Further Adventures - Pirate Army

The line of caballeros was broken almost immediately, and each found himself the particular foe of three or more pirates. Yet they fought like maniacs, silently at times, right merrily at times, feeling that they were doomed, but determined to do what damage they could before the battle went entirely against them.

And then there was a sudden tumult on the opposite side of the pirates' camp, and into it and among the huts charged the crew of the trading schooner, the captain at their head.

But the pirates were so great in numbers that they were disconcerted only for an instant. From the huts and the adobe buildings poured men Barbados had been general enough to hold in reserve. The crew of the trading schooner was overwhelmed. The men of the sea fought valiantly, but they died with their captain.

And now Zorro had reached the bottom of the slope, and, blade in hand, rushed to join his friends. His sword flashed as he entered the light and tried to turn the tide of battle. His shouts rang out above the bedlam.

"Ha!" he cried. "At the scum, caballeros! They cannot stand against proper men!"

"Ha!" roared the great voice of Sergeant Gonzales, as he fought off two of the pirate crew with his long sword. "To me, Zorro! We'll carve a pathway through the swine!"

But Zorro did not hear him. He had seen that his old friend, Don Audre Ruiz, was sorely pressed, and he fought his way quickly to Don Audre's side. His blade seemed to be half a score as it flashed in and out and downed one of Don Audre's opponent's. Like a man possessed, Zorro pressed forward again, straight at the pirates in the foreground.

"Atencion! A caballero's near – "

He sang it as he fought, stopping the song now and then for an instant to grunt as he made an unusually hard thrust. The men before him broke and fled, and Zorro, with Don Audre at his side, seized the minor advantage of the moment. The other caballeros rallied and followed.

"The ghost!" one of the pirates shrieked. "It is the ghost from the sea!"

"Ha!" Zorro cried, and cut down another man. "Ha, scum! So you fear ghosts? Have at you –"

"Pirates, eh?" Sergeant Gonzales was crying, puffing and blowing out his great cheeks as he fought. "Stand, pirates, and fight like men! Is this a fight or a test of speed, dolts and fools? Meal mush and goat's milk!"

"A ghost!" another man shrieked.

Barbados whirled around in time to see Sanchez, a look of terror in his face, about to retreat. He took in the situation at a glance.

"It is no ghost, fiends of hell!" he shrieked at his men. "'Tis this Señor Zorro somebody has saved from the sea! At him! Fetch him to me alive. Does a ghost fight with a blade that runs red? Get the fiend!"

His words carried weight. The pirates gathered their courage and surged forward again. The other men came running from the huts and the adobe buildings, now that the crew of the trading schooner had been handled. The caballeros found their line broken once more, found that they were being scattered.

Still side by side, Zorro and Don Audre Ruiz fought as well as they could. But here in the open they could not get their backs against a wall. However, they did the next best thing – they stood back to back and engaged a circle of foes.

The fight swirled around them. Zorro's face wore an expression of anxiety now. He knew, fully as well as did Don Audre Ruiz, that this wonderful show of courage and blade skill was availing the caballeros nothing. Slowly but surely, the pirates were traveling the road to triumph.

And now there came an added menace. Among the huts there was a ramshackle corral, in which the pirates had put a number of blooded horses stolen from hacienda owners. And now some of the fighting men crashed against the insecure fencing and demolished it, and the animals, frightened at the din of battle, rushed through the broken place and into the open.

The fighting men, the clashing of blades, the shouts and screams seemed to infuriate the beasts. The smell of blood was in their nostrils. The horses charged wildly through the throng, upsetting caballeros and pirates alike. One noble stallion brushed aside the foes of Zorro and Don Audre Ruiz, but separated them also. Their enemies rushed toward them again before they could get together – and they were no longer back to back.

Their case was desperate now. Each was surrounded and overwhelmed. Zorro fought with what skill he could, keeping a wide circle with his flashing blade. He heard the voice of Sergeant Gonzales roaring in the distance. He heard, also, the thunderous voice of Barbados.

"Alive! Take them alive!" the pirate chief was screeching. "There will be rich ransom! Ransom and torture! Take them alive, fiends!"

Here and there in the open spaces a chorus of fiendish shrieks told that a captive had been taken, his sword whipped from his hand. Zorro suddenly found himself hard pressed, but fought free and made an effort to reach the side of Don Audre again. But that was no easy feat, he discovered.

"Get that Señor Zorro!" Barbados was shouting. "A reward to the men who fetch him to me alive! Ha! This time we'll make a ghost of him indeed!"

Zorro knew a touch of despair for a moment, but he fought it off quickly. If he were captured, the Señorita Lolita would have no protector, and would be at the mercy of these fiends and Captain Ramón. Were it not better to escape, to make an effort to return later, than to fight until death at the side of his friend?

"One of us must win free!" Zorro cried. "There is the señorita to be considered!"

"Get away, Don Diego, my friend!" Audre Ruiz shouted. "Save yourself, and the saints bless you."

"I will return!" Zorro shouted the promise. Let the beasts take you, Audre! Alive, you may be of some service! Dead – you are gone forever!"

Zorro did not listen for an answer. He hurled himself forward, stretched one man on the ground and put the other in momentary flight. And then he whirled again, darted swiftly away, fighting to clear a path.

Down toward him rushed the big stallion, still frightened because of the din of battle. Zorro swept another man from before him and sprang at the horse. He went upon the animal's back, lurched sickeningly for an instant, and righted himself. His balance regained, he kicked at the flanks of his mount. It was all that he could do. The horse was without saddle or bridle, without even a halter.

The animal hesitated, and Zorro kicked again with what strength he could. And the horse, suddenly terrified, sprang forward like some supernatural beast. The pirates went down before him and before Zorro's blade.

Up the slope the big stallion started, almost running down Sergeant Gonzales and the pirates who had already taken him prisoner. Past Fray Felipe he sprang, and Zorro saw the aged fray's hand raised in blessing.

Like a wild animal the stallion dashed at a group of the victorious pirates, who shrieked and scattered to either side. Zorro rode erect, his sword flashing and he was laughing wildly, like a man on the verge of hysterics.

"Señores! Have you ever seen this one?" he screeched.

And so Zorro rode on up the slope, and away from the pirate's camp rode his fiery, unmanagable mount straight at the fringe of trees on the top of the hill.

From the distance came Barbados, fiendish cursing, because the man he most wanted to capture had made an escape.

And Zorro answered it, also from a distance, with a burst of song:

"Atención! A caballero's near – "


- The Further Adventures of Zorro, Chapter 17