~Chapter 11~

Elena looked where he pointed but all she could see was the little group sitting or kneeling around the campfire: Ahmed, RoZita, Willy, and...then she saw Nestrelda approach with RoZita's dagger. Elena reached for her pistol, then relaxed as the gypsy handed the dagger to RoZita with the handle sticking outwards.

"It is that gypsy woman," gasped Alejandro. "The one who..."

"She is on our side now," Elena explained to him. She told him about Nestrelda's change of mind. "I had my doubts at first. But she saved us, I think. She is the one who told us about this place. I believe we can trust her."

Alejandro hid his face with both hands, shuddering all over. "It was horrible what they did to me. Seeing her brings it all back."

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Elena felt sick inside. She was afraid to hear it. But maybe it would help him to get it out. She stroked the curls off his forehead.

"I never knew what real evil was before," he said from behind his hands. "I only thought I did.... I want her away from here. I don't want to look at her. It brings it all back."

"Then keep your back to her and do not look," Elena said putting an arm around him. She was shaken to the bone, and all appetite she had for dinner was gone. "I can't do anything about her just now. And Carnal Love is still at large. I sincerely believe she hates him now, and she could be useful in helping to trap him. Try not to think of her in terms of what she was before, but rather what she is now. Or, at least, in terms of what use she could be to us."

"I will try." Alejandro took his hands away from his face and forced himself to look Nestrelda's way. "But it is not easy." He stroked Elena's hair. "Did I ever tell you, querida...you are the most beautiful woman in the whole world?"

"You have a time or two," Elena smiled in some relief. She absently picked up the romania flowers RoZita had brought them. They were a bit wilted but still held their fragrance.

"Neither of them can hold a candle to you." He nodded in the direction of Nestrelda and RoZita. "They are as little finches...next to a bird of paradise."

Elena's smile widened. "I think you will be all right, if you can still muster up some degree of Spanish gallantry. I will bring you something to eat soon, my brave one."

RoZita hovered over Ahmed almost protectively as the fish cooked over low coals, although what she was protecting him from she could not have said. Another onslaught of grief perhaps? Then a domestic impulse came over her. What were they going to use for plates? She glanced hastily around. Ahmed had thought of many things in preparation for his "journey," but obviously, dishes had not been among them.

Ruby Mae Love was frantic. She had not heard Willy's voice for hours. And it was nearly suppertime and he had not answered the dinner gong. Which was DEFinitely not like him.

"Pepa, have you seen Willy?" she asked the cook for the dozenth time. She turned to the young nursemaid saying, "Luisa, when was the last time you saw him?"

Luisa, almost in tears, replied, "I have not seen him since midday." She wrung her hands, not looking her mistress in the face.

"Lazy, stupid girl. Why in the world did we ever trust you with our precious boy?" Ruby Mae flounced out the doorway, nearly in tears herself. She began shouting her son's name once more, telling him in no uncertain terms what she was going to do to him if he didn't get his little tail over here this minute. Then she saw Pancho, the ranch hand, emerge from the stable, and she began running towards him as fast as a woman of her bulk comfortably could.

"Seņora Love, he spoke something about running away," the Mexican explained fearfully. "He stole a horsewhip, and said he was going to be...Zorro."

"You just stood there and let him run off, with murderous bandits and all manner of scum lurking about the countryside? Oh...if my husband was here he would horsewhip you himself!"

Come to think of it, she had not seen Cornelius in a while either. Of course, that was nothing unusual either. He could disappear for two or three days at a time, and she figured he was out whoring, drinking, and gambling. Usually she didn't care very much, it kept him from bothering her and he was always a little nicer to her when he came back. And he was a hard worker, he needed his little fun. But with both him and Willy gone now.... What WAS she going to do?

"Ranch House"--Artist Unknown

"Anyone hungry?" RoZita's voice startled Elena and Alejandro. She held two folded pieces of tree bark on which steamed pink heaps of trout, along with freshwater clams and the fiddleheads of young ferns, which she had read somewhere were quite tasty, and the woods abounded with them. Ahmed came up close behind her, holding a bottle of fresh water. They could hear Nestrelda and Willy chuckling over some joke.

"RoZita," Elena said, taking one of the makeshift plates, "if I ever become shipwrecked on a deserted island, remind me to bring you with me."

RoZita giggled. Maybe there was something to be said for watching re-runs of "Gilligan's Island," she thought, although she never would have believed it before this.

"Sorry I couldn't come up with any silverware," she said, "but like my mother says, fingers were invented before forks... . Well, come to think of it, you can use the clam shells for spoons."

"I owe both of you my life," Alejandro said, shyly extending his hand to her and Ahmed. "You came to my rescue when you never even saw me before. I...I hardly know what to say. There is nothing I would not do for either of you."

RoZ couldn't believe it! She was shaking the hand of Zorro, her childhood hero! Now she could almost remember something like lightning or a fireball coming at her, just before waking in the forest. It was a little frightening. She felt both shaky and euphoric...

It was getting late in the afternoon. Ahmed was worried about Fezeek. He had left the camel tied up at the lair but didn't know how safe it would be to leave three women, one boy, and a sick man unguarded to go retrieve him.

"Go fetch him," Elena said. "I can stand guard. I'm a better shot than you, may I remind you?" With a grin she produced her pistol.

Nestrelda said she would go too, since there were more supplies back at the lair, such as dishes, that they could bring back with them. RoZita, not liking the way the gypsy had been looking at Ahmed, said she would go also, maybe they could use an extra person to carry the things. Then Willy jumped up saying he wanted to go. Ahmed said it was no place for a child.

"Puh-leeeease," Willy pleaded jumping up and down. "I can carry stuff too. Just look at this arm. Big, huh." He flexed his bicep for their inspection.

"Look like fat to me," Nestrelda grinned. "Somebody is a leetle too fond of cakes and candies, maybe?"

"I'm fat but I'm strong," Willy pouted. He'd been about to make an insulting retort but a look from Ahmed stilled it.

"Come along, Willy," Ahmed said. "Yes, we can use another strong pair of arms." He tucked RoZita's pistol into his belt.

"Querida, look at them!" Alejandro said as the others waded across the shallowest part of the stream. "They are leaving us alone."

He reached for Elena's hand. She knelt beside him and watched them go. Then turned and sat down next to her man. He stroked her back, her arm. She faced him, bent down over his mouth and kissed his no longer feverish lips, then whispered, "I missed you so much...I thought I might lose you..." she sobbed.

Alejandro sat up a little, ignoring the pain as he did so, and kissed her tears away, then passionately kissed her lips, entering her mouth with his tongue. When they stopped the kiss to catch their breath Alejandro said, "I wanted to ask you the whole time, how you three lured those cutthroats into a trap? You wear this nice strange costume...it looks very seductive...but wait, wait -- you did not have to...touch them?"

She saw that he was worried about what the price of his freedom might have been, and that he was concerned about her. She smiled a little sadly.

"No." She proceeded to tell him the story, including about the kiss with RoZita.

"You kissed with RoZita?" Alejandro's beautiful eyes grew wide with astonishment.

"Um...yes." She suppressed a little smile. "Of course, it was only pretense -- no tongue, you understand."

"Was it disgusting for you?" His concern was almost comical now.

"No...it was certainly preferable to kissing any of them," she laughed, then shuddered. "But I would much rather kiss you."

He laughed a little too, then sobered. "How horrible for you, my angel, to have those bastards watch and lust for you, and you did it all for me. You are as brave as you are beautiful."

"You would have done as much for me, I know...and I want to be like you."

He kissed her again and his hand caressed her back and bottom, with much more strength now, as he pushed one sleeve of her gown off her shoulder and kissed it. Her heart jumped but she knew he shouldn't overdo it!

"Hmmm...you are so sweet..." he whispered, licking behind her ear, downward on her neck. She giggled, but admonished him: "Alejandro...please be careful...you are not really healthy enough yet...."he was almost on her nipples with his tongue. "You make me dizzy," she gasped as her fingers entwined in his damp curls, "but you need rest...please lie down!"

She pushed him gently on his back but opened up his robe, grinning at the effect she was having on him, then began to stroke his chest and shoulders, to kiss carefully beside the whip wounds. Her tongue found its way to his navel, while her hand stroked over the hardness below. He sighed and moaned, "What are you doing if I need rest?" Elena smiled: "I am spoiling you...Oh madre de Dios, you are so big and hard!" Alejandro groaned: "Hmmm...my dearest, that feels sooo gooood..."

Elena felt his hands gripping her hair. Her heart pounded. She only wanted that he should feel VERY good...and soon she too was satisfied if only in her mind -- the only important thing to her now was: HE WAS ALIVE!

Later she lay beside him face to face. He brushed back a long black hair from her face and murmured: "You are so lovely...thank you...." He wanted to kiss her again but she noticed he was really exhausted now and she pulled his head against her shoulder.

"You should really sleep now." And even as she said it she noticed his calm sleepy breathing. She smiled and closed her eyes as she held her hero tight against her body.

Ahmed, RoZita, and Nestrelda were nearly silent as they proceeded up the path back to the lair. Even Willy didn't say much. He was a little scared now, and a lot homesick, but he too somehow didn't want to let Ahmed out of his sight, which was why he had insisted on coming along.

Then they all stopped short when they heard the sound of someone moving about the lair. They crouched behind a stand of bushes watching but could see no one. Ahmed reached for the pistol in his belt. Willy was about to speak but RoZita put a finger to her lips and gave him a warning look. He clamped his lips together and even pinched them shut with his fingers.

They could see Fezeek. His rear was toward them but even so, he seemed agitated. Then they heard the sound of a horse whickering, and a man's voice speaking to it, although they could not understand his words or see him.

"It's him," Nestrelda whispered. "He's back."

None of them were looking at Willy, who had released his lips so that his mouth hung wide open. Presently the brown and white horse came into their sight, with a stocky man riding. He seemed to be in pain, putting a hand to his head as he rode. He wore no hat and his hair looked bloody. Ahmed lifted the pistol, then lowered it. He could not hope to shoot the man without hitting Fezeek.

"Let me," Nestrelda said impatiently, grabbing the pistol from him. She took aim and was about to fire, when suddenly she was tackled from behind by a small boy who grabbed her by the waist and nearly knocked her to the ground. Then he dove for the pistol and hid it, ludicrously, behind his back as the adults stared at him. The freckles stood out like rust on his pale face.

"That's my father!" he cried.

As Carnal started to ride away, Fezeek looked at him with that supercilious smirk all camels have. Love drew his pistol with the intention of shooting the beast, then hesitated. Albinos always spooked him a little, with those red eyes and unnatural whiteness. Then there was the fact that the critter was there at all. Love had a feeling that killing it would bring him bad luck.

So he rode off into town until he came to his favorite cantina, the Pretty Fair Maid, where he knew he'd find a friend of his, Lt. Lucas Hawkins, Hawk to his friends. Hawk had been there when Joaquin Murieta was killed. He was tall and solidly built with longish dirt-colored hair slicked back with bear grease, a long mustache and a big square face that could look alternately jovial and damned mean. He was a braggart and a blowhard, and when he was drunk he would challenge others to all kinds of feats which he performed with a degree of success that kept others at a respectful distance. And since he was ruggedly good looking he had little trouble impressing the fair sex either.

He had one of them perched on his knee right now, a redhead whose hair color was clearly not all Mother Nature's doing, but her green taffeta dress revealed quite a bit of the old gal's handiwork. Carnal crept up behind them, then brought a fist down on their table with an impact that made their glasses jump. Since that gesture of his was familiar to both of them, they merely said, simultaneously, "Heya Carnal!"

"Heya Dolly. Heya Hawk," Love said as he sat down at their table. A piano player was cranking out a very ornate rendition of "Oh My Darlin' Clementine," and a haze of cigar and pipe smoke hung in the air. Dolly took another chair, sat down and crossed her long legs.

"Heya Lovey-Dovey, what's up with you, handsome?" She was brazenly smoking a cigarette. Love felt annoyed as he always did when she called him Lovey-Dovey in front of others. "Oooo, what happened, honey? There's a big ol' purple lump on your forehead the size of Texas!" She reached out a not too clean hand to touch it, and Love flinched.

"Yaaaah, what's goin' on?" Hawk boomed. You could easily picture him in a buckskin jacket with long fringes and a fur cap, but he was wearing his cavalry uniform, minus the hat. His light grey eyes looked clear and alert, Love was pleased to note. He wasn't too drunk yet.

"How'dja like to make some money and have ya some fun doin' it?" Carnal Love said without even bothering to explain the lump.

"Who, ME?" Hawk bellowed with laughter. "Hear that, Dolly gal? Money and fun--you KNOW that ain't in my line, don'tcha, sugar?"

"Yeah, and cows fly to the moon and shit cherry pies," laughed Dolly. "And I'm a Sunday school teacher, and we're all gonna get religion tomorra and sing glory hallelujah... ." She blew a smoke ring in Love's direction.

"I remember how good you was to Harrison before he...you know... ." Love figured it wouldn't hurt to work on their sympathy a bit. "I've been tryin' to capture the son of a bitch that killt him, and...now that same son of a bitch has done kidnapped my boy. Now, 'course if you think it's too dangerous of an undertakin', I'll understand...."

Love knew he was hitting the right note by challenging Hawk's courage. Hawk often bragged he weren't skeert o' nothin'. Love really believed it at times.

"You mean...Zorro?" Dolly gasped. "The infamous Mexican bandit?"

Hawk laughed, then took another swallow of whiskey. "Zorro done kidnapped your boy?"

Love felt infuriated that Hawk would make light of such a serious matter, but then Hawk made light of everything. And Love really needed him on his side.

"Well, it sure looks that way. And ya know he's the one that killt my brother...." He assumed a mournful expression. Dolly made a face full of sympathy.

"I got a little boy myself," she sighed. Love suppressed a smirk, wondering if she knew who the father was. "I'll be pleased to help out if I can, Lovey-Dovey."

Love grinned in spite of himself. He could imagine how much use she'd be. Then again, you never knew. Then again, she just might go over to the enemy like that two-timing bitch of a Nestrelda. His grin ironed itself out in a hurry. You couldn't trust a woman as far as you could throw a fattened-up steer.

"Now darlin', this is a man's job," he said in honeyed tones. "Much too dangerous for a pretty little thing like you. You just better leave everything to us big strong men."

Dolly pouted, then excused herself, saying there was a little house out back that had her name on it.

After the two men had talked for a while, Hawk, being a bit juiced up by now, challenged Love to a contest, kicking out the candle flames in the chandelier. He had the bartender lower the chandelier until it was about waist high. The object was to kick out the flame without touching the candle, then the bartender would raise the chandelier just a couple of inches, then just a little higher, and so on. Love was in no mood for any damn contest, but he figured that if he wanted Hawk on his side he'd better humor him.

"By the way," Hawk said as he kicked out the second flame--the man not only could kick out the flames, he could talk while he did it-- "I saw Rube LaFollette a while ago, and you know what he told me?"

"What'd he tell ya?" Love tried to look interested.

"Well, you know ol' Rube's a Cajun from Loosiana and he likes rum, and he knows that ex-pirate, the one they call Scourge? I think you know him, I believe you go out there to see that Nestrelda gal? You know the one I'm talkin' about?"

"Yeah?" Love WAS interested now.

"Well, Rube buys rum offa Scourge a lot, and he was on his way out there, and you ain't a gonna believe this, but..." Hawk kicked out yet another flame. Love hadn't kicked out but one, and Hawk was too wound up even to notice. "He said he seen...Jorge, wouldja raise that there chandelier just a hair?"

"What, goddammit?" Love could hold back no longer.

"You know Rube's just a crazy ol' drunk, but it ain't really like him to make up stories. And he told me he seen Alejandro Murieta racin' down the road and get this: he was all tricked out in some kinda A-rab get-up and ridin' a goddamn CAMEL--can you beat that? A WHITE camel, Rube said--I think it was pink elephants he was really seein', if you want the truth. And he said he had some gal with him and it weren't Seņorita Montero, and--hey Carnal, whassamatter? You look white as a goddamn ghost!"

"Cavalry Colonel" by Frederick Remington