"The Landholder Meeting"
Don Alejandro seated himself at the end of the table set up for the meeting in the Magistrado’s office. The seat had been left for him by the other landholders who were present. The Magistrado stood at the other end of the table preparing some of his papers as he watched this subtle sorting out. He had decided not to wear his sword, but left it lying on the desk behind him in plain sight. This was a friendly meeting and a sword would have been out of place, but he would not let it stray too far from his side. Tapping his papers together, Santiago placed them before him on the table and looked at the men who had assembled at his request. He remarked again to himself how the men naturally deferred to Don Alejandro de la Vega, leaving him the place of most honor at the other end of the table. He noted the ease with which the elder de la Vega accepted this. For Don Alejandro, it was just the natural order of things. From what the Magistrado could observe, he did not think Don Alejandro would have overtly asserted his right to sit in the place of honor, but he would have been quite offended by the slight if it had not been left open for him. Santiago added this to the bits and pieces he was gathering about the de la Vegas. He was building an understanding of who they were and their strengths and weaknesses. But now to the matter at hand. Still standing, Santiago held his hands open in greeting as he addressed the dons.
"I welcome you here, Señores, and thank you for coming today. We have much to discuss concerning the future of our pueblo and the people who live in this district. We have all seen what can happen to our country when our people are divided and lacking in resources. This invites our unscrupulous countrymen and aggressive foreigners to see us as weak. They then seek to overthrow the rightful government of our sovereign and king and seize power for themselves." There were nods around the table as they all remembered the Eagle. Seeing that his words were being well received, Santiago continued. "What we need is to make our colony prosperous, so we may purchase those things needed for our defense and so our people can enjoy the fruits of their labor. And so we may in turn, support His Majesty as a proper colony of Spain should."
Don Alejandro leaned forward, placing his hands upon the table as he spoke up. "You speak words of wisdom, Your Excellency. A prosperous California is a strong California. And I think I may speak for all those present today when I say that our loyalty to His Majesty has never wavered. We are willing to do our part to keep California a strong colony of Mother Spain."
Smiling, Santiago said, "Splendid, Don Alejandro." Seating himself, he said, "Now to begin. First, I would like to hear from each of you. Tell me about yourself, your families and your holdings. I want to become familiar with all of you so that I may determine how we may all work together. In the coming days, I plan to visit each of you and see your holdings for myself, but for now, just tell me about yourselves." Santiago sat back and waited. As he suspected, all the men looked at one another and then at Don Alejandro, who stood to speak first.
"Your Excellency," said Don Alejandro. "My family is of noble Spanish blood. My father’s father came here from Spain just after the mission at San Gabriel was built in 1761. He settled on the land which was part of a grant given to him for his loyal service to the King in the war with France. From humble beginnings, with just a few head of cattle and a few horses, he built the rancho. My father, and now I, have continued the work, building on what my grandfather started. Our lands are north of the pueblo, as you can see on the map you have on the table before you. You can see how our family has increased our land holdings through hard work. We pride ourselves on the quality and quantity of our cattle and horses, and the wines which we make from our own vineyards. My grandfather, my father and myself, fought for our land against both Indians and bandits, holding against all odds the lands that belonged to us. De la Vega blood has also been spilled defending our land and our country against the King’s enemies. I would die before I saw my lands taken from me or the country overrun by despoilers."
"Well said, Don Alejandro," remarked Santiago, as he noted with interest the absence of any reference by Don Alejandro to his son, Diego. "You and your family are to be commended for your loyalty to the King, your strength and your courage." Taking a chance, he decided to stir the waters by adding innocently, "And Don Diego will be the heir to your holdings, eh? A fortunate son indeed." He was rewarded by the look of discomfort on Don Alejandro’s face.
"Er, yes, Your Excellency," said Don Alejandro, clearing his throat. "Fortunate."
Beyond Don Alejandro’s discomfort, Santiago also noticed with great interest the sidelong glances exchanged between the other dons. Not wanting Don Alejandro to be further disconcerted, Santiago decided to move on to the other dons and said, "Who will be next? Don’t be shy. Don Alejandro has set a good example. I want to hear from all of you."
Each man at the table stood in his turn to give his family history and a description of their holdings. Many of them spoke of their own sons’ achievements in learning to manage certain aspects of the ranchos and each time Don Alejandro would drop his gaze to the table top before him. Santiago’s sharp eyes missed none of this while he listened. At length, they were done. Santiago felt like he now knew most of the key players in the hierarchy among the dons. And he was pleased to hear of the great care which had been taken by these men to build up their holdings. All the better for him when he made his move to acquire their lands in the future. But the thing which he seized upon the most was the relationship between Don Alejandro and his son. He was sure he could exploit the strained relationship between the two of them when the time came to put his plans into action.
He decided to move the meeting along. "Señores, I thank you for your indulgence of my little request. I can begin to see just how rich this land is in people and resources. I believe California has the potential to become one of His Majesty’s finest and most prosperous colonies. But the truth is, we are far away from the Mother country and we will have to depend a great deal upon ourselves to keep what is ours away from foreigners and treasonous men." There were nods of agreement. "The military will do all it can to protect us, but to be truthful, they are limited in their resources. I plan to equip them as well as I can to face the dangers and to see personally that their training is stepped up. We will increase the lancer patrols in the district and any criminals will be swiftly rounded up for trial and punishment." Here the Magistrado smiled, "We will see that ‘Justice is served’."
"Bravo!" said some of the men at the table while everyone smiled.
The don to the Magistrado’s immediate left spoke dryly, "Does that include the outlaw, Zorro, Excellency?"
Santiago turned to the rather taciturn looking man. "Don Carlos, what I have said goes for all who have broken the law, even this Zorro, whoever he is. Justice will be served upon all, equally."
Don Carlos looked at the table top as he said, "There are some who believe this outlaw should be above the law. That what he does is for the ‘good’ of the people." Looking at his fellow dons sidelong, he continued, "Some perhaps, even see him as a hero."
Don Alejandro listened to Don Carlos and shook his head. The man was so cold. He had a fine rancho which seemed to be the only satisfaction he got out of life. He had never married, never had any children. What was the point of building up a rancho if you had no one of your blood to be your heir? However, that particular thought reminded him of Diego and he shut down that line of thinking immediately, not wishing to dwell upon it. Don Alejandro took a deep breath. He had a few words to say about Zorro.
"Your Excellency," he said addressing Santiago. "Even though we do not know who this man is or where he comes from, El Zorro seems to be a friend of the people. He has saved my life and the lives of many others." He pointed to Ignacio Torres sitting midway of the table. "Don Nacho was saved from death several times from Capitán Monastario." Indicating a man to his immediate left, he said, "Don Alfredo here, would have been tortured or killed by Varga right in my own home if Zorro had not rescued him. And, on the day of the fight in the pueblo against the army of the Eagle, Zorro was right there with us, fighting on our side to defeat the treasonous madman."
"Oh, so the Eagle had been to your hacienda, Don Alejandro? I had not known this," said Santiago. He had been temporarily assigned to San Francisco during the time in question. There were gaps in his knowledge that he would need to fill. This bit of news was a piece of information he could use. "I am glad, Don Nacho, that no harm came to you," he said, "And you also, Don Alfredo. So Varga would have killed you but for this outlaw, eh?"
"Yes, Zorro saved my life that day," said Don Alfredo.
"Why did the Eagle wish to torture you?" asked Santiago. He was intrigued and wished to know more.
Don Alfredo looked as if he would rather not speak about the subject, but at last he said, "I . . . had come to the de la Vega rancho under the false impression that Don Alejandro had called a meeting of the dons who had signed as members of the citizen’s army." He looked as if he might say something more, then he hesitated. Finally, he said, "But it was the Eagle who had called the meeting in order to discover the names of those who had signed. He thought he could make me talk."
Santiago smiled. "And you refused?"
Don Alfredo drew himself up. "Of course, Your Excellency. I would never betray my friends."
"And this Zorro came and rescued you?"
"Yes."
"Right in Don Alejandro’s own home?"
"Yes."
Santiago cocked his head as he observed Don Alfredo. He could tell that the man was not going to say very much more about the subject here. Don Alfredo was a man of few words and he seemed to prefer his privacy. His attention was drawn back to Alejandro as the don spoke again.
"The point about Zorro, Your Excellency, is that he has done as much good as bad. He is a bit of a rogue and very wily like his namesake." Don Alejandro smiled, "No one has ever caught him and I daresay no one ever will."
"Should I take that as a challenge, Don Alejandro?" asked Santiago, leaning back in his chair with a smile of his own.
Don Alejandro raised one of his hands and let it drop to his lap, as if to say, You may try if you wish, but . . .
Santiago looked at all of them and said, "Señores, let it be understood that it is my job to capture and prosecute all criminals. If the opportunity arises to capture this bandit, then I will do so, heroic deeds notwithstanding. He will have his day in court to be judged by the law. That is my duty."
"Sí," said Don Carlos in his dry monotone. "It is your duty."
Santiago looked at Don Carlos and then back to the other dons. He could see they were not very sympathetic to the man. At the moment, he could see no reason to fault them.
Don Alejandro said, "You may not have the opportunity, Your Excellency. Zorro has not been seen for several months. Not since the Eagle was defeated."
"And why do you think this is so, Don Alejandro?" asked Santiago.
Don Alejandro shrugged and said, "Who knows? There has been no trouble in the pueblo since the Eagle’s death; no cause him for him to ride against injustice. Perhaps he has seen no need to appear. And if I might say so, Your Excellency, with you here, the need for Zorro grows ever smaller." There were smiles around the table. Even Don Carlos looked less disagreeable for the moment.
The Magistrado was amused. "I thank you, Don Alejandro, for the vote of confidence. I shall endeavor to deserve it," he said, with a small bow to the older man. "And now, Señores, let us leave the subject of the bandit who has vanished and turn to the subject which brought you here. Let us consider our district’s resources and how we may best use them to prepare for a prosperous future."
The meeting went on. There were discussions of cattle, horses, wine, and various produce, such as the oranges Padre Felipe was trying to grow. These were things which could be exported for sale to other countries or to Spain. But Santiago’s mind was not entirely on the meeting. Oh, he knew the ground he would need to cover with the dons concerning the meeting’s purpose, and he did not miss a thing, but his mind was also working on the various bits of information which he had picked up this day. The bandit, Zorro, intrigued him greatly. He felt assured the bandit would play a part in the scheme to acquire land from the very men who sat at the table with him today. It just remained to be seen where the outlaw would fit into the plan. He needed to know more. And he would find out more as he gathered information while accompanying the lancer patrols in the next few weeks. A question here, a statement there, a remark overheard. Yes, he would gather his information slowly and carefully. They might call Zorro the fox, but it was the serpent who slipped up upon you unawares. And his bite was lethal.
