Part Four
Combined Written by William, Marian, Nikki and Karla
Carefully, Diego led the still dazed Bernado to the tavern. As promised,
Sergeant Garcia was still at the table with an empty bottle of wine. For a
moment, Diego wished that the sergeant's need for wine would be greater
than his inquiring mind. Even though he had been probing for information, he did not want to involve the good sergeant in his yet unformed plan to deal with the illustrious guest of the man from Spain.
"What happened to the little one, Don Diego?"
"Umm... he slipped and hit his head a little. Someone left the ground wet,"
shrugged Diego, hoping he was convincing enough.
Bernado started to make frantic signs. Diego raised a hand to silence his
mozo, who promptly played along by nodding at the good sergeant.
Garcia leaned forward and peered at Bernado. Apparently, he caught the
mozo's wild gestures. "Are you sure he is all right? He looks slightly
out of it if you ask me."
Diego groaned inwardly. The sergeant could not pick the worst time to play detective.
"Well, he never 'says' he is all right. I would imagine not too, if you hurt
your head at least a little. But nothing a few days of rest would not fix."
"I suppose so, Don Diego." Garcia still looked dubious, the fact that
Diego noted with amusement despite the situation. With everything written all over his face, the good sergeant could not possibly hope to hide his feelings.
"Can I buy you some more wine?" Without waiting for the answer, Diego
called Maria to bring over a bottle of wine.
"I do not know if I should be drinking, Don Diego," said the sergeant slowly at last.
"Why not?" Diego asked. He had never thought he would live to see the day Garcia turned down free wines. However, the sergeant still stared at the empty bottle of wine, as if he had not heard a word Diego said. Finally, the latter's patience wore out. "Out with it, Sergeant, what is bothering you?"
"Me, n--nothing is bothering me," sputtered Garcia.
Diego sighed. If he had been in a lighter mood, he would joke the good
sergeant about it. There was something seriously wrong here, and he
intended to find out even if he had to chain Garcia to the lamp post.
Looking over at Bernado, he saw the little man weakening, probably from the injury. Diego still could not quite make up his mind what to do, but, after reflecting on the matter for a while, he realized it would not be wise to confront Basilio. If Senor Blue Eyes was the person who knocked Bernado out, he would tell Basilio all about it. Suddenly, Diego felt very afraid. How long could he keep his secret identity safe?
**************************
The stranger stepped out of the darkness and into the light of the lantern of the Tavern. His cold blue eyes glared at Diego and Bernardo. What would be considered a slight smile crossed his face....but an ever slight one. He
crossed the plaza and entered the Cuartel.
Senor Blue Eyes knocked twice on the Comandante's office door.
Two knocks on his door startled Basilio and set his heart beating almost out of his chest. Two knocks! That was the signal. But wait. Two knocks was the signal given to him to use when he . . . . He did not finish the thought. Taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"Come in Senor Verde del Mondego...come in....and close the door!" Basilio
said.
Basilio indicated that the man should be seated in the chair opposite his in
front of the desk. The candle light reflected back the icy blue of the man's
eyes. If Basilio had not known this man before, he too would have been
frightened by those restless, blue eyes. No, he was not frightened by them.
Not exactly. But he was unsettled by them. They never seemed to linger
long in one place. But that did not matter as long as the man could do what
was required of him.
He leaned forward and asked, "Have you seen him?"
The man spoke for the first time. "Yes, I have seen him. He was at the
tavern. He sent his servant to follow me."
"His servant?" asked Basilio. "What did you do that would cause him to do
that?"
"Nothing. But he sent him nevertheless."
"What did you do?"
"Do not worry. The servant never knew what hit him. He does not follow me
now." This was said in a voice completely devoid of emotion as his eyes
moved from place to place around the room.
Basilio shook his head to keep from being mesmerized by watching those eyes.
"Senor Verdi del Mondego, we do not want to alarm our quarry. Do nothing
that will jeopardize our plans."
Verdi del Mondego's eyes locked onto Basilio's and he felt like he was being
pinned to the back of his chair. "Senor Basilio, do not presume to tell me
how to handle my own affairs. You brought me here to do a job for you that
you cannot do for yourself. Be good enough to allow me to do it . . . in my
own way." His eyes resumed their wanderings, but Basilio knew that his
attention was still on him.
Trying to recover his composure he asked, "When will you do it?"
"You will be notified. You will receive information telling you where he
will be and when you may come and see him if you wish. Just remember the
signal we agreed upon. Do not fail to use it." Verdi del Mondego used the
fingers of his left hand to stroke his mustache, then he moved his hand down
to pull his sword partly out of its scabbard. Basilio got the warning and he
nodded his head as he swallowed unconsciously. A tiny smile actually found
its way to Verdi del Mondego's lips, but it did nothing to comfort Basilio.
Mondego rose and bowed to Basilio and left without saying another word.
Basilio found that he was very relieved to see him go.
*******************
The full moon shone down on the California landscape, long shadows
appearing everywhere. A lone Mexican, rather scruffy looking, was sitting
before the campfire, looking at a map. Because the moon was so bright, he
had little trouble reading the map. He then looked out at his surroundings
and was trying to match it with some of the the drawings on the map. Carlos
then picked up an old mug with lukewarm coffee in it, and took a sip. His
partner would return from the cuartel soon and they would have a plan of
action.Carlos hated waiting around with nothing to do. But soon that would
all change. And they would become very rich.
He folded the map and then placed it into the pocket in his tattered jacket.
He suddenly felt very uncomfortable with the silence all around him. He
imagined someone in the shadows, but there was no one there. He wondered
about this mysterious Zorro he had heard about, who seemed to appear out of
nowhere. Was he man or ghost? Was he out there somewhere? No matter,
he thought; his friend would take care of the legendary Zorro if he ever
showed his masked face!
About half a mile away, Alejandro de la Vega was ready to retire and get
some much needed sleep. Diego would return from the tavern soon, he
thought. aLittle did he know that the paths of the de la Vegas, Senor Basilio,
a mysterious stranger, and Carlos would soon meet. And he was unaware
of the discovery they had found on his property.
In the pueblo, a black figure with a torch went to the stable behind the
tavern and set an empty stall on fire. As the flames licked at the straw
and hay the face of Verde del Mondego was illuminated in the ever growing
light of the fire. He started to laugh an evil laugh but quickly stopped
lest he be heard. The stall was engulfed in minutes. The horses started to
whinny in fear and tugged at the ties which prevented them from escaping.
The horses in the corral milled around and try to break down the rails that
confine them.
Someone's voice is heard: "FIRE....FIRE in the stables!" The stranger
disappeared into the safety of the darkness.......
***********End Part Four************
