Part three
by the other Bonnie
(a.k.a. Ella, around here in Friendslist land)
Diego nodded at Bernardo and then in the direction of the door that the stranger had just exited. Bernardo nodded back, knowing he had just been dispatched to follow the man.
"I do not think I like the looks of him," Sergeant Garcia was saying, his eyes also on the closed door. "Where is the little one going?" he asked, seeing Bernardo depart.
"Oh, he is checking the horses," Diego replied lightly. "I am sure he will return in no time." He paused for a moment, pondering the disturbance he felt. "It seems strange, does it not, that Senor Basilio would not bother with the record-keeping," he mused.
"Si, Don Diego, that is what I thought too," the Sergeant said. Then a new song began and his attention shifted to the music across the room. "This is my favorite!" he said enthusiastically and with a very cheerful grin.
Diego glanced over at the musicians and then at the door. "Sergeant, will you excuse me for a moment?" he asked.
Garcia looked up at Diego briefly, looked down to see that the wine bottle on the table was still quite full, and said, "I will be here whenever you return."
Diego smiled at him and rose to depart. Heading for the door, he was stopped by his favorite barmaid, Maria Crespo. Seeing Maria always cheered him, for they had – unbeknownst to her of course – had several adventures together when he rode as El Zorro. He liked her sweetness, though to this day he found her ability to swoon at nearly nothing confounding.
"Don Diego!" she said. "You cannot leave so soon, the dancing has not begun!"
"Ah, but I must, Maria," he smiled at her. "However I imagine I will be back shortly, you know how I love a good bit of dancing." He gave her a short bow and then let himself out into the cool night air.
Putting the Tavern behind him, everything was suddenly still and quiet in the pueblo. His eyes scanned the plaza to see that excepting a cat strolling by, an Indian beggar sitting half-asleep by the well, and several horses hitched by their bridles to the rail in front of the Tavern, nothing at all was moving. He stepped out into the plaza, wondering where Bernardo had gone.
Suddenly he felt terribly exposed, standing there. It was most unsettling. He turned around slowly, continuing to scan the buildings and plaza. Then from the alley leading to the stable he heard a long, low moan. He headed towards it, and heard the moan again. He increased his pace and rushed around the corner to find Bernardo lying on the ground, half-conscious and holding his hand on his head.
"Bernardo!" he said, dropping to one knee to help his friend. "Bernardo, what happened?"
Bernardo tried to sit up, leaning against Diego. Diego could see that this had not been a small knock on the head.
"Can you get up, can I take you to the Tavern?" Diego asked.
Bernardo managed to pull himself out of his haze and shook his head, also waving his hand to indicate that would not be necessary.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Diego asked, as the servant sat up on his own.
Bernardo indicated having taken a path out of the Tavern and following the stranger towards the cuartel. Then he looked around and shrugged.
"You followed him towards the cuartel and then he disappeared?" Diego asked.
Bernardo nodded.
"But how could he disappear, it is an open plaza on a moonlit night!"
Bernardo shrugged again. Then he pointed his finger into his own chest and looked around everywhere, and indicated walking around the plaza until he got to the alley they were now sitting in.
"You looked for him and then you got here..." Diego said.
Bernardo lifted his hand and indicated the whack on the head.
"...and that's when someone knocked you out," Diego finished.
Bernardo nodded, shrugging again.
Diego helped him to his feet. "I do not like this one bit," he said. "Perhaps in the morning we need to make a call on Senor Basilio and find out what is going on with this mystery fellow. If we cannot find out anything then....I suspect it may be time for Zorro to pay a call on Senor Blue Eyes."
****end Part Three*****
