AT THE PRESIDIO.
In that instant, as he watched the singing Zorro racing up the slope
toward the crest, Captain Ramón realized that his future was hanging by
a very thin thread. Were he to protect his own interests he must move
swiftly.
He sensed that Señor Zorro would make a mad ride for San Diego de
Alcála and pour a story into the ear of the _commandante_ of the
_presidio_ there. And it was highly imperative that Captain Ramón tell
a far better story――and tell it first.
Ramón managed to return his sword to its scabbard, and then he raced
with what speed he could toward Barbados and the others, who were
following lurchingly in Señor Zorro’s wake. He grasped Barbados by an
arm and hurried him aside.
“What happened?” the _commandante_ demanded.
“The fellow tricked us in some fashion!” Barbados declared with an
oath. “His hands were untied, and he had a dagger. If that pretty wench
we let speak with him――”
“Attend me!” Ramón cried. “The wench is under guard in one of the huts,
and is not to be touched. Get me a horse. Be quick about it! The fool
is riding to San Diego for troopers!”
“Ha! Let them come!”
“I must get to the _presidio_ before he arrives,” Captain Ramón
explained. “The lieutenant there will take orders from me. Then I’ll
lead the troopers into your ambush, as we had planned. And this Zorro――”
“Ha! This Zorro!” Barbados cried. “When I have my hands upon him again
there’ll be no delay.”
“I’ll have him imprisoned in the _presidio_,” the captain promised.
“Then, after you defeat the soldiers, and when you go to loot the town,
he will be at your mercy.”
“You think of everything!” Barbados declared. “I say it yet once
again――you should be a pirate!”
One of the men, understanding more than his fellows, had fetched the
captain’s own horse, with saddle and bridle on. The captain sprang into
the saddle.
“Arrange the ambush at the head of the cañon, as we planned,” he told
Barbados. “Do it without delay. I’ll lead the troopers straight into
the trap.”
Then he touched spurs to the animal he bestrode and dashed up the slope
in the wake of Señor Zorro.
Captain Ramón was an excellent horseman, and he rode an excellent
mount. Moreover, he had been through every mile of that country with
his troopers some time before. He knew the shortest route to the
_presidio_ at San Diego de Alcála, and he felt quite sure that Señor
Zorro did not.
Reaching the crest of the slope, Captain Ramón stopped his horse
beneath the trees and watched and listened for a time. From the
distance there came to his ears the drumming of a horse’s hoofs. As he
had expected, Señor Zorro had ridden along the bottom of the cañon, and
Captain Ramón knew that such a course would take him at least two miles
out of his way. Once in that cañon, a horseman was forced to follow it
until he came to the other end.
Captain Ramón turned his horse’s head in another direction and drove
home the spurs. He rode around a hill and emerged upon a flat space,
across which he raced toward a row of foothills in the distance. Señor
Zorro had the start, but he was taking the long way. Aside from an
accident, Captain Ramón could reach San Diego de Alcála and have his
story told before Señor Zorro arrived.
The thing had to be done, he told himself. He would use his authority
and have Zorro thrown into the guardroom at the _presidio_. He would
go back to the pirate camp at the head of the troopers, see that the
pirates were wiped out to a man, release the _caballeros_ and the
_señorita_.
And then there would be other things to do. He would convince the
authorities that Señor Zorro had been allied with the pirates and
that the _caballeros_ had not known of it, and have Zorro hanged. He
would ask his friend, the Governor, to order the _señorita_ to wed
with him because he had saved her and wiped out the pirate brood, and
the _señorita_ would be forced to obey his excellency’s command. And
he would see to it that all men believed he had been true and loyal
continually.
If the _señorita_ spoke out the truth Captain Ramón could smile and say
she uttered a falsehood because she did not wish to wed with him. He
was guarded against every emergency, he felt.
There was a mere possibility, of course, that the pirates might be
victorious, and in such case Captain Ramón would pretend that he
had been with the rogues always, turn pirate himself, and have the
_señorita_. But he preferred the other way.
He thought of these things as he rode. Around another hill and down a
slope he rushed, and when he came to a wide trail that ran toward the
distant El Camino Real he knew that he had distanced Señor Zorro. Yet
he rode furiously, for he wanted all the time he could have at the
_presidio_ before Zorro arrived.
And finally he reached the highway, and tore along it like a mad
horseman riding on the wind. The mount beneath him was showing signs of
wearying, but the captain urged him on. Now he was flying past natives’
huts scattered along the broad highway. Children and chickens and swine
hurried from his path. Women came to the doors of the huts to look
after him through clouds of dust.
Then he could see, in the distance, the _presidio_ on its little
hill, and the group of buildings around it. Captain Ramón urged his
horse cruelly. As he approached men turned to watch him. Before the
_presidio_ itself troopers sprang to their feet, as men will when there
is a feeling of excitement in the air.
Captain Ramón stopped his horse in a cloud of dust before the
_presidio_ entrance and was out of the saddle before the nearest
trooper could seize the bridle. The men saluted, but Captain Ramón
spent no time in answering their salutes. Drawing off his gloves, he
strode through the entrance and straight toward the office of the
_commandante_.
He had lied nobly to Barbados. Instead of their being a smaller force
of soldiers than usual at San Diego de Alcála, there was an extra
detachment, come to relieve others who were to go toward the north. But
only a lieutenant was there by way of officer, the real _commandante_
being on a journey to San Francisco de Asis to explain certain things
to the Governor.
Captain Ramón opened the office door and strode inside, gasping his
breath, slapping the dust from his uniform. The lieutenant sprang to
his feet.
“Ramón!” he cried. “So far from home――”
Captain Ramón stopped him with a gesture.
“Have your trumpeter sound the assembly, and gather your men while we
talk!” he commanded. “This is serious――and urgent!”
The lieutenant was a good soldier, and did not question. He sprang to
the door and called an order, and almost immediately the commanding
notes of a trumpet rang through the place. Then the lieutenant closed
the door and hurried back to the long table in the middle of the room,
before which Ramón was sitting.
“Pirates within eight miles of you!” Ramón declared. “They have a large
camp. Three nights ago they raided Reina de Los Angeles.”
“The news has reached us.”
“Ha! I followed by land and approached their rendezvous at an early
hour this morning. They abducted Señorita Lolita Pulido. Some
_caballeros_ pursued them by sea, fought, and were overcome. Many are
being held prisoners, for ransom and torture. The _señorita_ is a
prisoner also.”
“Where?” the lieutenant asked.
“On the coast, a bit north. I lurked about the camp and made some
discoveries. Señor Zorro is mixed up with them.”
“Zorro?” the lieutenant gasped.
“The same. His wild blood has broken out again. The _señorita_ is of
the opinion that he followed to rescue her, when in reality he had her
stolen. He was to have married her, but is eager for lawlessness, it
appears. This will be the end of the fiend!”
“Ha!” the lieutenant gasped. “If――”
“Attend!” Ramón interrupted. “I overheard a plot. Zorro is to ride here
wildly and tell of the _señorita_ and the _caballeros_ being held by
the pirates. It is his intention to lead back the troopers――and lead
them into an ambush.”
“By the saints――”
“So the pirates will wipe out your men. And then San Diego de Alcála,
unprotected, will be before him!”
“The fiend!” the lieutenant gasped.
“Call half a dozen of your trusted men and have them ready. When
he enters and begins his story have him seized. Throw him into the
guardroom and put him into the maniac’s shirt. Then I’ll help you
lead the troopers. I know how the ambush is planned. We’ll attack in
the rear, save the _caballeros_, and rescue the _señorita_――and gain
considerable credit. Promotion will come to you!”
“It is agreed!” the lieutenant said, his face beaming.
“Be quick about it. I’ll disappear while Zorro tells his tale. Seize
him, throw him into the guardroom, put him into the maniac’s shirt,
leave two men to guard him. When we return we’ll see that he is
punished for his perfidy. _Caballero_ or not, he’ll be hanged for this.”
The lieutenant sprang from his chair to issue the necessary orders. But
the door was hurled open――and Señor Zorro rushed into the officer’s
room!