"The Celebration"
Several hours later, the tavern was still full of people celebrating their turn of fortune. Diego had been persuaded to play his guitar and sing a few songs. He was in the middle of a ballad when the Magistrado came into the room. Motioning for him to continue, the Magistrado sat at a corner table while Tío fussed over him. The Magistrado ordered a meal and some wine, then sat back to listen. He clapped with the others when Diego had finished.
Diego would have put his guitar down, but Santiago spoke up and said, "Do you know ‘La Gaviota’, Don Diego? I have not heard it for some time."
Diego smiled and strummed the guitar as he said, "Sí, Your Excellency." He began singing and Maria Crespo and some of the other bar maids stopped to listen to the lively song.
Santiago noticed that all of the tavern’s customers had also stopped to listen. The young man did have a fine voice, he thought to himself. He found he enjoyed the song thoroughly. He was glad to have somewhere else to go rather than staying in his home where everything was so somber. He remembered back to the frequent parties that Gracilia had insisted upon having in Monterey so that she could be with her friends. He had not objected, for he found them entertaining as well. But when his wife had been taken by this insidious illness of hers, she had lost her desire for laughter and gay company, the constant pain taking the joy out of her life. So Santiago had to find his entertainment where he could. This lively inn with the bright lights and music was just the thing for him tonight. He clapped once again when the young don finished his song.
Diego looked at the Magistrado who motioned him to continue. He decided to play a favorite piece of his which he had written for the guitar only. The fingerings were quite difficult, but he enjoyed the challenge and bent over his guitar in intense concentration. One of the bar maids began to dance and soon everyone was clapping and shouting their approval.
While Diego played, Tío himself brought the food and wine to the Magistrado as he would let no one else do the serving. He was making a fortune today thanks to the Magistrado’s generosity.
Santiago motioned for him to lean over. Pointing to Diego, he said, "Does young de la Vega come here often?"
"Oh, sí," said Tío, smiling. "Don Diego is one of my best customers. He comes here to my tavern to drink wine and play the guitar."
"And what does his father think of this?"
Tío looked around furtively, but he was a gossip, and this was the Magistrado after all. "Oh, his father is not happy about it," he said in a low tone. "He would rather that his son should spend more time at the rancho working with him, but Don Diego prefers his books and music to cattle, which are messy."
"His father does not force him to work on the rancho? To learn the cattle business?"
"Oh, no, Señor Magistrado," said Tío. Then leaning down even closer, he said, "I think it is because the boy lost his mother when he was so young. He is Don Alejandro’s only son and heir. He loves the son for his mother’s sake."
"Very interesting," said Santiago, more to himself than to the innkeeper. "Thank you. You may go." Tío bowed and left. Santiago eyed Diego with renewed interest as he ate his dinner. He found the de la Vegas to be fascinating. A father who wanted a manly son to follow in his footsteps and a son who apparently had no such desire. He was beginning to see how these two might just be the ones on whom he could hang his charges of treason. But he was a cautious man. He had time. He would continue to study the de la Vegas and learn all he could about them before putting his plan into motion.
The Magistrado remained at the tavern for quite a while, listening to the music and watching the various dancers that twirled around the floor from time to time. He greeted those who came to thank him once again for returning their money. He enjoyed himself immensely. As the night grew deeper, he got up to leave, placing a generous tip on the table for Tio’s service. He bowed to Diego in thanks for his music and then turned to go.
Diego, who was playing another tune on his guitar, returned the bow and watched the Magistrado leave the tavern. He had thought he might be able to go to the man’s table and engage him in conversation, but the tavern’s customers had demanded his attention. And, as the Magistrado had seemed to be enjoying the music, he had continued to play for him.
At last, the people relented and gave Diego a rest, allowing him to go and sit at a table and order a glass of wine. Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes came in then and began looking around for a place to sit. Their eyes found Diego and he motioned them over, knowing they would have come to him in any case. Garcia smiled hugely and even Reyes looked pleased.
"Ah, Don Diego!" said the Sergeant happily. "It is good to see you. May we join you?"
"Please do, Sergeant," said Diego, pulling a cigar from his jacket pocket and lighting it from the candle on the table. He smiled to see them eagerly pull chairs from other tables to join him at his. Blowing smoke into the air, he said, "Maria. A bottle of wine for my friends, eh?" Maria smiled and hurried to get the wine. Soon all of them were enjoying a glass.
"Graciás, Don Diego," said Garcia. "We have been hard at work this afternoon and this is just what we need."
"Oh?" said Diego. "And just what kind of hard work have you been doing?" He knew that his definition of hard work sometimes differed from that of the sergeant’s.
"The Magistrado ordered us to pull out all of our bedding and furniture from the barracks and the office and give them a good cleaning before we put them back. Tomorrow we are to start giving the whole cuartel a new coat of whitewash. After that, we will be taking inventory of the armament of the cuartel. He wishes to inspect each weapon himself and make sure they are all in working order."
Diego was impressed. "That is quite an undertaking, Sergeant. The next thing you know, he will be telling you to polish all the musket balls," he said, with some amusement.
"Oh, that is next," Corporal Reyes piped up.
"Be quiet, baboso," said Garcia, giving Reyes a longsuffering look. To Diego, he explained, "I just told them that when they complained about pulling out their bedding."
Trying not to shake his head, Diego kept his composure. "What is the purpose of all this activity, Sergeant?" he asked.
"The Magistrado has this idea. He says we should take pride in our cuartel and keep it clean. He says attention to detail is what will make us better soldiers. I hope he is right. I would hate to think that we had done all of this work for nothing." He took another drink of his wine.
Diego took the opportunity to ask about Santiago. "Sergeant, what do you think about our new Magistrado?"
"Think about him?" asked Garcia.
"Sí. You have been around him for a week now. Is he like the others? You know, Monastario and Galindo?"
"Oh, no, Don Diego. He is nothing like those others."
"Those others were skunks," said Reyes, looking into his glass.
"Well, we do not need to wonder what the good Corporal thinks about Señor Santiago’s predecessors," laughed Diego.
Garcia gave Reyes a look. Then he said, "I will tell you this, Don Diego. Part of the money in the cuartel’s strong box was pay for us soldiers that the Eagle had stolen. When the Magistrado found out about this, he said, ‘Garcia, why have you not taken this money and paid the soldiers?’ And I said, ‘I was instructed by the Governor to seize all the money and valuables belonging to Señor Varga and place them in my strong box. And that is just what I did.’ The Magistrado, he just shook his head and said, ‘How long have you been without pay?’ And I said, ‘Four months, Your Excellency.’ And he said, ‘That is about to change, Sergeant.’ And he had me get the pay records for the cuartel, and with his own hand, he paid all of us soldiers the back pay we were due this very afternoon. If either of the others had been in charge, I doubt very much if we would ever have been paid."
"Never," affirmed Reyes.
"That is good news, Sergeant!" said Diego, who was genuinely glad for his friends. "That would seem to be quite a boost for morale." Diego knew that the soldiers of His Majesty’s government were usually among the last men to get paid, leaving them eternally in debt to each other and to the merchants of the pueblo. He also secretly admired the way the Magistrado had handled the soldier’s pay. It seemed this Magistrado was willing to do what was right because it was right and not just to make himself look good. With the return of the tax money and the back pay for the soldiers, it seemed that everyone in the pueblo had reason to celebrate today.
"Sí, Don Diego, morale is good now," replied Garcia, smiling. "The men were happy to finish cleaning their quarters this afternoon, weren’t they Corporal?"
"Sí," said Reyes. "Money always improves morale."
Diego laughed and raised his glass to them. "To the Magistrado," he said. Echoing his sentiments, they all took a drink.
"It is too bad about Señora Santaigo though," Garcia said, thoughtfully. "I do not believe she has come out of her house since she arrived and Doctor Avila sees her every day."
"Just what kind of illness does she have?" asked Diego.
"I do not know, Don Diego, but the Magistrado does not like to talk about it. He always changes the subject when it comes up. I think it makes him very sad for her."
"I will ask Padre Felipe to say a prayer for her the next time I see him," said Diego.
"A good idea, Don Diego," said Garcia, brightening. "The Señora’s illness will not keep the Magistrado from performing his duties though. He has already ordered us to increase our patrols of the district and he has plans to ride with us."
"And why is that, Sergeant?" asked Diego.
"He said that he wishes to meet the people and see where they live. He feels that he needs this in order to understand their problems."
Diego was again impressed with the new Magistrado. No other official had ever taken such an interest in the day to day welfare of the people. Not even those who had held the office in the time before he went to Spain. "That sounds like a very good idea, Sergeant," he said.
Garcia leaned closer to Diego and said, "I think this Magistrado is going to be a good one, Don Diego. I just have a feeling." Then he leaned back and poured his glass full again. He drained it quickly and motioned to Maria, saying with a big smile on his face, "I am paying for this one!" as he happily pulled out a peso and placed it on the table.
Diego smiled and sat back in his chair. Yes, this was the best day this pueblo had enjoyed since the removal of Monastario by the Viceroy and Sergeant Garcia had declared a holiday in honor of his own promotion. After the death of the Eagle, the pueblo had been relieved of a great burden, but then she had just drifted along without anyone to really guide her. The large landholders had all they could do to keep their ranchos going and could not be concerned all that much with the goings on in the pueblo, and the people of the pueblo only cared about what the hacendados would buy from them. But today, they all had one thing in common, the hope that the new Magistrado would maintain the peace and promote law and order.
When Diego was finally ready to go home, he had to awaken Bernardo who had fallen asleep in a corner of the tavern. The servant followed Diego out into the night air. Rubbing sleepy eyes, he climbed into the carriage and picked up the reins. "Here let me take those," said Diego fondly. "You are liable to run us into a ravine before we get home." He smiled at his mozo as Bernardo nodded sleepily. "What is the matter with you, my friend?" he asked as he urged the horses into a ground eating trot. "There was a time when you would stay up all night with me."
Bernardo scrubbed his face and motioned with his hands. "Oh, you need some reason to stay awake?" More signs. "El Zorro was the reason you were able to stay awake?" A nod. "Oh, so I am not worth staying awake for? I am . . . dull?" Diego asked dryly. Bernardo nodded his head ‘yes’ before he caught himself and looked sheepish. Diego slapped him good naturedly on the back and laughed. "That is all right, my friend. I too am glad to be able to sleep at night. I will try to make sure you are tucked safely into your bed at a decent hour from now on. How is that?" Bernardo smiled and nodded. Rather more awake now, he took the reins from Diego and proceeded to drive them home.
