the Night
Chapter 1
This could not go on any longer. He was tired, and so was Tornado. Zorro felt the mount underneath him start to limp and realized that he must have hurt his leg making that jump.
�Well, that�s it! Enough of this cat-and-mouse game!� Zorro pulled the reins, rearing Tornado at the edge of a small mountain plateau. His two pursuers were only a few yards away. Zorro dismounted and kneeled to examine the horse�s legs only to find a deep bleeding cut running across his front right one. The stallion neighed slightly as Zorro�s hands touched his injured leg.
�I am sorry, boy.� Zorro stood up and took the colt�s muzzle tenderly in his hands. �Run home, Tornado. Have Bernardo take care of you. Go on, run.�
Tornado hesitated for a moment, looking at his master, then shook his head and took off.
***
The two soldiers stopped their horses as they reached the plateau and now stared in anticipation at the outlaw in front of them. With a mischievous smile Zorro addressed his pursuers: �Well, se�ores, are you just going to sit there like this or would you honor me by dismounting?�
The soldiers looked at each other hesitantly and then dismounted, unsheathing their swords. The masked bandit gave them an at-your-service bow and drew his weapon. The fight began.
It did not take Zorro long to disarm the younger soldier and to give him a solid punch in the jaw that sent the lancer flying across the plateau. �That should take him out of commission for a while,� Zorro thought, focusing all of his attention on the second soldier. But there was one small detail he forgot about � the pistols.
While parrying the attack of the second soldier who was pushing him dangerously close toward the edge, Zorro noticed from a corner of his eye the younger soldier get up and reach for his firearm. By that time, however, there was nothing the outlaw could do � there was no longer an opportunity to react. The gun fired, and Zorro felt the bullet jam into his left shoulder with such force that he lost his balance.
For a moment he ceased feeling the ground underneath his feet. He was over the edge, he realized, as he desperately tried to grab a hold of the rocks that kept slipping from under his gloved fingers. His hopeless efforts were wasted, and like a million of tiny spears the indifferent rocks mercilessly thrust their razor-sharp edges into his defenseless body as he rolled over them, until his violent tumble finally came to a sudden stop against the side of a large boulder. Through half-opened eyelids, while his consciousness slowly slipped away from him, Zorro saw hazy figures of two soldiers lean over the edge high above him.
Then the figures grew hazier still and disappeared altogether, as his entire world plunged into complete darkness.
***
High up on the plateau, the two lancers nodded to each other approvingly, having looked down to make sure that the outlaw was not moving. The older one confirmed what was already on their minds: �We sure got him this time. Let us go tell the comandante the good news.� And they rode off.
***
As soon as the two soldiers disappeared from view, two new riders entered the scene. One of them, whose face was concealed underneath a hood of a dark-blue cloak, rode up to the edge and quickly dismounted.
The second rider, a gray-bearded man in his late fifties, spoke reprovingly, �Madam, please. I do not think that it is such a good idea.�
The first rider turned to the old man and pulled the hood back to reveal a thick mane of golden-brown hair. �I am not interested in what you think, �tienne. That man down there needs help, and I am going to give it to him with your assistance or without it. And, please, stop calling me �madam�.�
�But, ma- � Annabelle, we do not even know who that man is. Why, he might be some kind of a criminal. We have had enough trouble in England. There is no need to find new ones here.�
The young lady pursed her lips stubbornly and started climbing down the rocky slope. �Come on, �tienne. If you are going to help me, please do so before the soldiers return!�
�tienne sighed heavily � �Oh, the pains I must endure for this child,� � and followed her down the mountain.
The two of them managed to pull the unconscious outlaw back onto the plateau. The old man sat down on the edge, trying to catch his breath, while his young mistress bent over the man in black checking for any signs of life.
�He is alive,� she said finally, pulling back and looking at her servant. �He is very badly hurt, but he is alive.�
�Annabelle, my dear girl, any more of this sort of exercise and I will be in as bad a shape as this man,� �tienne breathed out and, noticing her amused stare, added, �I am not young anymore, you know. I should be sitting in an armchair by the fireplace, giving my old bones a rest instead of climbing the rocks.�
�Well, why do you not stop feeling sorry for your old bones and help me get this man onto your horse. We must get him to the inn before the night is through.�
Annabelle removed her cloak and, while �tienne lifted the masked man off the ground, wrapped it around the shoulders of the unconscious bandit � as she figured, her cloak would attract much less attention than the man�s black outfit.
A few moments later the beautiful young rider started off in the direction of the pueblo de Los Angeles, followed by her servant who supported the cloaked figure in the saddle in front of him. The night�s dark curtain fell behind them, concealing their trace seconds before the comandante and his men rode out onto the plateau.