keep his balance while Zeus raced on, gaining ground really quickly, getting on a pair with the other horse just before the finish line. With the last push, Zeus won the race by a nose, in a very close call.

ZZZ

"Yes! He won! He won! And ridding bareback, of all things!" Don Alejandro cried over-enthusiastically, with his cheeks bright red with the emotion. "But, where is his saddle, I wonder?"

His happiness and excitement were short lived because one of the lancers approached the stand then to give him the bad news.

"I'm sorry, Don Alejandro. You son had an accident. He had a bad fall at the last jump."

"What?" Don Alejandro said with his colour running quickly off his cheeks. "Is he all right?"

"I don't know. He's unconscious. The doctor is on his way. Please, come with me."

"Go. I'll tell Esteban," Emilio said, pushing his brother into action after the shocking news because he was numbed, paralyzed on the spot.

"Yes. Yes. Do that while we go!"

With his heart racing, Don Alejandro grabbed Diego's jacket and left the stand quickly to follow the soldier, and so did Victoria and Felipe, all very worried and upset.

ZZZ

Manuel Contreras complained when Esteban got acclaimed as the winner, when he got surrounded by the excited crowd of spectators congratulating him.

"He didn't win! I won! This race's been fixed!"

"What do you mean?" Esteban replied. "Of course I won. And you are the cheater! Someone tampered with my girth and it snapped, and I think you had something to do with it!"

"That's ridiculous! I don't need to cheat to win a race because I am the best rider in California! If your girth snapped, maybe you should take better care of your tack and grease it from time to time, señor!"

"Whatever, man. I won, and you won't get the money you are after," Esteban said, looking around, wondering why the De la Vega's were not there sharing the joy with him, and then he jumped off Zeus. They were not at the stand, but he couldn't see them in the crowd either. "I'm not like you. I don't care about the price, and I'm going to donate the money to the church," he said, casually. He had spent a lot of money bribing people at the circus and he could do with the price, but he hoped that generosity would impress Victoria.

A rumour of approval rose from the spectators. Padre Benítez was among the cheering crowd and hearing these words he made the sign of the cross on himself.

"Really?" he said, incredulous. "We could do so many good things with that money if that is true."

"Sure, Padre. As soon as I get it, it will be yours."

"Bless you, Son. Bless you!"

Emilio finally got through the crowd then and grabbed Esteban's arm.

"Diego fell at the last jump. Come on, we have to find out what happened."

"I don't like racing in places where the locals are favoured to win at all costs! That keeps the money in the community, doesn't it?" Manuel shouted then, but Esteban ignored him. Worried, he hopped on Zeus again to gallop back to the last jump.

ZZZ

Diego was enjoying the peaceful, quiet darkness when he heard an anxious voice calling him, and then he felt how someone slapped his face repeatedly, but it didn't hurt much because his flesh felt like soft mush.

"Diego! Diego, please, wake up! Wake up!"

Diego grunted then, complaining, moving his head away from that hand because the slapping started to hurt as he came out of the darkness and recovered his senses.

"Leave me alone," he mumbled. "I want to sleep more."

"No, you don't, Son. Wake up!"

Diego opened his eyes, blinking while trying to focus on that face above him. Don Alejandro was kneeling by his side, holding his head in his lap, and Diego could see a circle of worried faces further away, beyond his father's.

"Are you all right?"

"What happened? Where am I?"

"You fell at the last jump, Diego. You banged your head against the logs."

Doctor Hernández pulled Diego's eyelids wide open to have a look at his pupils then.

"I think he is all right," he said. "Can you move your arms and legs, Don Diego?"

He did, moving them one by one.

"Are you hurt somewhere else apart from your head?"

Diego shook his head. He wasn't sure yet, but as his brain got back to work, he was more worried about something else.

"Where is Esteban? Is he all right?"

"Yes, he is. He won the race," Don Alejandro said, not so happy about it anymore. He regretted now to have allowed them to take part in the race so much.

"What about Apollo?"

"He has a broken leg. Mendoza is about to put him down."

"No!" Diego cried, trying to sit up, but his father held him tightly.

"There is nothing we can do, Diego. He is suffering. It's for the best."

"No!" Diego cried again, wriggling to get out of his father's grip to sit up. "Don't do it. Let me see him first."

ZZZ

Mendoza hesitated with his pistol in his hand. As he was the only one carrying a gun he had volunteered for the task, something he regretted now. It broke his heart to have to kill such a beautiful animal, but the horse was obviously suffering, hopping on three legs holding his broken fore limb up.

For the third time, Mendoza lifted the pistol and aimed at Apollo's forehead. He closed his eyes, but when he was about to press the trigger, he heard a cry.

"Hold it! Don't do it!"

"Don Diego! Are you all right?" Mendoza said when he saw him approaching, walking unsteady but alive and well. Don Alejandro, Felipe and a very upset Victoria walked behind him.

"Yes, I'm all right. Don't kill Apollo yet. Let me see his leg."

Diego took the horse's fractured leg in his hands, prodding and poking with a concerned face. Apollo neighed in pain, pulling away from him.

"Diego, leave it. Of course it hurts me having to put one of my precious stallions down, you don't know how much, but there is no other way. He won't do," Don Alejandro said, laying a hand on his son's shoulder.

"I think he may. It is a clean fracture, and it's not displaced. It will take a lot of time, patience and dedication, but I think it may heal. We should give him a chance."

"How are you going to get him home? It is impossible, Diego. It can't be done."

"If Victoria lets him stay at the tavern while he recovers, I can make a wooden support for the leg and walk him there slowly. It's not too far away. He could make it there."

"Diego, let it go, please."

"No! You don't throw a whole life away just because he's banged up a little! Are you going to put me to sleep too?"

Don Alejandro chose to ignore that last remark.

"Apollo is beyond a little banged up. He is broken."

"That's your perception. Give me a week. If he is not doing well by then, we'll put him down."

"All right. We'll give him a few days, but I don't know how are you going to support that leg in the meantime."

"Victoria, do you mind if I keep Apollo at the tavern while he heals?"

"Yes, of course, I can leave a space at the stables for him," she said quickly, happy to be able to help.

"But he is a stallion. He won't do well if any visitors leave a mare in heat close to him, because he will need to be calm and quiet," Don Alejandro said. "At the hacienda we keep the stallions in a separated stable to avoid any potential problems."

"There is a secluded pen, separated from the others. He could use that one, but it is a bit small, so I hardly use it other than for storage," she said.

"That would be great, Victoria. Actually, it will be better if he is in a confined space, so he doesn't move around unnecessarily. Thank you so much," Diego said.

"I'm so glad I can help. I really hope you can save him, Diego, because he is such a beautiful horse."

"Yes, he is. Felipe, can you go back to the hacienda and get some wooden planks and strong, long pieces of cloth to secure them to the leg? And rope. Thanks."

"I'll go back to the tavern to clean that stall for him," Victoria said.

"I'll give you a hand to move the stuff. Are you sure you are all right, Diego?" Don Alejandro said.

"Yes, don't worry about me. Go. I'll see you there. Thanks."

ZZZ

Esteban arrived at the last jump riding bareback as before.

"Diego! I'm so glad you are all right. What happened?"

"I fell. That guy over there tried to unsaddle me," he said pointing to the body covered with a white sheet at the side of the track, "and we crashed on the fence. What happened to you? Where is the saddle?"

"You were right. The girth snapped. But it didn't look as if it had been slashed. I fell, but when the jockey passed by, I jumped on Zeus and chased him. I won the race, Diego!"

"Congratulations. That's great. But I still think they tampered with the girths somehow."

"Apollo doesn't look good."

"He's got a broken leg, but I'm going to try to fix it. Can you please help Victoria to prepare the stable for him? She said it is full of stuff that needs moving, some of it quite heavy. My father went with her, but his back has been playing up recently, and I don't think it will do him any good to lift anything too heavy."

"Yes, of course. Are you all right here?"

"Yes. Felipe will be back soon with the materials to support Apollo's leg, and the soldiers are still around waiting for the cart to move that body, so don't worry about me."

"Good. See you at the tavern then." Esteban jumped on Zeus once again and came back to the pueblo, this time at a more comfortable pace for him, a slow canter.

ZZZZZ

A.N- Fans of the film "Seabiscuit" will recognize the quote: "You don't throw a whole life away just because he's banged up a little." I had to borrow it as it is so fitting here.

Sorry, I have shamelessly upgraded to maim the horses now, but at least Diego is OK this time with no fractured skull.

It took me a while to finish this chapter because real life can be hard sometimes, but I am back to work now, so hopefully I can post a couple more chapters this week.

Once again, thanks for the kind reviews.