TRAGEDY AT A DISTANCE.
The _caballeros_ dismounted stiffly and gathered near the water line.
In from the distant trading schooner a boat was coming, driven over the
choppy water by silent oarsmen. Half a dozen men were in her, and their
flaring torches touched the sea with streaks of flame. They approached
the shore carefully, and on guard, as though fearing some trap set by
thieves, and by the light of the torches those on the land could see
that the men in the boat were heavily armed.
Don Audre Ruiz and Fray Felipe went forward and met the boat at the
water’s edge and greeted the schooner’s captain as he stepped to land.
He was a regular trader who carried goods overland from the sea to
Reina de Los Angeles every now and then. He traveled as far as San
Diego de Alcála to the south, and as far as San Francisco de Asis to
the north――a bold fellow and honest, well and favorably known.
“What is all this tumult?” the captain demanded. “Fray Felipe, are you
not? Ha! I thought that I recognized you, good _fray_! And Don Audre
Ruiz, whose father has purchased much goods of me. Sundry _caballeros_
and men of rank, also! In what way may I be of service to you,
_señores_? Have you ridden out all this long way in the night to have
first choice of my stock of goods?”
Don Audre Ruiz told him swiftly. “We want your ship, to pursue a pirate
craft!” he said.
“How is this, _señor_?” the captain cried. “There are pirates in these
waters?”
“_Sí!_ And possibly within half a dozen miles of you,” Don Audre told
him. “Early in the night they raided Reina de Los Angeles. They also
raided the Pulido _hacienda_, and carried away the _señorita_, who was
to have wed Don Diego Vega this day.”
“By the saints!” the schooner’s captain swore. “They stole the
bride-to-be of Señor Zorro? Is he here with you?”
“He followed them, going ahead of us, and possibly managed to get
aboard their ship,” Don Audre explained. “The pirate craft has sailed
by this time. They went toward the south. They will beat out to sea for
a distance. If we can start soon it may be possible to overhaul them.”
“How many rascals in the pirate crew?” the captain of the schooner
asked.
“Not more than threescore, as nearly as we can judge,” Don Audre
replied. “And here are a score of _caballeros_, and we are ready to
fight!”
The captain of the schooner drew a deep breath, held it for an instant,
and then expelled it with great force. And during this process he
evidently made up his mind concerning the matter.
“_Señores_, I am yours to command!” he said. “My ship is yours, and her
crew. If I can do anything to help rid the seas of such vermin, I am
more than willing. My schooner is a swift vessel in light winds such as
we find now. I’ll signal the other boats and have you aboard as soon as
is possible.”
“You will not fail to profit by it,” Don Audre Ruiz told him.
“I am not doing it with the expectation of profit,” the captain
declared. “I detest thieves, and I admire honest men! I have many
friends in Reina de Los Angeles, some of whom probably have suffered at
the hands of these pirates. And, above all, I did admire the exploits
of this Señor Zorro, as Don Diego was called. It will be a pleasure,
_señores_, to aid you in this.”
He called to his men, and they signaled to the ship with their torches.
Out of the darkness and across the tumbling sea came more boats from
the schooner. The _caballeros_ turned their horses adrift, knowing
that they would be picked up and returned, made certain that they had
daggers and swords handy, and got quickly into the boats and put out to
the ship.
Sergeant Gonzales and Fray Felipe, by accident, were placed in the
same craft, sitting side by side on one of the wide thwarts. Sergeant
Gonzales observed the _fray_ carefully from the corners of his eyes.
The sergeant wished to talk, having kept silent for some minutes, and
the _fray_ was the nearest man he knew.
“Never did I think to join hands with you in an enterprise, _fray_!”
the sergeant said, puffing out his cheeks. “If I am not badly mistaken,
you are the gowned one who stopped me in the plaza on a certain
occasion, and made remarks about soldiers drinking too much wine at
the _posada_. Ha! But pirates’ raids cause rescue parties, and rescue
parties cause strange comrades!”
“I am appreciating the fact,” Fray Felipe replied quietly and with a
smile.
“So they stole your sacred goblet, did they?” Sergeant Gonzales said
smoothly. “_Fray_, when I have rescued the _señorita_, aided Don Diego
to escape, and annihilated the pirates with my blade, then will I
regain your goblet for you! Steal church goblets and brides, eh? Ha!
Meal mush and goat’s milk!”
“If your sword arm is half as strong as your tongue, _señor_,” Fray
Felipe rebuked him gently, “then the pirates are as good as dead
already!”
Sergeant Gonzales whirled upon him.
“Ha! Stinging words from a gentle _fray_!” he gasped. “Is it possible
for me to get insulted where and when I can wipe out the insult with
a thrust? A _caballero_ insults me and then refuses to fight because
of the noble blood in his veins and the poor swill in mine! A _fray_
insults me――and I cannot fight a man who wears a gown! Meal mush and
goat’s milk! But wait until we meet up with these pirates! Let a pirate
but insult me, and――ha! My blade shall be bathed in blood!”
Sergeant Gonzales turned away abruptly to nurse his wrath, and Fray
Felipe smiled and his eyes twinkled. He waited a moment, then touched
the sergeant on the shoulder.
“Soldiers and _frailes_ alike are needed in the world,” Fray Felipe
said. “There are times when a hardy soldier should be gentle――and even
there are times when a _fray_ should fight. Let us be friends!”
“_Fray_,” Sergeant Gonzales declared, “you are a noble fellow, after
all! I forgive you for what you said about drinking wine. When the
muss commences, _fray_, get you behind me. My sword shall shield you,
_fray_!”
“I thank you,” Fray Felipe said. “And I shall shield you in turn with
my prayers.”
“Prayers may have power,” Sergeant Gonzales told him, “but when it
comes to fighting pirates give me my trusty blade! _Fray_, a pirate has
not sense enough to know when a prayer is directed against him!”
Soon they came alongside the schooner and mounted to the deck by the
light of torches. The boats were swung aboard, and the captain and Don
Audre Ruiz held a long conference. Then there came a volley of orders,
the anchor came up and the sails filled, and the schooner crept off the
shore and away from the land through the black night.
Straight out to sea they went, gathering headway, and in time a faint
streak of light showed across the land and the dawn came. _Caballeros_
and crew strained their eyes and swept the sea in every direction. And
finally the sharp eyes of one of the men aloft discovered a sail.
The course of the trading schooner was changed, and the chase began.
Nearer their quarry they crept as the sun came up and bathed the sea
and the land, glistening through the haze. Glasses were leveled at the
distant craft.
“She is the pirate!” the schooner’s captain declared. “Her flag of
iniquity flies from her mast!”
He bellowed another volley of orders to his crew, and they crowded on
all sail. They rushed about the schooner, preparing her for the battle.
The eager _caballeros_ looked to their blades, the crew to their
cutlasses.
“If Zorro is aboard that craft he should know that his friends are near
at hand for the rescue,” Don Audre said.
And then it was that they got out a sail and painted a gigantic Z upon
it, and sent it aloft. It was their banner of battle, a flag of war
that betokened their allegiance to a man and a cause.
“Courage and swift work does it!” the schooner’s captain told Don
Audre. “We are greatly outnumbered. But my crew has had dealings with
pirates before, hence each man will fight with the strength of five.
And you and your friends, Don Audre, have good reason for fighting like
fiends.”
“We are prepared to do it,” Don Audre replied. “Think you that we can
overhaul the pirate?”
“It is but a question of time,” the captain declared. “The pirate
sails prettily, but her bottom is foul. I can tell that much at this
distance. Pirates are too lazy to keep a ship in perfect shape. And
this little schooner of mine is a swift craft and in prime condition.”
They gained steadily, and meanwhile they watched the distant pirate
ship continually. They saw that there was some sort of a tumult on
board. Don Audre Ruiz, standing at the rail near the bow, with a glass
glued to his eye, watched carefully.
“It is probable that Señor Zorro is fighting the entire pirate
company,” he announced. “I can see men running about the rigging. Let
us pray that we may be in time.”
Sergeant Gonzales, standing near him, uttered an oath that the presence
of Fray Felipe did not keep back.
“Meal mush and goat’s milk!” he exclaimed. “Let us crowd on more sail
and have at these pirates!” He swept his blade from its scabbard. “That
for a pirate!” he shrieked, thrusting about him in a rage. “This for a
pirate! Ha!”
“Save your breath and your strength,” Don Audre advised him. “You may
have need of them both soon.”
“Did you hear that, _fray_?” Sergeant Gonzales demanded, whirling upon
old Felipe. “More insults, and I cannot avenge them! A _caballero_
insults me and will not fight, and I cannot fight a _fray_! By the time
we clash with these pirates I shall be in a fine rage, and work it off
on their worthless bodies. Ha!”
Don Audre Ruiz gave a gasp and called some of the _caballeros_ to his
side.
“Look!” he directed. “They are making some poor devil walk the plank!
By the saints, ’tis Zorro!”
“Zorro!” the others cried.
“Look! And the little _señorita_ is standing at the rail, forced to
watch!”
There was a moment of horrified silence. The face of Don Audre Ruiz was
white as he contemplated the fate of his friend. The _caballeros_ said
not a word, but those who had glasses watched, and the others strained
their eyes in an effort to see.
And then Don Audre Ruiz gave a low cry of horror and turned quickly
away, as though he could endure the sight no longer.
What he had seen had been enough. There were traces of tears in his
eyes, and his voice choked.
“He is gone!” Don Audre said. “Don Diego, my friend! We can only avenge
him now!”
“Gone!” Sergeant Gonzales cried, sudden tears in his eyes, too. He
brushed them away roughly and blinked. “Don Diego gone? Then, by the
saints, will my blade be thrust as it never has been thrust before!
Now, by the saints――”
His vow ended in a choke of emotion, and he turned quickly away. Don
Audre, his eyes stinging, his lips set in a thin, straight line, turned
to Fray Felipe.
“Say your prayers for him,” he directed. “And pray, also, that we will
know how to avenge him when we come alongside! _Dios!_ Give strength
to my arm!”