NOTE BY THE ACCOUNT HOLDER: THIS STORY IS NOT MINE!

WRITTEN BY KARLA GREGORY

Epilogue

"I have called all of you together to discuss the letters you have received from Don Gregorio Verdugo of Monterey," said Don Alejandro, as he addressed the room full of landholders in the sala of his hacienda. He held up his letter. "What he proposes has great merit. We do need many of the supplies he lists. Even now, those in other towns and pueblos are gathering their monies and sending them to Señor Verdugo."

"What do you think we should do?" asked Don Alfredo. "I do not know this Señor Verdugo. I have only heard his name mentioned from time to time. How can we be sure he will do as he says?"

"Sí, this is true," said Don Tomas Yorba. "We have had our fill of men who say the things we would like to hear and who take advantage of us in the end." Many of the men nodded their agreement with these words and turned to speak to their neighbors in low tones.

"Señores," said Don Alejandro, bringing them to order again. "I, too, am wary of sending this large sum of money to Monterey in hopes of a future shipment of supplies. However, as you all know, our supply of certain items runs short and it will take a year or more if someone starts out now to go to Spain and return with the goods. Think of what will happen if we do not receive those supplies." There was silence as the men looked at one another in concern.

"We must know for certain that this Señor Verdugo can be entrusted with our monies," said Don Tomas emphatically.

"Let me ask the question," said Don Alejandro. "If it can be determined that Don Gregorio is trustworthy, are you all willing to contribute to the amount Los Angeles will send to this cause? Think on this well."

Diego sat in one of the chairs near the fireplace a few paces away from his father as he watched and listened to the proceedings. He knew the men of Los Angeles were extremely cautious men. If Don Alejandro or one of the other local dons had proposed this idea, they would have been willing to open their purses and contribute their monies. But they were not willing to place their trust in someone whom they did not know. It was a sad thing, to be so distrustful, but understandable given the past history of Los Angeles over the last two years or so. Their trust had been undermined too many times of late. Monastario. Galindo. The Eagle. Santiago. These were the men who had molded the attitude of those who sat in this room today.

Don Hilario spoke up then. "I am not as well off as some of you others," he said. "You all know this. But I can see the need is great for these supplies. I would say that if, . . . if we can be assured of the possibility of success for this venture, I would be willing to contribute what I can."

Diego gauged the reaction of the others as they talked among themselves. Don Hilario was a somber man, not given to action without due consideration. If he would be willing to put up his money, then perhaps the others would as well. Diego glanced back at his father and their eyes met. They had discussed this many times since the letter had arrived addressed to Don Alejandro. Both of them saw the necessity for Señor Verdugo's attempt. Another year of shortages would leave the colony of California more vulnerable than ever to her enemies. Something had to be done. Though Don Alejandro had an acquaintance with Señor Verdugo, he did not know the man well enough to reassure the other men in this room. Between the two of them, they had decided that Diego should go to Monterey and see for himself what the situation was and to evaluate whether or not to turn any monies over to Don Gregorio.

Diego was flattered that his father would have chosen him to be the one to go to Monterey. Don Alejandro's attitude towards him had undergone a tremendous transformation in the months since the death of the former magistrado, Jorge Santiago. No longer did Don Alejandro try and make Diego over in his image, but allowed his son to be who he was. He was willing to listen to Diego's ideas and suggestions, and was even willing to try some new things concerning the rancho. Diego found this very refreshing. It seemed, since the charges of treason against him had been overturned and shown to be false, that Don Alejandro knew he had a son worthy of his respect and absolute trust. Don Alejandro could have made the decision to go to Monterey himself, but he trusted Diego enough to go in his place. This warmed Diego to his very soul.

His attention returned to his father as the older man took the floor again. "Señores," he said. "I will state here and now that I will contribute two thousand pesos to this cause." Seeing the looks on the faces of the others, he said, "However, I have a plan to propose."

"Let us hear your plan," said Don Tomas.

Don Alejandro looked at Diego, then turned back as he said, "I propose that before Los Angeles sends any money to Monterey, we send someone to speak with Señor Verdugo. To assess the situation. To investigate. We would give this man the authority to agree to hand over the money or not based on his judgement."

"Who would you send, Don Alejandro?" asked Don Tomas. "Yourself?"

"No, I would send my son, Diego," said Don Alejandro, drawing himself up to his full height.

Everyone turned to look at Diego. He returned their look calmly. Would they accept him for such an important mission? All eyes then turned to Don Alfredo as he rose from his seat to speak.

"I would support sending Diego to Monterey," Don Alfredo stated clearly. "He has proven himself to be a man of honor. You all know what has happened in the past year, and of the attempt to see Diego hanged for treason. Yet in all of this, Diego never wavered in his steadfast claim of innocence, though he could not defend himself. He was willing to forfeit his life to save that of his father's. I ask you. What man among you has more honor than this?"

Diego lowered his eyes as he heard Don Alfredo's words of praise. Don Alejandro saw this and his heart swelled with pride. How like his son to be uncomfortable when hearing praise about himself. No, amended Don Alejandro. It was just Diego's humbleness of spirit. Diego did what he did because it was the right thing to do, not for the praise of men. He thought of his son's hidden life and how none of the men in this room had any idea who it was that would not meet their eyes. If they only knew who sat before them, he thought to himself, imagining the pandemonium that would result if he were to make such an announcement. But he was still bound by his respect for Diego's apparent desire to remain anonymous. Then he smiled to himself. Perhaps Diego was uncomfortable with praise which put him in the spotlight, but Don Alejandro was not so humble. He was proud of his son and not afraid to say so. Not now. Not like before, when he himself had not known who lived within his household.

He spoke up. "You all know that my son was the assistant deputy magistrado for a time. Despite all the other machinations which we will not speak of now, he performed admirably in this position." Looking around the room, he saw that the men were waiting. "I believe you all know of cases where Diego was sent to gather information and make certain decisions as an officer of the king. I also believe there has been no cause for complaint in any of the cases in which Diego was involved?" There apparently was none. "I say now, with a father's pride, that Diego has demonstrated he is trustworthy, intelligent, and thorough. I believe we should send him to Monterey and let him discover whether or not it is safe to give our money to Señor Verdugo."

Don Tomas spoke up then, looking directly at Diego. "I was wrong when I believed the lies told to us by Santiago. And for that I have asked Diego's forgiveness in the past." Diego nodded his head once to acknowledge Don Tomas, who continued. "I had occasion to watch young Diego in his role as the deputy magistrado when he came to investigate a claim against me and I was thoroughly impressed. He took his charge as an officer in the king's service very seriously and did his job conscientiously. I say I will support Diego as the man we send to Monterey, and I will trust him with my money in this cause."

These two testimonials broke the ice with the rest of the dons and soon all were in agreement that Diego should go to Monterey. Diego exchanged looks with his father and they smiled at one another. Don Alejandro turned again and addressed the men.

"We are all agreed then?" he asked. "Diego will go ahead to Monterey. I will stay here and coordinate gathering and accounting for the money which we will send to him by separate courier. Once Diego has learned all he can, he alone will make the decision whether or not to hand over the Los Angeles money to Señor Verdugo." Don Alejandro paused. Everyone was nodding their heads in agreement. "Very well. If you will now let me know how much you think you will be willing to contribute, I will send a letter by the mails to Señor Verdugo immediately, expressing our interest in his venture and informing him of Diego's arrival within the week. There is a mail coach leaving for Monterey tonight."

"One moment, Father," said Diego holding up his hand to gain everyone's attention. "I would like to express my thanks for the confidence you have placed in me," he said, as he looked at each man in the room. "As Don Tomas has said, I will take this assignment seriously and do all I can to ensure your money will only be used for the purpose intended or I will see that it is returned to you safely. I pledge this upon my honor as a de la Vega."

"Well said, my son, well said!" exclaimed Don Alejandro as he grasped Diego by the shoulder. Diego smiled at his father's outburst. Invoking the de la Vega name was akin to swearing on the Bible and to Don Alejandro, it just might be even more sacred than that. He felt his father's pride extended to him and he embraced it.

The men lined up and Don Alejandro wrote down the amounts each man was willing to give. When he was done, he totaled up the amount and made an announcement. "Señores. Those of us here in this room have pledged to send seventeen thousand pesos to Monterey."

"Seventeen thousand pesos," repeated several men, themselves impressed by the amount.

"It will take many thousands of pesos more to buy the supplies that California needs," said Don Alejandro. "But I daresay no other pueblo will give as much as you all have been willing to give. I say we should have a glass of wine to celebrate." This was agreeable to everyone and they all stayed to talk to each other concerning the venture. When they were ready to go, they came and let Diego know of their personal approval and wished him God speed as they left by ones and twos. Diego was quite satisfied. He felt the whole thing had been handled very reasonably and he was anxious to be on his way to Monterey.

-Z-Z-Z-

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Diego and Bernardo were standing in the patio waiting for Don Alejandro to come out. Their saddled horses were tied to the rails outside the patio gate and the plumes of fog from their nostrils punctuated the air. The chill of the night was still waiting for the sun to come and warm it away. Diego's palomino was tossing his head up and down and champing at the bit, eager to be on his way, while Bernardo's horse was a bit more pragmatic about the whole thing. Tornado was once again a muddy grey color and secreted among the mares of the meadow who seemed to accept him quite readily. The mares would be left mostly alone in the high meadow for the summer as they grew fat with the new foals they would deliver next spring. Diego had admonished Tornado not to let himself be caught by anyone while they were away and the great stallion had tossed his head in seeming agreement. Both Diego and Bernardo felt fairly confident that Tornado would behave himself as long as he had a harem of good de la Vega mares to watch over.

Bernardo looked at his young master and was content. It seemed Diego had come to some peace within himself concerning his life at present. Don Alejandro was no longer critical of Diego and seemed to take a genuine interest in those things which Diego did well. He was more at ease with his son and actually encouraged him to continue with his scholarly pursuits. He respected Diego's abilities enough to send him on an important mission to Monterey which did wonders for Diego's outlook. All Diego had ever wanted for himself was to gain the respect of his father and now it was his. Zorro was again part of his life and that meant Diego must maintain his persona which he had created upon his return from Spain. But now, the sharp edges of that relationship were gone and in their place, acceptance. Bernardo patted the saddlebag he held in his arms. The black clothing contained within was as much a part of Diego as was the bright smile that the young man was wearing now. Diego had not told him to bring the costume, but Bernardo believed in being prepared. When, and if, it was required, it would be there for El Zorro.

At last, Don Alejandro came out of the hacienda. He looked at Diego and Bernardo and sensed they were as eager to be off as was the palomino who pawed at the ground outside of the patio gate. He looked again at his son standing tall, strong and confident in the soft morning sunlight and was reminded of another morning not so very long ago when the sun fell upon another man. A man who kept his face hidden from the world. But the mask could no longer hide the piercing hazel eyes and the infectious smile from Don Alejandro. He knew them as he knew the man who stood before him. The two men who were one. The two men who were his son. He embraced Diego and then stood back to let him go.

"Adios, Father," said Diego. "Do not worry. Everything will be all right."

Holding his head up high, Don Alejandro said, "Yes, Diego. Everything will be all right. I will have Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes follow you with the money as soon as it has all been collected. They will ride along El Camino Real just as you will and hopefully should only be a day or two behind you if everything goes well. Go with God, my son, and may you have a safe journey."

"Graciás, Father," said Diego, and he motioned to Bernardo to follow him. They both mounted their horses after Bernardo tied the saddlebag securely to his saddle. Don Alejandro stepped through the gate to see them off. When the two men reached the top of the hill, Diego pulled up. As the palomino tossed its head and pranced restlessly beneath him, he turned to look back. His father was there just as he knew he would be. The palomino reared and pawed the air as Diego waved to his father. He saw his father smiling and waving back. Happily, he set the palomino's feet back on the ground and set off at a gallop, heading for the intriguing capital city of Monterey.

Don Alejandro blinked back the tears which threatened to spill as he watched Diego ride away.

These tears were not tears of sorrow, but of fierce pride and joy. His chest heaved with his emotions as he fought with the desire to cry out to all the world what he was feeling right now.

Raising his eyes to heaven, he cried out within his heart and mind. "Such a son I have!"

"Such a son is mine!"

THE END

Account Holders Note: And that was all she wrote! The story neatly ended positioning the characters for the second season. I hope you all enjoyed the story as much as I did! :) Till the next story!