"Eyes of Doubt"
The next morning, Diego was awakened early by the innkeeper and he prepared to return to Los Angeles. Taking his saddlebags with him, he sat down for a quick breakfast while the same little boy ran to fetch his horse. There were a few other people in the inn having breakfast as well. Before he was finished, Señor Lozano also came in to get a bite to eat. Diego greeted him cordially and they spoke for a few moments about the weather and the long road back to Los Angeles, which Lozano traveled quite frequently due to his businesses. Lozano complimented him once again on the way he handled the trade goods problem and said that he would speak highly of Diego to the Magistrado. Diego was honored.
Lozano excused himself and was seated at a table to eat his food while Diego went to settle his bill with the innkeeper. Diego was startled when the door to the inn opened with a bang and Capitán Hidalgo stalked in. Everyone’s attention was centered on the soldier.
"Señor de la Vega," Hidalgo said in a rather loud voice. "I would speak with you."
Not knowing what this was all about, Diego said, "Sí, Capitán. I am at your service."
Hidalgo came over until he was in front of Diego. "I wish to hear again why you went riding into the hills yesterday."
Diego was puzzled. They had covered that ground the last time they had met. "As I said, Capitán, I was just riding for pleasure. I have not seen the country hereabouts and I thought I would look around."
"What do you know of the bandit, Zorro, whom I and my lancers saw with you and whom they chased for miles before they lost him in the hills?" Hidalgo asked, his eyes boring into Diego’s.
Diego returned the Capitán’s looks while he thought furiously. Something was not right here. "First, I must tell you again," he said levelly. "I did not have any contact with Zorro. I had only become aware of his presence moments before you and your soldiers rode up. Secondly, what I know of Zorro is what everyone knows of him who lives in Los Angeles."
"Sí, that is where he is from originally, is it not? The same pueblo where you come from."
Diego felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. Was Hidalgo making some sort of connection between him and Zorro? "Sí, he was first seen in Los Angeles," Diego said as non-commitally as possible.
"And now you are here at the same time he is. How interesting," said Hidalgo, narrowing his eyes.
Diego wished to dispel any notion connecting him and the masked rider. "Mere coincidence, Capitán, I assure you," he said levelly. "Señor Santiago, the Magistrado for this district, sent me here to negotiate a settlement between two parties in his stead. I am only here at his direction. I have no other business here."
Hidalgo regarded him for a long moment. Then he said, "Everything may be as you say, Señor de la Vega. But know this. The outlaw Zorro raided another rancho last night and stole all their money and what few pitiful valuables that they had." Diego heard the intake of breath from all the other people in the room. "The peons swear that Zorro asked them to join his army and when they would not, he robbed them and burned down their homes. If it turns out that you had anything to do with that outlaw, I will put you in my jail myself," growled Hidalgo. "Never let me catch you near him again."
Diego’s blood was up. He was dismayed by the report of the peons being burned out and robbed. And he did not like being threatened. "May I remind you, Capitán Hidalgo, as I have once already, that I am a duly sworn officer in His Majesty’s government?" he said, clamping down on his emotions with iron control. "It is my duty as well as yours to investigate sightings of this Zorro. Therefore, you will not threaten me in this manner."
"Why you spoiled son of a rich man, . . ." began Hidalgo, clenching his fists, his eyes blazing in anger. Then he seemed to gain control of himself through a great effort. "Your pardon, Señor de la Vega," he said in a deceptively mild tone which did not deceive Diego in the least, "Please excuse my ill manners. I am but a soldier of the line, Señor, and my words are my actions. If Zorro is recruiting an army in the hills, it is my duty to stop it. And I will let nothing stand in my way, not even minor functionaries in His Majesty’s government." With a sneer in his voice, Hidalgo said, "Con permisso?" as he turned without waiting for an answer and walked out of the inn, almost slamming the door behind him.
No one in the inn moved for several moments after the door closed behind the Capitán. Then Diego became aware that all eyes were on him. He could see doubts in those eyes. Why was this young man seen in the company of Zorro, they were asking themselves. Then Diego’s eyes met Lozano’s. He saw the same question mirrored there. Inwardly, Diego was becoming more angry. But he must maintain control. Deciding to return to the Diego he was trying to leave behind, Diego laughed self-depreciatingly and said, "It seems our good Capitán has mistaken notions about me, Señor Lozano. Don’t you agree? Why would I want to join Zorro, living in the bare hills, when I can sleep in nice comfortable inns such as this one, or in a nice bed in my home in Los Angeles? I have no need for what Zorro may wish to offer. My only desire is to see that "Justice is served," just as the Magistrado is fond of saying. He and I are in full agreement on this matter." Diego was relieved to see that some of the people’s eyes had softened towards him, but he knew he had not convinced them all.
Señor Lozano came over to him then and said, "I know you had nothing to do with that outlaw, Señor de la Vega. Return to Los Angeles, and Capitán Hidalgo will soon forget his outburst. He speaks loudly, but has a short memory. He will be too busy scouring the hills for Zorro to think about you. I know him. I have lived here for several years, as you know."
Gratified that at least one person was on his side, Diego said his goodbyes and left the inn. He gathered up the reins of his palomino from the boy who had brought the gelding around. He looked at the garrison, thinking about Hidalgo, and found himself growing angry all over again. He felt a tug at his sleeve and looked down. The young boy was looking up at him hopefully. Realizing what the boy wanted, Diego smiled down at him and tossed him another coin. The boy smiled and ran off. Diego looked up again and this time his eyes found the bell tower of the church. That reminded him of a promise he had made. Taking a moment, he wrote something on a piece of paper which he folded up and put in his pocket. Then he mounted his horse and rode to the church. Once there, he went inside and went all the way down to the altar rail to pray. After a time, he crossed himself and left the church. He got on his horse and started home on the road to Los Angeles.
A little while later, the priest came into the church and went to tend to the candles at the altar. As he approached the front of the church, he noticed a leather purse balanced on the altar rail, heavy with money, and a note which read, "Padre, please see that the poor people who were robbed by that false Zorro get this money. I trust you to make sure the money goes where it is needed." The note was unsigned. The priest looked around as though he might see the person who had left this gift, but there was no one in the church. Thanking God on behalf of the peons who had been robbed, the priest knelt and asked a special blessing for their anonymous benefactor.
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The ride back to Los Angeles was a long one, made longer by the constant thoughts of the imposter raiding innocent people in Santa Barbara. Diego would have ridden back into the hills above Santa Barbara to search for the man himself except he had already been questioned by the Magistrado once for being tardy when returning from an assignment, and he did not wish to disappoint Señor Santiago once again. Also, he did not wish to run into Hidalgo or one of his patrols again. Hidalgo seemed to be forming the opinion that Diego had something to do with the masked raider and Diego did not wish to add fuel to that fire. But he chafed at the restrictions, nevertheless. How he wanted to go home, don his own black clothing, leap astride Tornado, and search out this false Zorro for himself. There would soon be an end to his masquerade and his treachery.
Diego sighed. He had embarked on a new path, one that would not allow him the freedom to become the real Zorro and spend however much time was necessary to track down the imposter. He knew the Magistrado would do what he could with the military to try and capture or kill the outlaw, but Diego also knew how limited that option was considering how many times he, himself, had outwitted and had outridden his pursuers as Zorro. Diego was also somewhat limited in the advice which he could offer to Santiago. Those things he might say that would be truly useful would lead to more questions than he could answer. He was supposed to be Diego, scholarly son of Alejandro de la Vega, full of book knowledge, but knowing little of practical value, as in how to capture outlaws, for instance. He was steadily leaving that image behind, but it would still be a long time before that image could be entirely laid to rest. This crisis had come too quickly for Diego to be other than what people still expected him to be. He knew Señor Santiago was too astute not to miss the discrepancy between what Diego was supposed to know and what he might say about how to capture Zorro. Try as he might, Diego could see no resolution to the problem. The only thing he could do at the moment was to watch and wait and depend upon Bernardo to aid him as well as he could.
