Alejandro de la Vega watched as Zorro jumped onto the back of his faithful black stallion and rode out of the secret cave. The thick branches closed in behind his son, concealing the entrance from any curious eyes. Suddenly, an echo of unexplainable fear crept into the heart of the old don, causing him to shudder inwardly at the unknown cause. But the feeling disappeared as unexpectedly, and Alejandro brushed the troubling thoughts aside.
Zorro sat on Tornado’s back, leaning slightly to the stallion’s neck to keep down the resistance of the wind. The horse and the rider blended into one against the background of the darkening sky, outstripping the wind itself in their race. And the black cape, fluttering in the wind behind the outlaw’s back, seemed to be some kind of magic shroud belonging to the night itself that spread the darkness in the air around it.
The old but well-built cabin of the blacksmith appeared on the horizon. Zorro halted Tornado a few feet away from the shop and dismounted. "Stay here, boy," he commanded softly.
The outlaw moved stealthily through the bushes that covered the ground around the building and carefully looked into the window. He noticed two people standing next to each other in the semi-dark room. "But, according to Bernardo, there should have been three of them," he thought. "Where is the third one?" And as an answer to his question, he felt the steel barrel of a gun press against his back.
"Inside, señor!" came a quiet but sharp command.
The outlaw had no choice but to obey. His captor pushed him inside the shop with a triumphant, "Look what I found." The two men inside turned toward the door, and Zorro recognized in one of them Luis Romero, the blacksmith. The face of the second man seemed familiar, but the outlaw could not quite place it.
"Congratulations, Manuel," Luis grinned. "You have just captured Zorro."
"Zorro?"
"Sí, the famous outlaw."
"An outlaw, eh?" the man standing next to the blacksmith made a sign to Manuel. The latter nodded in understanding; his hand holding the pistol flew up, hovered in the air for a brief moment, and a split second later landed hard onto the back of his captive’s head, rendering him unconscious.
"Should I shoot him, señor?" Manuel asked, observing the unmoving black form at his feet.
"No, wait, Manuel." Victor walked up to the unconscious bandit and said, either referring to Luis or just musing out loud, "You said he is an outlaw. So there must be a price on his head."
"Sí, señor. 2000 pesos for capturing him dead or alive."
"Dead or alive?" Victor repeated with an ugly smirk on his face. "Well, then, Manuel, you shall get your chance. But for now, take his mask off – let us see who he is."
The servant turned the black-clad man onto his back and pulled down the mask.
Victor gasped almost imperceptibly; his eyes burned with an unkind fire.
"Well, well, well," he murmured to himself. "Tie him up in the chair, Manuel."
"What do you plan to do, señor?" the servant inquired, executing the order.
"The Fate is good to me, Manuel," Victor mused without responding. "Not only does she bring Diego de la Vega straight to my doorstep, but he also turns out to be an outlaw with a 2000 pesos price on his head." He narrowed his eyes, grinning slightly. "Do you not think that papá de la Vega would be willing to pay even more for his son’s secret?"
"You plan to blackmail Don Alejandro?" Luis intervened. "But he is a very influential man. What if he decides to involve the soldiers?"
"He will not do that," Victor said with confidence. "That would mean that the soldiers will capture Zorro. No, he will pay. And when he does, I will kill his son and carry the body into the cuartel."
"And receive an additional 2000 pesos?"
"Precisely."
"An excellent plan, señor Fuentes," Luis beamed.
"I know," Victor smiled. "By the way, Luis, do you know where the de la Vega hacienda is?"
"Sí, señor."
"Very well. You will ride out there and give the old man this." Victor walked up to the table and quickly wrote something on a piece of paper. He handed the note to the blacksmith. "This should give Don Alejandro a pretty good idea of the situation, but you are welcome to add your own details."
"Sí, señor." The blacksmith’s eyes glistened with sadistic joy. This was the chance he had been waiting for. He did not have anything personal against Don Alejandro or Don Diego, but they were both part of the class he despised. He was going to enjoy this ordeal.
With these thoughts in mind, he rode out to the de la Vega hacienda.
"How incredibly low these people are," the first phantom noted.
"Just watch and do not interfere," the second one warned.
Chapter 4
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